[Cocobolo Kid]

Originally Posted by susanstovall

i just bought one from north american guitar... a 00 maple..gorgeous.
i think he is great and loved what you wrote about him..
susan stovall

Congratulations Susan, and thanks for posting! Yes, Ray is a great guy, and an extremely talented luthier who loves what he does. If you ended up with this maple 00, then you certainly got one amazing guitar.





I watched Ray build this one, and it turned out beautifully. I told him that I thought it was one of the nicest rosettes he has made. Ray designed the "bend-away" or partial cutaway to give better access to the upper frets, but still keep the air volume in the 00 where he wants it for tone. This feature seemed to be very well received, so I am sure he will be doing it again. You got the first one though!

I am hoping to post an update to this build thread with photos in a few weeks. Since I last updated this build thread, a lot has gone on in Ray's life, both personally and professionally. Partially due to the COVID pandemic, Ray closed his shop in Tucson several months ago. He had previously purchased over ten acres of land in rural Tucson (near the beautiful Tortolita Mountains), and he has been planning to build his forever home and shop on that land. He has been busy with many projects on his land, and just completed the first of several buildings.

To obtain the best quality finish, Ray also decided to drive his latest batch of guitars, including mine, to Addam Stark in Santa Cruz, California for final finishing and buffing. Addam was affected by the California fires near Santa Cruz, so there has been a delay in the finishing. Luckily, Addam's shop and the guitars are safe. Hopefully, Ray will be picking up the guitars in a week or two.

Thanks for being patient and for following this build thread.