This 16" Selmer/Maccaferri-style guitar
is made from choice tonewoods, with a
master-grade solid bearclaw Sitka spruce
top and AAAA-grade solid Indian rosewood back and sides. Like many original
manouche guitars, it has ladder bracing and
a pliure, or seven-degree top crease. Made of
curly maple and rosewood, the traditional
laminated five-piece neck lacks a truss rod,
but is reinforced with carbon fiber.
OOO-SIZE
Laplante most often makes his flattops in
the OOO size first seen on Martin guitars
from the early 1900s—a body style he finds
underrepresented these days and perfect
for fingerpicking. This particular example
has Macassar ebony back and sides and a
master-grade Sitka spruce top. The ebony
fretboard is embellished with a stunning
inlay pattern of vines, and abalone trim
throughout lends to the instrument’s opulence, while an asymmetric ebony bridge
adds a modern touch.
LIL DRAGON
Lil Dragon has a makore back, sides, and
neck, and a carved spruce top. The guitar’s
old-fashioned slotted headstock contrasts
nicely with the modern, slanted elliptical
soundhole. The ornamentation is handsomely sparse, with its simple white and
black binding, save for the elaborate dragon
inlaid with white mother-of-pearl and green
and blue abalone at the highest frets.
