I’d been keen to build another guitar for some time, or should I say keen to see another guitar being built by a set of world class experts, using parts that I’ve inlayed. Basically at Custom Pearl Inlay, they just won’t let me screw it up. And in some cases, they’ll even let me sand a piece or two, as long as I’m not too aggressive with the corse sandpaper. All in all, it’s a pretty good deal.

Therefore in March of 2011, I journeyed to Malone, New York, and started on a new guitar. This one will have a lot of inlay, most of which I did beforehand. Click on “My Work” then on “Martin Tree of Life” and on “Headstock and Bridge” to see closeups of that inlay.

It’s hard to describe how much this means to me. The anticipation, the constant thoughts about the “next step”, the instant smile when I think about it.

It’s all good.

So, I went to Malone for a week, and got the “build” to a certain point where the top was glued onto the sides, and the glue on the side braces was drying. Then I had to go home, because that’s all of Dave Nichols’ time that was available to me at that point. I’ve booked more time in April, and right now I simply want to get working on it again. It’s very hard to be patient until I can get back to it.
Below are some annotated photos of the guitar “build”. Just click on a picture to see it full size so that you can read the annotation…