219 – 091020 ZLP-SH – Zachary Handcrafted Guitars | Bass| Pedals | Strings

Inspiration

I usually get an obsession for a particular style of guitar I want to build. This is the case for the series of Les Paul style guitars I have been building. Also, I find certain boards in my stash of wood and the wood itself gives me inspiration. I look at the wood and know instantly what guitar it is appropriate to turn it into. Not all woods are appropriate for every guitar style. In fact, its sacrilegious to see what tinkerers commit in terms of heresy. Innovation must complement guitar tradition, not debase it. Tinkerers know NOT what they do and they are NOT artists.

I came across this beautiful board of Limba wood and also some matching Limba neck blanks. I knew they had to go together in a new guitar creation. What is remarkable is that the body is one solid piece. This is rare to find in Limba. This makes this guitar extra special and rare. I first wanted to make it a solid body but the problem I had was that the solid Limba body would have been too heavy. So I had to make it a semi-hollow body, which meant that I needed to add a top. A laminated top would not be appropriate. Again, only a tinkerer would put a laminated top on this otherwise solid, exotic-wood guitar. I found a mildly-figured, flame-Maple top that fit the theme perfectly. This was going to be a fancy build from the start, so the solid, exotic wood cried out for gold hardware, modern tuners, string eyelets and Ebony fingerboard. I also wanted to continue with using my newly invented MagPoleBucker pickups, which I fabricated and wound, adding the required coil-cut mini-switch. These innovative pickups give this guitar high versatility in tone, giving it both a Fender and a Gibson character. The finished guitar weighs in at a meager 6.4 lb.

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