What Would Your Signature Model Be?

[UncleJesse]

Originally Posted by opencee

Martin 00-18 with long (25.4”) scale, deep body, Adirondack top, Adirondack GE bracing, and MLO/PA neck.

Already own it, but it should be a big seller. Everybody wants an “opencee” signature model.

.

This sounds awesome. I'd love to scoop up an adi topped long scale 00.

[jaymarsch]

I think that mine would have to be the slightly scaled-down slope shouldered Kramer Prairie Grass. It is great for folks who want the sound and feel of a fine slope shoulder dread without the feel of trying to wrestle with an over-sized piece of luggage. It sounds great with a light or heavy attack and effortlessly handles strumming as well as finger picking. The specs would be the following:

German (Euro) Spruce top
Honduran Mahogany back and sides
14 fret, non-cutaway
25" scale length
1 and 23/32" at the nut and 2 and 3/32" at the saddle (It is for folks like me who are just about 1/32" off of what might be considered "normal" )
Gold EVO frets
Gotoh 510 Delta tuners - antique gold with ebony buttons
Brazilian Rosewood trim package - fret board, bridge, binding, back strip, head stock face and back plate.
Ebony Bridge pins
Abalone and Brazilian rosette
Kramer one-of-a-kind faux tortoise pick guard
A tasteful small oval sound port

This signature guitar is perfect for small town singer songwriters who tend to be homebodies unless they are on a road trip. No need to take it on an airplane and it doesn't come with a passport but instead comes with a new set of tires. It comes prepared to have more than 3 chords played on it over more than 5 frets, but definitely can handle a good dose of the truth.

Best,
Jayne

It would be my Gibson L-00 Vintage (torrefied Adi top, mahogany b/s) but with the neck shape from my Martin 000-18MC (sort of a played-in mod-V, 1 3/4" nut), ebony nut, black Antique Acoustics pins and Waverly white oval button nickel tuners.

[mr. beaumont]

12 fret "short scale" (25.5" approx, in this case) Selmer Macaferri style, large D hole

1 7/8ths nut

Spruce top, Rosewood back and sides, Walnut neck, "tortoise" binding, no fingerboard inlays, ebony fretboard, no neck binding.

[Chipotle]

Originally Posted by tippy5

Fun wish list:

2.56" Scale length

Wow, that's a reeeeeeeally small guitar.

[russchapman]

In honor of the future of tropical hardwood forests, I'd want a sustainable bamboo guitar for the masses. We've harvested enough ebony, mahogany and rosewood in our generation- don't cut more in my name!

[Willie_D]

Cheap. It would most likely be cheap.

No, seriously - if a guitar company were to approach me to build a signature model I'd want it to be affordable and attainable, but still a quality instrument. Like a slightly souped-up Taylor Academy or a Hummingbird elevated to at least Masterbilt standards.

[Jinder]

A Dove, with hybrid forward shifted bracing (halfway between standard Gibson bracing and the position of the AJ braces), ebony board and bridge, Mahogany neck (a-la J185), torrefied Adi top and quilted maple back and sides.

That, ladies and gentlemen, would do me VERY nicely.

[gr81dorn]

I actually already have one from Circle Strings in Adam's Iris line:



It's based on a 30s Martin 0-17, but with a slop shoulder and a full scale. It's everything I've ever wanted.

Here's a video of the spruce top version. It's incredible and i absolutely love everything about it.

[Silly Moustache]

Originally Posted by Jack Orion

Just for a bit of fun, say you were to make it to the point where you were well known enough to be offered a signature model by the brand of your choice - what would it be?

I'm not talking about a 'dream guitar' - more a guitar that defines your style and playing...

I also guess there's two types of signature model - the 'replica' type where an artist's guitar is recreated with any mods they may have made (ala the Pierre Bensusan 'Old Lady' Lowden) or the 'artist specs' model, where the artist takes a guitar they're well known for but adapts it to their choosing (ala the Pierre Bensusan current Signature Lowden).

