Certified 7™ Series

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The Certified 7™ Series is a guitar made in response to the client looking to capture the tone and mystique of the late 50’s classic solid bodies. My shop and building techniques aren’t much different than the factories of old, so the “feel” of this series is easy for me to capture. The challenge is in the tone and weight of these instruments. The secret here is not only in the techniques, but also in the raw materials; wood, glues, etc.

Over the last 25 years I have scrounged in warehouses, basements and classified ads in search of old stock traditional tonewoods. The reward is a private stock of 25-60 year old Honduran mahogany, korina, pre-CITES Brazilian and East Indian rosewood, maple and more. These private stock, reserved woods coupled with age appropriate hot hide glue and nitrocellulose lacquer, guided by traditional building methods, result in guitars that could be considered “Instant Vintage”.

Available in all body shapes, although, the single cut is the stand out in this series. For the first 25 years of my life as a luthier, I avoided designing a single cut guitar because the iconic nature of the Les Paul made it seem unnecessary. However, after collecting wood, new and old, for over 25 years and being fortunate enough to acquire some true antiquities of lumber, it seemed natural, almost essential, to produce a guitar using the same techniques and materials used in the originals. In order to pay proper homage to both the archetypal template and the ultra rare raw products I now had in my possession, it became compulsory to design a single cut guitar.

With the Certified 7™ single cut, I endeavored to produce a guitar possessing the qualities and mystique of the old-school, coupled with the qualities and sensibility of the new. I wanted this guitar to recall the source of inspiration while maintaining my own signature of design. I am very proud of this guitar and hope to see it endure as its predecessor has. Due to the increasing scarcity of these highly sought after tonewoods, the Certified 7 series will only be made in limited production runs. Call for availability or to get a place in the queue.

BASE PRICE SPECS