FEATURED GUITAR 2.08
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Style 4 Special "The Hammer"
This Style 4 is one of the biggest guitars I have
built to date. The overall depth of this guitar is
just shy of a dreadnought's, which is especially deep
for my style of building. The aspects that make it
"special" are its Brazilian Rosewood back and sides
and Bear Claw sitka top. We kept the ornamentation
simple. A small amount of ivroid and wood purfling
sets it off. This instrument is a good example of what
I can build that, while not an exact historical
representation of a pre-war instrument as far as
aesthetics are concerned, retains the tone of a
pre-war guitar.
This guitar's nickname, "The Hammer," is very well
suited. It has a truly gigantic and robust sound, full
of harmonic overtones that last for days. I would dare
to say this guitar can hold up next to any pre-war
rosewood dreadnought or instrument of equal size. In
fact I have a 17" Larson Bros-made Prairie State in my
shop, and the comparison is quite astounding. This
guitar possess every bit of what people are looking
for in pre-war rosewood dreadnoughts. It will be heard
over banjos, mandolins, and any nearby explosions.
"The Hammer" has a string spacing slightly wider than
1-5/8" with a bridge spacing of 2-1/8". The scale
length is my mainstay these days of 25.6" which helps
add to the power and sustain. The headstock shape is
my simple "crown" with the Montuoro Guitar Co. pearl
dot logo.
The soundhole has been enlarged from 3-7/8" to 4-1/8".
It is amazing how enlarging the soundhole by just 1/4"
allows the sound to blossom. In theory we are pushing
the soundhole even closer to the center of the X
brace, similar to what is referred to as "forward
bracing". I admit this kind of tone may be way too
much for some people. Oddly enough this guitar was
built for someone who doesn't even use a pic but
wanted a larger guitar. Played finger-style it also
excels, although it may be too large for most
traditional finger-style players. If your playing
style is similar to that of Tony Rice, John Carlini,
or Bryan Sutton look no further. In fact, I invite
them as well to see for themselves.
Frankie Montuoro
2.08
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