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#1
11-25-2009, 03:58 PM
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Acoustic Guitar Forum 2009 Founder's Choice Award
The Acoustic Guitar Forum 2009 Founder's Choice Award Presented to Stephen J. Sheriff of Edwinson Guitars As we move into our 10th year, I'd like to begin a tradition of honoring exceptional work and artistry in guitar building. This year, I had the great opportunity to see and play a number of fine instruments from many guitar builders. One guitar in particular stood out to me as a unique and beautiful example of the craft. The Edwinson Falcon.   Let me introduce you to the builder, Stephen J. Sheriff. In his own words, here is his design philosophy. "I am currently building Edwinson Guitars in three model categories, with a wide range of customizable options for each. Every Edwinson guitar is uniquely appointed; no two are exactly alike. All models share in common the most important traits of having a rich, complex tone, expansive dynamic range, a great deal of sustain, and ease of playability. I first set out to design and build the ultimate Fingerstyle guitar, but as it turns out, they also work very well for flat picking and rhythm playing. Once the basic function is well sustained, it is easy to optimize each instrument for a specific playing style or idiom. I do not build my guitars on a traditional, Martin or Gibson style platform. They are all my own original designs, inside and out. When lutherie became my life's work, I was determined to build instruments that have a truly unique and compelling voice. That required a fundamental re-thinking and redesign of the guitar's basic architecture. An entire system of design has evolved in the Edwinson guitar that yields consistently superlative results. Close scrutiny of the Edwinson guitar will reveal a number of departures from traditional flat top architecture. First, you will notice that there are no actually flat surfaces on the guitar, except the front of the headstock. The top is built to a 25' radius, so it is gently domed in side profile. This feature adds much strength and stability against distortion, over years of constant string pull. The back is also radiused, to 15'. Unlike most steel string guitars, the lower bout is actually the shallowest part of the sound box; The deepest area is in the waist. This configuration gives the guitar a very efficient forward sound projection, preventing standing waves inside, which will give a guitar a "woofy" or unbalanced tone. The shallower depth of the lower bout also makes the Edwinson quite comfortable to hold and play; You don't have to drape your arm over a big, cumbersome box. Edwinson top bracing also takes a leap from the traditional, Martin style X bracing pattern that has been exhaustively copied by generations of guitar makers. I do employ a primary forward-shifted X-brace, but everything else is changed up. Secondary braces are arranged in a hybrid fan pattern, adding strength and efficiency to the top. Each of the secondary braces is pocket- joined into the primary X, instead of being simply butted up with a dab of glue. The top would have to suffer a catastrophic impact to knock these braces loose. Furthermore, having the entire top bracing system joined together into a single unit contributes greatly to the open, airy, pianistic tone of the guitar. Everything works together, as a very efficient acoustic speaker. Another fundamental advance is the Edwinson guitar's bridge plate. Striving for low mass and great strength, I use a very thin rosewood/ carbon fiber laminated plate, radiused perfectly to the top. The Edwinson bridge plate is only 5/ 64ths thick, but it is very rigid and strong. The ball ends of the strings will never pull through the carbon fiber laminate; that's a future repair you'll never have to worry about. My standard neck joint is a bolt-on, mortise and tenon design. The neck block is a sort of modified Spanish foot, with a solid extension beneath the fingerboard. The neck to body area of the guitar is built to be very stable and resistant to distortion, and should totally negate the dreaded "hump" that develops in many guitars around the twelfth to fifteenth fret. You should never need to have a neck reset done on an Edwinson guitar. However, if the alignment ever needs to be adjusted, the bolt-on design makes that service much easier to do, and considerably less invasive to the instrument. One of the most distinctive features of the Edwinson guitar is the bridge. I call it the "Talon" bridge. It is designed to ride directly over top of the X brace, mechanically linking the most important tone production area of the top. Also, it is a two-stage, single piece unit. The top stage is the bridge saddle, and the lower stage holds the bridge pins. There is a fifteen degree break angle of the strings over the saddle to the bridge pin holes. This gives a very positive down pressure of the strings to the saddle, which really helps to drive the top. Once again, these guitars will never have the endemic problems of the traditional, flat, belly-style bridge, not having enough down pressure on the saddle, resulting in loss of tone and volume. The Talon bridge gives the guitar's top some extra horsepower. To sum it up, I have attempted to engineer some features into my guitars that will bring out the best volume and tone characteristics, and using common-sense architectural principles, make a guitar that is not nearly so prone to distortion or system failure that is so often seen in traditional flat top guitar design. I have always striven to apply logical and repeatable structural and acoustic engineering principles to my guitars, and will continue to refine my processes with every new project. I've built a good number of them in the past ten years, and so far, I'm pleased to say that my theories and building methods have proven out true, time after time." About the Falcon: "My newest guitar is the EF 75 Falcon. The first prototype of this guitar was completed August 10, 2009, and debuted at the Healdsburg Guitar Festival in Santa Rosa CA, four days after its official birthday. The Falcon is a 3/4 size concert steel string. Yes, it is about the same size as a traditional Parlor guitar, but I'm not calling it a parlor guitar. It doesn't look anything like a traditional parlor instrument. Once again, its Asian design influence shows prominently. I hope Bill Collings doesn't come after me for saying this, but the Falcon is a serious guitar. Right out of the gate, it has a great voice, a lot more volume than you'd expect from such a small guitar, and of course, that amazing sustain that is an Edwinson hallmark. The Falcon is a ridiculous amount of fun to play. Thirteen and a quarter inches wide at the lower bout, with a 22.875 scale length, and 37 inches in total length, it's very comfortable to hold, and very easy on the hands. This guitar is small enough that you can carry it on to any airplane, so whenever you travel, you can bring along a full-fledged, professional quality guitar with you. I don't think I'll sell my first Falcon prototype guitar--I can't stand to be away from it for more than twenty minutes. But I will keep making them, and I think they'll occupy a popular niche."  take flight and run the wind currents like a Falcon. Aerial acrobatics, racing turns and swoops, and talons to snatch unsuspecting music from midair. Small and deft, dangerously adept, the Edwinson Falcon is a guitar giving flight to your soaring muse.  Shimmering ellipse, The plucked string, the bent pull-off The dwell of a note  Congratulations to Luthier Stephen J. Sheriff for receiving the very first Acoustic Guitar Forum Founder's Choice award! I'm looking forward to seeing many great guitars emerge from his shop in the coming years. Edit 12-13-2009: Steve now has a website - http://www.edwinsonguitar.com J.R. Rogers AGF Owner and Founder 
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#2
11-25-2009, 03:59 PM
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You can read more about the Falcon HERE.
