This guitar was a big hit at Tom B'sox's B.I.G. celebration in the last weekend of March. If you haven't heard of this event, there are several current threads about it in the Custom Shop section.
I am so glad that Maple guitars are no longer ghetto-ized, but are becoming very popular, on the merits of their tone and their looks. I decided to build this one on spec for Tom's show, with some spectacular AAAAA quilted Western Bigleaf Maple, and a German Spruce top. Since I built this guitar on my dime, I decided to dress it up a little, and add a number of high-end features. It has the new Omega style open headstock, arm and rib bevels, dual side soundports with inlay, Florentine cutaway, Style A center seam inlay and end graft, and all the other other standard features that most luthiers charge extra for as upgrade options.
I'll list a full description and specs below, but firsts, here are some photos of the Quilted Maple/German Spruce/Katalox Eclipse OM-C. Thanks for looking!
This Eclipse OM guitar sounds a lot like it looks: shimmery, deep, three-dimensional, dramatic, bold. The quilted Maple has the focus, immediacy, and punch that high quality Maple is known for, and the AAAA German Spruce top adds warmth, color, overtones, sustain, and great balance and evenness of response across the spectrum. I was inspired to use these woods, based on Jason Kostal's brilliant (and famous) MDW that he built for Michael Watts. Premium Maple and German Spruce are a perfect combo.
Many people at the B.I.G. show were drawn to this guitar, and had many kind things to say about it. I feel quite honored by this enthusiastic reception.
Here's a description of the features:
EE-F-OM-C, Eclipse OM
Serial Number 1903-113; DOB March 11, 2019
Back and Sides: AAAAA Quilted Western Bigleaf Maple;
Soundboard: AAAA German Spruce;
Neck: Premium Honduran Mahogany with Mexican Royal Ebony and Maple Veneer line Center Lam;
Mexican Royal Ebony (aka Katalox) Bindings, Trim, Fingerboard, Bridge, and front and back Headstock Plates; Three-line black/Zebra Wood/black Soundboard, Fingerboard, and Headstock Purflings;
Deluxe three-line black/Quilted Maple/black Side and Back purflings;
Appollo style Arm and Rib Bevels, trimmed in Mexican Royal Ebony;
Element style Florentine Cutaway; Omega style Open Headstock, with Swiss-made Schertler Tuning Machines;
Element Asym Style Rosette, with Sound Hole bound in Katalox;
Appollo style Katalox Bridge; Dual Side Sound Ports with Katalox Inlay;
Multi-Segmented Back Center Seam and End Graft Inlay in Katalox, black veneer lines, Quilted Maple, and Copper/Shell dots;
Thirteen frets-To-Body, Twenty Frets total;
LMI TRSD Two-Way Adjustable Truss Rod;
EVO Gold Frets; Polished Bone Nut and Intonated Saddle;
25.5” Scale Length; 1 3/4” nut width; 2 3/16” String Spread; 16” fingerboard Radius; Optimized for Fingerstyle or Pickstyle playing.
This Eclipse OM Guitar is accompanied by a Guardian brand, Vintage style, arched-top Hardshell Case, with Black Tolex Exterior, Green Crushed Velvet Interior, and Brass Hardware, which I have modified with custom interior upholstery for a snug, safe fit.
All of the appointments, including the bridge, fingerboard, front and rear headstock, arm and rib bevels, sound ports, and binding are made with Katalox (Kat-a-losh) aka Mexican Royal Ebony, a beautiful deep purple wood that contrasts harmoniously with the lighter woods.
This is a brand new guitar, with full warranty. It sounds great right from the start, but in another month or two, when it really begins to come into full bloom tonally, I think it will be awesome. It has a very wide dynamic range, so you can play as softly as a hummingbird, or make it bark like a junkyard dog. A light touch will still produce a LOT of high-quality sound.
This quilted Maple Eclipse OM-C specs out to $9275 USD. Consider that the retail price. I am certainly amenable to reasonable offers. There has already been quite a bit of interest among AGF members, so I doubt this one will be available for long. Especially after I get some decent sound clips posted!
Edit, May 17: Big discount from the retail price- brand new guitar, full warranty, asking $7500 USD.
Please feel free to ask other AGF members who attended the B'sox Guitarpallooza last weekend what they think of this guitar. Multiple threads in the Custom Shop section. Tom is very interested, and proposed a very fair barter exchange for it; However, I ran up a lot of expenses building three spec guitars, and Tom graciously allowed me to post this guitar for sale first. If YOU buy it, I will make another one for Tom! BTW, I have several more sets of this spectacular AAAAA Quilted Maple, available for custom builds.
I know this is a considerable investment, and it's always a risk buying a guitar you've never played. So I insist that you should have a risk-free trial period with this guitar, in your home, before you commit to buy. With the caveat that you will pay the shipping charges, I will send you this guitar, and you can keep it for a week to decide if it's a perfect fit. If it is, make an offer, and hopefully keep it forever!
Thanks for looking!