We’ll set the narrative aside for the moment to better appreciate its subject: the guitar itself.
This Hatcher Greta has a mastergrade Sitka Spruce top with a bearclaw figure. Sometimes I like bearclaw figure, sometimes I don't, but it's always unique and I agree with the wabi sabi philosophy of finding beauty in natural “imperfections.” When bearclaw figure isn't symmetrical or when it appears in a small degree I tend not to like it. But when it's symmetrical and heavily figured in a pleasing way, I prefer it to non-bearclaw Spruce. I especially like when it adds some chatoyancy to the wood.
The other major feature of this Hatcher Greta is the Cocobolo on the back and sides. There is a lot of great-looking Cocobolo out there, but every now and then you see a set that is truly mind-blowing. It has the deep red color and striking dark ink lines that I love. In addition to that bold figure, there's also the more subtle color variegation as the reds move from dark maroon to bright scarlet with orange highlights. And then, of course, there is the sapwood. Like bearclaw figure, it rarely appeared on instruments in the past, but now it pops up with ever increasing frequency. It's a very modern look and I generally like it, provided it’s employed tastefully--sometimes a set has too much sapwood for me. Here I find the sapwood extremely well-integrated into the build. In fact, this guitar has no decorative back strip because the sapwood serves that role organically.
As you can see, the sapwood is recurring motif. Indeed, in the original build thread Mark wrote “this guitar's visual theme was kind of an ode to sapwood.” You can see it on the tips of the tuner buttons Mark crafted, on the front headstock veneer, on the end graft, and in the inlays on the rosette and arm bevel. These inlays are particularly inspired in their design: Mark selected each segment so that its curved sapwood lines up with the curve in the rosette and arm bevel.
My favorite visual feature is the headstock's front veneer. Veneered in bookmatched Cocobolo, Mark carves this “pillow” style headstock to have curves and depth. The effect is subtle elegance, enhanced further by the beauty of the selected Cocobolo. A similar bookmatched design with sapwood center can be found on the end graft. The back of the headstock is veneered with a single piece of Cocobolo. The fretboard, tuner buttons, and even the inlay on the strap button are Cocobolo. The fretboard has a particularly unique figure with lots of spider-webbing. In combination with the headstock, it’s mesmerizing to behold.
The neck is a fine piece of Mahogany with a cross-grained Cocobolo center laminate flanked by Maple. The binding around the body is Gaboon Ebony, a look which nicely contrasts with the red Cocobolo while picking up on the dark ink lines running through the back and sides. The binding extends not only around the front and back of the body, but also around the fingerboard and the headstock. It further pops because of the thin white maple purfling that parallels it, both on the front and sides of the headstock and neck. And on the front of the guitar there is further purfling of dyed black birch-white maple-black-red Mahogany-black-white-black. This also forms the outer ring of the rosette. The rosette and arm bevel are more Gaboon Ebony, but they have that inlaid Cocobolo with sapwood accents to give the whole instrument a harmonious look. This was the first inlaid arm bevel I encounter, but I’ve since seen it in a couple more recent builds by Mark.
Next up: the arrival of the guitar and my first impressions