To create an award to honor this craft - a craft that involves spending hundreds of hours carving thin pieces of wood into a fine sounding instrument - I employed the work of artist Trudianne Temple, who created the award from anodized aluminum and mild steel. She has created a beautiful and substantial award that will last for generations, while machining the metals in an eco-friendly manner. You can read more about the award HERE.
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#3
11-25-2009, 04:02 PM
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Beautiful instrument indeed! And that award ain't too bad lookin' either. (WAY better than a Leg Lamp!)
Brent Last edited by Brent Nelson; 11-25-2009 at 05:12 PM.
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#4
11-25-2009, 04:30 PM
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Stunning guitar indeed! WOW!
__________________
Alvarez AP-70 Squire Contemporary Jaguar Kustom Amp (acoustic) Gamma G-25 Amp (electric)
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#5
11-25-2009, 05:08 PM
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Gee, now I want one of those too. Ho hum........
Gorgeous!
__________________
Rick Steel and Wood, "Listen closely and she'll tell you her secrets" RG
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#7
11-25-2009, 10:18 PM
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That guitar has a really cool looking bridge. Thanks for sharing cool looking award too.
__________________
Sean
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#8
11-26-2009, 06:59 AM
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What a stunningly beautiful guitar.
-jay
__________________
'22 Gretsch Falcon 6136PE (Midnight Sapphire) '16 Lowden F35c (Mountain Rosewood) (For Sale) '07 Bashkin OM (Cedar/Mahogany) '98 SRV Fender Stratocaster
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#9
11-28-2009, 04:13 PM
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Would love to hear this work of art.
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#10
11-29-2009, 07:13 PM
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Congratulations, JR, to a new addition to our forum. Great idea!
And congratulations to Stephen Sheriff for being awarded the first of this award. Great write up!
__________________
Price is what you pay. Value is what you get. Warren Buffett
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#11
11-29-2009, 07:15 PM
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Outstanding workmanship and a beautiful guitar.
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.....John Pearse Strings make my guitars feel and sound their best.....
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#12
11-30-2009, 02:19 PM
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Quote:
__________________
Andrew White Production: Cybelle 112 Rosewood/Sitka Andrew White Production: Cybele 312C Crossover Rosewood/Red Cedar Clark: A-Wedge Koa/Snkr Rdwd 12-str Clark: A-Wedge Monkeypod/Snkr Rdwd Cornerstone: Zion All Koa Cornerstone: Tenor Ukulele Prototype #2 All Koa Fay: OM Mac Eb/Englemann Stehr: Aud. Braz/Snkr Rdwd 8-str Plaid Coyote's gone home to play
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#13
11-30-2009, 10:44 PM
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Quote:
I want to know more about our first award winner and his guitars, and I definitely think it was a good move to go ahead and create an award worthy of the AGF. Congratulations, too, are due Trudianne Temple, who brought this award to lift. Very classy indeed! Well done, J.R., in every way. cotten
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#14
12-01-2009, 07:28 PM
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Another beauty
Beautiful guitar Steve.
From the second picture in JR's post, the guitar (with the unique bridge) looks like it is frowning-- like it's not happy in the stand. The fourth picture where the guitar is posed on the side looks like it ready to take off. Very cool. Just an observation mind you. If it were at my place, I don't think it would be on a stand too much. Many great ideas involved with your design and the craftsmanship (from these images) looks superb. Looking forward to your website. Marcus
__________________
Morris S-92, Reeves OM, Larrivee PBZ-09, '97 Taylor 714c "If you don't know where you are going, you might wind up someplace else." -----Yogi Berra
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#15
12-13-2009, 08:50 PM
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| Tags |
| award, founder's choice award, guitar of the year |
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