| Size 2 These guitars are modeled on a Martin 2-17 from 1929 or so. The Size 2 had been constructed since the mid-1800s, and the early ones were fancier than style 17. The 2-17 was the first Martin model to have steel strings, and it was quite popular in the 1930s. I copied a 2-17 owned by Keith Cary (luthier and musician of Winters California) that is in pieces. It has no sides, and because of its state, the bracing of back and sides, the pattern and dimensions of neck and tail blocks, etc., are laid bare. |
| No. 7 has maple/ebony/pearl inlays in the upper and lower bouts on the back and an ebony back strip. Some say this looks like a "yin-yang" decoration. |
| No. 7 (below) Oregon madrone back and sides, madrone peghead veneer, ebony fret board and body binding, paua fret board inlay, herring bone purfling on top and back and around the sound hole, cocobolo pyramid bridge with paua embellishment, bone nut and saddle. No. 7 belongs to Matt Moller, of Petaluma, California. Matt is a highly trained musician (trumpet) and excellent guitar player. He is also Vice President, Engineering, Consumer Products, at Sonic Solutions (Roxio) |
| No. 8 (below) East Indian Rosewood back, sides, and peghead veneer; Adirondack red spruce top with herring bone purfling; ivoroid binding and tail inlay; ebony fret board and bridge; paua fret board inlay; bone nut and saddle. No. 8 is owned by Steve Wilson of Davis, California. Steve is a gentle finger style guitarist and recently retired from a career as a conservator at the Crocker Art Museum in Sacramento. |
| No. 7 and No. 8 were constructed side by side, shown below in the shop |
| No. 19 (below) California walnut back, sides, and peghead veneer; Lutz spruce top with rope purfling; ivoroid body, neck binding and tail inlay; ebony fret board and bridge; paua fret board inlay; bone nut and saddle; cocobolo bridge. No. 9 is owned by Dean Vogel of Davis, California. Dean is another finger style guitarist whom I have heard only once, playing in Watermelon Music one Saturday moring a couple of years ago. He is Vice President of the California Teachers Association, which keeps him travelling... |
| the walnut for this guitar was cut by Greg Nelson, a luthier and business man in Novato, California |
| No. 27 (below) Malaysian blackwood back and sides; Adirondack red spruce top; paua abalone rosette; Madagascar rosewood fret board, peg head veneer, and bridge; Asian buffalo bone nut and saddle; pearl peg head inlay of a specimen of Homo habilis (KNM-1470) ordered from Luthiers Supply/Andy DePaul. This guitar was donated to the American Association of Physical Anthropologists for an auction to benefit student travel to the annual meetings. It was won by Herman Pontzer, a member of the Anthropology faculty at Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri, who studies the locomotion of apes and humans. |
