My sublime new Tom Sands M12

[Will McNicol]

Hi folks,

I wanted to share the story of a guitar that, very excitingly, I took delivery of this Saturday just gone. It's another by my dear friend, Tom Sands. Here's me enjoying that 'new guitar day' feeling:



The first guitar of mine by Tom, my Model S which we named 'Jupiter', was detailed in a previous build thread a few years ago. If you fancied checking that one out you can via this link. To say that instrument has changed my musical world would be an understatement. It's been utterly inspiring, and has clocked up an impressive mileage as we've gigged all over the place, both nationally here in the UK and internationally.

But new sounds were calling out to me, which leads us onto this new instrument and how it came about. It's been an absolute pleasure and highlight of my career working closely with Tom over the years, and one key element of that work has been the fact that he sends every guitar he builds to me to 'test drive' and record. As such, I've ended up with a lovely understanding of the wonderful sonic world he's been crafting, and especially which instruments connect with me in-particular.

His Model M 12 is one such variant which was consistently connecting with me, particularly the ones that were coming in with a redwood/rosewood combo. So, that was where we started! Cue workshop visit to trawl through Tom's beautiful collection of tone woods. He had set aside a few options for us to peruse, and this is what we settled on:



Top: Tono Basso Redwood from Humboldt County, Northern California. It comes from Craig & Alicia Carter who famously brought Lucky Strike redwood to the market, and Tono Basso is another one of their prized logs.
Back & Sides: Madagascar Rosewood

Time for a quick lie-down:



Fingerboard, bridge and bindings: some beautiful Ziricote from Mexico
Neck: Honduran Mahogany

And with that, Tom got to work, providing some wonderful photos to keep the excitement brewing:



The rosette is Tom's signature etched-copper style using the same pattern we collaborated on for Jupiter:



Some back bracing going on:



And a closed box!



The Ziricote for the fretboard is just stunning, and I love the little bit of sap wood coming through in the headstock:





This beautiful little arm bevel is such a lovely thing, particularly with that Ziricote detailing:



All ready for a neck I'd say!



That Ziricote fretboard against the redwood is just so exceptionally pleasing:



And here's the fretboard extension taking shape. I loved this on my previous instrument, Jupiter, and awesome to have it here as well:



The Ziricote binding against the rosewood - just stunning stuff:



And just like that, the guitar was ready for finishing! The next post will continue where this leaves off…

[Will McNicol]

Tom went over to Canada to attend a finishing course with the fabulous Canadian luthier, Michel Pellerin, and took my guitar to be used for that course. Here are a couple of pics of them cracking on together:





Tom said he managed the thinnest polyurethane finish ever.



Apparently they were rather pleased with the results:



The guitar (and Tom) made it back home to the UK for the final construction, fretwork, etc, and then the ever-so-exciting phone call was made that he’d be able to drive down to my place to deliver it…

So here we are together on Saturday just gone (15th April), almost a year-to-the-day since choosing the woods, and as you can imagine it was like birthdays and Christmases all coming at once. Cheesy grins all round I say!





And here are some quick phone pics of some of the details:







The tuners are Tom’s signature Schellers which match the shape of his headstocks. Most cool indeed, and beautiful to use.



We’ve named the guitar Juno as it very much feels like a sibling to Jupiter. And here they are, sitting happily side-by-side:



And that about does it for the photos for now. I’ve only had time to do a quick recording so far, but I wanted to share it as well as the sound of this thing is just out-of-this-world and I can’t put it down! The video below has no EQ or reverb, just me in Open Cmaj7 playing a tune of mine called An Autumn Moment in front of my setup of three Sontronics mics.



I’ll share more when I’ve had time to really dig into the recording side of things.

I’m exceptionally grateful to Tom for this instrument - it really is a masterpiece and one I simply cannot wait to compose, perform, practise, record, and just generally spend hours getting to know.

Any questions let me know, and I hope you enjoyed the post!

With all the very best, and many thanks,

Will

[TomB'sox]

Congrats Will, that looks like quite an instrument and lots of fun. I still rue the day in 2020 when I lost out on the chance to meet you and Tom and have you play for us!

[islandguitar]

Will, thank you so much for taking us on your journey! IMO, you guys are right up there with the very best anywhere, and it's a treat to see this collaboration once again with this next model.
The guitar is stunning and the tone is off the charts. In a small way, I can relate as my Doerr has the LS Redwood (and Cocobolo), which is a magical combo to be sure.
So interesting to see this come together via your story and pics. What a great way to bring in spring '23!
My best and thanks again,
Fred

[Dustinfurlow]

Absolutely incredible, man! Bet you're loving it to pieces...certainly a different flavor of "good" for the tonal palette you have to work with. Cheers to the new family member.

[Treenewt]

Congrats Wil! That is a spectacular instrument and you certainly do it Justice! Tom’s work absolutely blows my mind- so clean, tasteful, simple aesthetically but mind-blowing tonally. Thanks for sharing the journey with us!

[Guitars44me]

What a spectacular SOUND. Beautiful looking and very elegant

But that HUGE sound.

Whooeee

Bet you are in hog heaven!

Cheers

Paul

[cigarfan]

Congrats Will and Tom on a spectacular instrument! Nothing quite like that day a new friend comes into your life.

[Wolfram]

Congrats Will, and spectacular work Tom - another extraordinary instrument! It sounds absolutely beautiful - hopefully I'll get to hear it in person at some point.

Enjoy!

Cheers,
Dave

[dcn]

Wonderful story and outcome from two MASTERS of the guitar!

Way to go, Will!

Diogo

[roscoe2311]

I loved reading that! Beautiful guitar and thank you for sharing

[s2y]

Wow, that looks and sounds amazing!

[TBman]

Congrats Will, the guitar looks and sounds excellent. The higher register notes are so clear.

I didn't expect Michel Pellerin to be in the photos. I was like "Gee, that guy looks familiar."

[K Trespass]

Lovely guitar Will. Sure you will enjoy. Tom’s work is up there with the best.

You demo’d my Model M Lady Trieu.

[Deft Tungsman]

I’ve been fortunate enough to spend the last five days getting an earful of this OUTSTANDING guitar while sitting opposite Will during his legendary Brittany guitar workshop. Generous soul that he is, Will extended an open invitation to all us participants to take her for a spin during breaks, and the impression was unanimous: Juno is spectacular in every imaginable way. It seemed impossible that a two-week old guitar could be so dynamic and musical, but I guess Mr. Sands has access to some special Hogwarts powder he’s sprinkled inside the body. Either that, or the combination of his talent and hard work continues to pay huge dividends. I’ve only played four Sands guitars, and this one takes the cake.

Congratulations to both Will and Tom. Your close collaboration has brought a lot more beauty into the world, and that, my friends, is worth celebrating every day!