PRODUCT REVIEW
COLE CLARK
Fat Lady 1 AC
BY ADAM MOORE
persona. The back, sides and neck are all
fashioned from lightly flamed Queensland
maple, a wood originally used as a stand-in
for mahogany, while the fingerboard is made
of solid rosewood. A spruce top is optional
and available. The back is also available in
Tasmanian blackwood.
The fight between commercial viability and
environmental friendliness has always been
present in the business world, but now we see
its subtle creep into the guitar world. Lines
are quickly being drawn in the sand—choose
between exquisite tone and old growth lumber,
or more earth-friendly options being made out
of sustainable woods and space age materials
like carbon fiber. And while neither side is technically or morally correct—tone is, after all, a
beautiful, noble aspiration—it does seem about
time that someone finds a way to bridge the
two worlds, or at least pare down the divide.
Perhaps not surprisingly, an Australian com-
pany has given it the best shot yet. Cole Clark
Guitars, founded in 2001 by former Maton
CEO Brad Clark, have combined modern tech-
nology with sustainable, locally grown woods
to create some of the most unique, afford-
able imports in the market. This month, we’re
stepping into the review chamber with a Cole
Clark Fat Lady cutaway dread-
nought to see just how tone-
ful “eco-friendly” can be.
For the most part, Cole Clark lets the woods
do most of the talking here on this base model;
appointments are kept to a minimum: thin
pinstripes of rosewood surround the soundboard and form the rosette; miniaturized pearl
dots mark the fingerboard; an angular black
pickguard adorns the top; and a stylized three-dimensional headstock displays the company’s
decal, but that’s about it. And the thing is, it
truly works here—the Bunya top gives this Fat
Lady a completely different look from all of the
other spruce and cedar variants out there, while
the absence of binding and a thin satin nitro
finish showcase the seamlessness of the guitar’s
construction. The result is an earthy, natural-looking dreadnought that should win over minimalists and environmentalists alike.
The Fat Lady Up Close
The Fat Lady 1AC is, if
anything, a study in stylish
sustainability. While Cole
Clark acoustics are still built
out of solid woods, they
make use of an entire crop
of native, fast growing
and abundant Australian
woods such as Bunya
pine and Queensland
maple. The Bunya
soundboard is
perhaps the most
striking feature
on this acoustic;
its varied, color-
ful grain—alter-
nating between
tight, light stripes
and wide, deep
browns—gives this
guitar a striking and
immediately recognizable
But don’t be fooled into thinking that the relative lack of ornamentation means that corners
have been cut—quite the opposite, actually.
Even though Cole Clark makes use of CNC
machines during the production of the Fat Lady
to keep the price affordable, the guitar includes
features and attributes unheard of at this price
point. For example, this Fat Lady is reinforced
in all the right places: the guitar makes use
of a variation on the Spanish heel at the neck
joint, which tightly locks the neck block and
body together, giving the Fat Lady a palpable
feeling of “oneness” and great sustain, while
the headstock is grafted onto the neck and
reinforced with a beautifully crafted volute to
add strength. The interior of the guitar dispenses with the age-old X bracing, and instead
uses an internally carved soundboard and two
A-shaped braces, which run the length of the
instrument in opposite directions.
Also of quick note is the guitar’s feather weight
and balance—both Bunya and Queensland
maple are lighter than the traditional woods
