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  #1  
Old 06-18-2019, 02:02 AM
pandaroo pandaroo is offline
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Default Keystone Mod D (German/ABW) - Final Pics and Review in Post #20

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
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Keystone Mod D - German/ABW
Doerr Mod D - Swiss/BRW
Benavides D - Torrefied Adi/Madi RW
Lindsay Marcus D - Sitka/Madi RW

Gone But Not Forgotten
Tom Sands Model S (Crystal) - Italian/Fiddleback Hog

Last edited by pandaroo; 11-21-2019 at 12:13 AM.
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  #2  
Old 06-30-2019, 09:33 AM
Marcus Wong Marcus Wong is offline
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I am extremely excited about this build! And thanks for the shout out

Keisuke Nishi is building some of the finest guitars right now. He has changed his voicing this year and the tone he gets out of his guitars is tremendous. The guitar is extremely loud, focused, and clear. As Andy has mentioned, Keisuke-san's prices are really reasonable (for now), so do yourselves a favour and check out his guitars

For those who haven't really heard of him before, below are some videos I've done up to show you a little more about his work!

Here is an INTERVIEW I did with him while he visited The Golden Era Guitar:



Here is an INTRODUCTION about the guitar:



And here is the DEMO:



And stay tuned to this thread to follow the progress of this incredible build. How often do you come by African Blackwood as perfect as this?
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  #3  
Old 06-30-2019, 10:23 AM
GeoffStGermaine GeoffStGermaine is offline
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I've been following Keystone's work on social media for a few years. I've always thought it looked top notch and I'm happy to see that his instruments are also fantastic sounding instruments.

I think his 3-D rosette detail is a very nice touch on his instruments. It nicely sets them apart and blends well with his overall aesthetic. I'm looking forward to seeing more of this build!
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Old 07-01-2019, 04:57 AM
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colins colins is offline
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Congratulations on what looks like an exciting build. ABW on a mod D is going to make an awesome sounding guitar!
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  #5  
Old 07-21-2019, 09:45 PM
pandaroo pandaroo is offline
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Default More sapwood - guitar sides

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Keystone Mod D - German/ABW
Doerr Mod D - Swiss/BRW
Benavides D - Torrefied Adi/Madi RW
Lindsay Marcus D - Sitka/Madi RW

Gone But Not Forgotten
Tom Sands Model S (Crystal) - Italian/Fiddleback Hog
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  #6  
Old 07-21-2019, 09:48 PM
pandaroo pandaroo is offline
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I really liked how Kei used alternate purfling colous on the sapwood and the non sapwood part of the ABW headstock

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Keystone Mod D - German/ABW
Doerr Mod D - Swiss/BRW
Benavides D - Torrefied Adi/Madi RW
Lindsay Marcus D - Sitka/Madi RW

Gone But Not Forgotten
Tom Sands Model S (Crystal) - Italian/Fiddleback Hog
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Old 07-27-2019, 01:08 PM
Nemoman Nemoman is offline
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Tat headstock is off the charts cool!

Love the fact that it's not a symmetrical bookmatch sort of thing with the sapwood all on the one side.

And all the woods on this look utterly fantastic!
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Old 08-04-2019, 07:27 PM
pandaroo pandaroo is offline
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Default Box closing up, neck almost there

The flamed koa binding really brings out the contrast











Can't wait to see the lacquer go over this lovely curly burly!

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Keystone Mod D - German/ABW
Doerr Mod D - Swiss/BRW
Benavides D - Torrefied Adi/Madi RW
Lindsay Marcus D - Sitka/Madi RW

Gone But Not Forgotten
Tom Sands Model S (Crystal) - Italian/Fiddleback Hog
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  #9  
Old 08-05-2019, 10:13 PM
Dion James Dion James is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pandaroo View Post
The flamed koa binding really brings out the contrast























Can't wait to see the lacquer go over this lovely curly burly!





That’s one stunning guitar!
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  #10  
Old 08-06-2019, 12:12 AM
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No doubt is this special! Keisuke is remarkably talented...goodness. Not only his woodworking skills but his overall artistic sense is staggering.
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Old 08-06-2019, 12:35 AM
gitarro gitarro is offline
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Is that blue purfling lines on the guitar? Santa Cruz FS guitars have that feature and they always look good to me
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Old 08-06-2019, 03:36 PM
chippygreen chippygreen is offline
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That is a superbly executed headstock and a terrific use of the sapwood - congratulations!
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  #13  
Old 08-06-2019, 08:00 PM
pandaroo pandaroo is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dion James View Post
That’s one stunning guitar!
A bit different from the subtle elegance of your builds, thank you very for commenting.
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Keystone Mod D - German/ABW
Doerr Mod D - Swiss/BRW
Benavides D - Torrefied Adi/Madi RW
Lindsay Marcus D - Sitka/Madi RW

Gone But Not Forgotten
Tom Sands Model S (Crystal) - Italian/Fiddleback Hog
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  #14  
Old 08-06-2019, 08:01 PM
pandaroo pandaroo is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by gitarro View Post
Is that blue purfling lines on the guitar? Santa Cruz FS guitars have that feature and they always look good to me
They do look blue don't they, but I think they are actually black
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Keystone Mod D - German/ABW
Doerr Mod D - Swiss/BRW
Benavides D - Torrefied Adi/Madi RW
Lindsay Marcus D - Sitka/Madi RW

Gone But Not Forgotten
Tom Sands Model S (Crystal) - Italian/Fiddleback Hog
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  #15  
Old 08-06-2019, 08:03 PM
pandaroo pandaroo is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by chippygreen View Post
That is a superbly executed headstock and a terrific use of the sapwood - congratulations!
Thank you. I love the look of sapwood so hence i have requested sapwood all throughout from the back to the sides, the rosette and even the head stock.
__________________
Keystone Mod D - German/ABW
Doerr Mod D - Swiss/BRW
Benavides D - Torrefied Adi/Madi RW
Lindsay Marcus D - Sitka/Madi RW

Gone But Not Forgotten
Tom Sands Model S (Crystal) - Italian/Fiddleback Hog
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