The oud is a fretless, 11 string Middle Eastern instrument. It is a “double-course” instrument, meaning the strings are positioned in pairs and tuned in unisons, except for the treble-most string, which is single. The scale length is about 620 mm. Modern oud strings are made of nylon.

The body of this instrument is made of mahogany, approximately 1 ¼” thick, which was hollowed out to reduce weight and add resonance. Hollowing the body created a surprisingly strong acoustic tone, which would not have been possible in a solid-body instrument. The soundboard is Sitka spruce. The necks were made of mahogany. The oud peghead is at a 55 degree angle to the neck (a standard guitar peghead would have a 10-12 degree angle). The oud neck is 36 mm wide at the nut; the classical neck is 52 mm wide. There are Fishman pickups installed in each bridge. The body shape was taken from an oud and widened a little to accommodate the second neck.

• The body of this instrument is made of Indian Rosewood and Sitka spruce. The neck runs completely through the body.
• The multi-layered neck is made of alternating pieces of maple and wenge, each approximately 1⁄4" thick.
• The 31 fret fretboard is made of ebony.
• The tuning machines are Hipshot.
• The pickup is an RMC system.

• Alder back
• Quilted maple top
• Bolt-on maple neck, 1 7⁄8" wide at the nut, 17 frets clear of the body
• Ebony fretboard, 25.4" scale with a 16" radius
• Schaller tuning machines
• Fishman transducer in the bridge
• Lower bout width:   14 1⁄4"
• Depth:   1 7⁄8"

This guitar was designed by my customer to closely resemble one of the instruments played by the guitarist in a popular band. The top and back are carved from solid blocks, the body is completely hollow and the neck attaches to the body the way it does on a jazz guitar. With the inclusion of a floating bridge and ebony tailpiece, this is really just an archtop guitar of a different shape, but I thought it would fit better in this part of my website.

• Flamed maple top
• Padauk back and sides
• 2 piece flamed maple neck, 1 3⁄4" wide at the nut, 22 frets clear of the body
• Ebony fretboard, 25 1⁄2" scale with a 12" radius
• Schaller tuning machines
• The floating ebony bridge has 2 pieces of brass for the saddle.
• The width is approximately 13 1⁄4" across the widest parts of the lower bout
• Depth at the edges:   2 1⁄8"

This is a larger-bodied version of the previous instrument.

• Koa top, back and sides
• 3 piece flamed maple neck, 1 3⁄4" wide at the nut, 20 frets clear of the body
• Burled walnut peghead veneers
• Ebony fretboard, 25 1⁄2" scale with a 10" radius
• Grover tuning machines
• Seymour Duncan pickups
• The width is approximately 14 1⁄2" across the widest parts of the lower bout
• Depth at the edges:   2 1⁄8"

The cavaquinho is a steel string instrument. I believe it originated in Portugal and gave rise to the ukulele when Portugese sailors introduced it in the Hawiian Islands. I am told that this instrument is very common in Brazilian jazz music. Typically cavaquinhos have 4 strings, and I have made several that way, but this customer wanted a 5 string instrument to accommodate an additional bass string.

• Sitka spruce soundboard
• Indian rosewood back and sides
• Mahogany neck, 1 5⁄16" wide at the nut on the 4 string version
• Lower bout width:  9"
• Depth:   3"

Several years ago I took in a Gibson K1 mandocello for repair. I was intrigued by the instrument and decided to build a copy. The mandocello is among the larger instruments in the mandolin family. The body is 14 1⁄4 wide and about 3" deep at the edges. The scale length is 24 5⁄8" and the neck is 1 5⁄8" wide at the nut.

• Sitka spruce soundboard
• Mahogany back and sides
• Walnut neck
• Schaller tuning machines