Chris Letchford has purchased #5 (which has been in the works for some time) and taken the opportunity to have it built to his specifications. He insisted on having a wenge top, although I had run out building #3. I was lucky to find some just a few kilometers away thanks to a tip from SwedishLuthier over at Project Guitar Forum. It has been in store for over 20 years, making it about as old as my previous batch.
When this is bookmatched, it should give a result very similar to #3. I bought enough for at least 4 instruments. I also got some incredibly light Sapele Mahogany: I have never used this before, but am very excited. It is very resonant and this particular piece felt like Swamp Ash in weight but with a very even color close to maple.
I also cut up the neck blank for #5 and #6 today. This has been the subject of a previous post. The original intention was to make #6 an 8-string, but I might make both of these 7-strings in order to leverage working on several instruments at a time.
#5 (Chris Letchford) specs:
- 7 strings headless EGS design
- Mahogany back with maple neck-through-body center
- Wenge top
- Semi-hollow construction
- Belly carve + arm bevel
- 2 x Lundgren M7 pickups
- 2 position mini-toggle switch (neck/bridge)
- Master volume, master tone
- EGS fixed bridge, custom color blue
- String spacing at bridge 10,5 mm and nut 7 mm
- Rosewood fretboard
- Stainless steel Medium/High frets
- 24 frets
- Double-acting truss rod
- Zero fret
- 25.75″ – 25″ scale, with neutral fret at approximately fret 9 (12 mm difference between outermost bridges)