So, for me, it'd be:

'Replica Style': a Martin OM28v with jumbo frets, a gloss headstock, and a vintage toner top

'Artist Specs': Still essentially a Martin OM28v (same bracing, same wood combo) but I'd add:

Jumbo Frets
1 7/8" nut width, Modified V neck, 2 3/8th bridge spacing, long saddle
Gloss Headstock
'Hand rubbed' gloss neck - so a satin neck, that is then polished by hand to gloss - for some reason necks that are gloss from the factory feel different to me than satin necks that have been glossed up by play.
Oversized side dots
No toner
The same herringbone/ivoroid/rosette that they use on the Authentic Series

Even though I love my Collings OM, I think a signature would have to be a Martin - my Martin is the guitar that I would save if the house was burning down.

Anyone else want to play?

Jack you've been thinking about this haven't you?

I think mine would have to be from Collings as I'm so happy with the ones I've got, but I'd like two!

the first would be a customised version of their DS3 (12 fret dreadnought).

Prolly baked adi, and some sort of pretty (pale) rosewood that isn't from a dubious source or endangered. Not sure how that could be accomplished, but I'd be after that rosewood sound and the richness of adi (from "Old Standard Wood?)

I'd like the top dark 'bursted and as I don't like looking at fretboards that don't have markers (sorry Michael) it would have the snowflake business going on. I've often sneered at the 41/42/45 bling but maybe I would have it - just the 41 though.
No extra blnig on the headstock, just the logo - on bound ebony.
3 on a plate tuners
As standard with 1 & 13/16" nut width and 2 & 3/8" string spacing, standard scale, drop in saddle on ebony.

Then - a matching 12 string - but, like teir "O" model 12 string a 24 & 7/8" scale and 1 & 6/8" nut width. Effectively the "O" neck on a 12 fret dread body. Same trim.

....of and if there;'s any money left from the lottery win (which I donlt do) then a matching 000 and 00.

That'll do for now.

[FrankHudson]

There are things I still don't know or haven't lived with, so I'd like to think my "signature model" acoustic might change or have some things I'd want to work with the builder on--but then traditionally "signature models" have most often been "what the famous player is known for playing" rather than "what the player would design or want to explore from a clean sheet of paper."

Body size: deep body 00, maybe a slight cutaway (Selmer style cutaway)

Unsure about woods, or "committing" there. I like cedar and mahogany tops, though spruce always seems more like an all-rounder sound. If forced to choose I'll take a cedar top, and maybe something brighter and tighter bass wise than mahogany.

I've never lived with a 12 fret, though liked the few I've tried. Let's say 14 fret, because that's what I've played.

24.9 scale.

1.8 inch nut or maybe even a bit wider. Fat neck profile. Probably ask for an asymmetric carve. Flatish fretboard radius, perhaps compound radius. Medium jumbo frets probably, but definitely not low frets. My finger joints can't tolerate them anymore. So I don't want to feel the fretboard much. I might choose Richlite.

Symmetrical, straight pull paddle headstock. I need to tune up and down and straight pull just makes it a tiny less likely that the string will catch/stick in the nut. I might go with light-weight locking tuners, just because I'm ham-handed with string cutting/installation, and they make things easier.

Super-restrained cosmetics. I've always like a guitar that looked more like a Shaker chair than a piece of Baroque fine-furniture. No pickguard.

Bracing? I don't know enough. The builder will have to know.

So what do I have? Something fairly close to my warhorse Seagull Folk, which would fit that "what guitar does he play the most" idea of signature model.

Clean sheet of paper? Something weird. Maybe carbon fiber and fan-fret.

[Veeing Fly]

A Flying V.

[jp2558]

2011 spec M-36, but with a cutaway and Fishman Aura Enhance built in electronics.

[Cypress Knee]

This Martin, except in the Grand Jumbo size. The other change I would make would be to use EIR instead of the cocobolo chosen and a standard bridge instead of the pyramid. (It was too time-consuming to do it all over and the Grand J was not a size offering on the web). So there it is - a 17 inch jumbo slothead!

[Don Lampson]

The Don Lampson signature model would be built by Eastman. It would be a 17" carved back Jumbo, IRW back, & sides, with a torrified red spruce top, and herringbone binding all around, including the rosette. The board, & bridge are ebony, featuring 8 pt pearl stars for fret markers, bone 1 3/4 nut, & saddle, with a teardrop Dalmatian pick guard... I'd have gold Grover Imperials for tuners....

Don