French luthier Frédéric Pons designs his guitars for comfort and simplicity. This special-ordered 7-string Perle is derived from one of Pons’ standard models. The striking open
headstock has been a mainstay for Pons over the past 15 years, and it was designed to
reduce weight, increase string angle at the nut, enhance tuning stability, and look really
cool, to boot. The instrument features a mahogany neck and body, and has two custom
mahogany-veneered Benedetti P-90s. The ebony bridge also contains a Fishman piezo pickup, and there’s a Blend control for mixing output from the three pickups. An active output
lets you send the bridge-transducer signal to an acoustic amp or a PA, while a passive output on the rear of the guitar enables you to send the P-90s to an electric-guitar amp.
kopo.fr
Dmitri Tenev Double-Cutaway
Thinline Archtop
US-based Bulgarian luthier Dmitri Tenev
used reclaimed wood for this stunning
double-cutaway archtop. The top is redwood
with some splaying—a fungus-caused phenomenon that creates intricate black lines—
and the back and sides are carved from claro
walnut. Though sapwood was once destined
for the scrap pile, it’s enjoying a resurgence
because of its aesthetic appeal and the general
consensus that it has no negative affect on
tone. Here, Tenev’s fretboard and appointments are crafted from African blackwood
with sapwood highlights. This guitar also
features a fanned fretboard, a 26" scale on the
bass side, and a 25. 4" scale on the treble side.
Electronics consist of an onboard preamp for
the humbucker and active piezo transducers.
dmtguitars.com
Dudley Custom Guitars
Luthier Peter Dudley uses inlays to
make his guitars conceptual works of
art. He says he doesn’t worry about getting too close to the edges of a fretboard
with his inlays—in fact, he likes having
the artwork exceed the bounds of the
part it originates on. This 24 3/4"-scale
guitar’s 100-piece splatter inlay is rendered in ebony. The hybrid archtop/
semi-hollow mahogany body is finished
in handrubbed nitrocellulose. The
pickups are Peter Florance Voodoo ’ 60
handwound humbuckers. Dudley also
showcased a beautiful snowflake model
that pays tribute to the snowflake inlay
of pre-war Martins—only his version
resembles a snowstorm falling down the
fretboard. Dudley’s attention to detail
goes beyond intricate inlays, though:
Both guitars feature handcarved mahogany necks, RS Guitarworks Superpots,
Jensen paper-and-oil capacitors, and
Gotoh 510 hardware.
dudleycustomguitars.com
Sandberg Guitars
“Photoshopped” California
TM Bass
This eye-catching 5-string by Germany’s
Sandberg Guitars was inspired by a
Photoshopped poster designed to showcase the available options for California
series basses. After fielding multiple
requests for the real thing, they decided
to make it happen. The bass is made
from four blocks of wood that are glued
together prior to being shaped and then
finished separately. Appointments include
a beefy Sandberg bridge and Delano
T-Style and M-Style pickups controlled
by a push-pull Volume (for active or passive tones), a Balance knob for blending
the pickups, Treble and Bass knobs, and a
coil-tap toggle for the bridge pickup.
sandberg-guitars.de
