This Arcadia singlecutaway project has been hanging around in my shop for a long time, as some of you might know. I've used it as a guinea pig to try a few ideas on, not the least of which was the stunning heel carve. I had it pictured in my head before I did it, but the only way to truly know was to dive right in and here's the result. I also use this specific piece often to illustrate the idea on a singlecut and frequently recommend it to clients making up their minds about heels or neck/body transitions.




Another feature the instrument has acquired in the last year is this original "celtic" design I developed and inlaid. I cut the outline into the guitar by hand and inlaid it with epoxy and ebony dust which I levelled flush with the guitar body. I define this process for myself as a "tattoo," because I'm not simply painting the design on the surface. It's carved by hand and inlaid about 1/16-1/8" deep into the wood. It'll never wear off, not even if you refinish the guitar years down the road. One thing that distinguishes it from a tattoo on the human skin, however, is that this one won't get all blurry over time!






The body is routed for insetting a tune-o-matic bridge, as you can see, and ready to be drilled for the proper mounting studs. It's drilled for string-through top ferrules of your choice of finish and ready in back for a covered ground plate/stringstop tailpiece. A groundplate isn't necessary using a tune-o-matic bridge, but at one time, I had intended to use a wooden floating bridge on this instrument.



The pickups illustrated, by the way, are Searcy String Works' humbuckers placed here for photography purposes, but are certainly a highly recommended option.









The inlay is from a raw shell I had on hand. The headstock is drilled for Sperzel locking tuners.




I'm pricing this at an unheard of $2,000 plus the costs of hardware, electronics, and case. For all intents and purposes, it's a brand new guitar with no scratches or even shop wear. I just want to move it out of the shop into someone's hands who will play it and appreciate it before I destroy it with another round of alterations. Know what I mean? Please take it, before I mess it up. :)



And for kicks, here're some shots of the journey this instrument has taken.













Right here, right now.



Specifications

Body: chambered maple with bookmatched walnut top

Neck: 5-piece walnut-maple-cherry-maple-walnut w/ 10-degree 3x3 headstock w/ walnut veneer, dual-action trussrod

Fretboard: Indian rosewood, bound with maple

Nut: 1.75" in width

Pickups: your choice

Switching: your choice

Bridge: your choice

Tuners: recommend locking Sperzel 3x3s

Finish: Danish penetrating oil and Tru-Oil


PRICE:

This instrument is no longer available, but please drop me an email if you're interested in a similar instrument.