I am relatively new to the world of one-man guitar builders and last year, I posted a thread for some suggestions outside of my region (being Australia and New Zealand) and that journey has led me to embarking on 3 future builds with this being one of the first ones to start out of the 3.
A big shout out to Marcus from The Golden Era Guitars for going through the list of luthiers who he represents, and I ended up putting through, not one, but 2 orders from 2 different luthiers with Marcus. One being Keisuke Nishi from Keystone Stringed Instruments in Japan and the other luthier was none other than, Tom Doerr of Doerr Guitars. My key criteria were modern looking dreadnought and both of them build Modified Dreadnought akin to a body shape made well known by Ervin Somogyi at my specified budget.
First up, let me introduce to you, Keisuke Nishi of Keystone Stringed Instruments from Japan. He is a seasoned guitar luthier, one of the finest in Japan, a fellow AGF sponsor and, a former apprentice of Mario Beauregard of Beauregard Guitars. Mario needs no introduction, an established builder himself who also studied with Ervin Somogyi.
I was really inspired by this video and hence I have requested for my build to use this particular past build as benchmark.
Keisuke offers one of the best value upcharge/options that I have seen and it really helped a lot when piecing my specs together. Here are just a few examples of his upcharges at approximate USD equivalent based on current exchange rates:
1) Arm Bevel – USD275
2) Back Contour – USD325
3) Cutaway – USD275
4) Brazilian RW Bridge – USD90
5) Flamed Koa binding – USD45
6) Signature 3D Rosette – USD45
The chosen specs for this build are as follow:
• German Spruce top
• African Blackwood back and sides
• African Blackwood Signature 3D rosette
• Flamed Koa binding
• BRW bridge
• Cutaway
Here are some pics
The ABW is absolutely stunning and kind courtesy of Marcus who initially reserved this a couple of years ago for his own personal build but has passed on to me instead for this build. I am very grateful and thankful for his generosity.
Kei's signature 3D rosette in ABW
Notice the perpendicular grain of the bracewood for stiffer braces