Lauren Merritt Guitar No. 3
This is my third guitar, and the second I’ve built in the Martin OM size. The back, sides, and neck are maple, and the top is bearclaw Sitka spruce. Two walnut laminations are visible in the back of the neck, and the remainder of the instrument is ebony.
I began this guitar with violin construction in mind. The maple, spruce, and ebony are standard violin woods, and my original plan called for violin stain and varnish. As this guitar evolved, though, it went in its own direction. The high contrast between maple and ebony is impossible to miss, and when it came time for the finish, I couldn’t cover up the natural colors with violin stain. Instead, I used a hand-rubbed oil finish.
The stripe in the fingerboard grew out of the contrast already apparent in this guitar. I’ve never seen a fingerboard treatment like this before, but liked the boldness it added. Plenty of guitars feature a “skunk stripe” on the back of the neck, but this one puts that stripe right up front!
|
View the construction gallery for this guitar.
Sound samples: Alternating Bass | Devil's Dream
This instrument is no longer available for purchase.