Overhauling - think of it like an engine swap on a cool old truck, we redo whats under the hood and make sure everything is put into its correct place with new hoses, wires and tires to make sure its fresh for another 200,000. Far better than when new with all the stylings and patina of a vintage antique because that’s exactly what they are. We gut the internal structure and replace it with what has become, since the 1930’s, one of the most agreed upon benchmarks of tone production design - The scalloped, forward shifted X brace.
We reestablish correct geometry of the guitar and place the saddle location in a new bridge for optimal intonation. New frets, new tuners and a perfect setup finish out the process to provide you with a fully remanufactured guitar that been modified for peak performance in both tone, playability, durability and repairability. That is what I mean when I say “Overhaul”.
Defining an Overhaul’s sound - While the industry’s understanding of structural concepts in relationship to tone production will continue to grow, the vast majority of that work has already been done.
For many flat top enthusiasts, the benchmark has been the same: A scalloped X brace. The most sought after of these instruments were made in what is known as the “Golden Era”, when the confluence of said X was nearer to the sound hole than the bridge. This layout that was used on guitars until 1938 has become known as “forward shifted”. The center of the X is the most rigid section of the structure and was later moved back (rear shifted) towards the bridge to make the guitars safer to produce in mass without warranty issues. Since then, these guitars have been highly sought and valued for their “bigger”, more open sound. The forward shifted, scalloped X brace is a time tested design that let’s guitars sound their best. That’s why we focus on that design to brace our Overhauled guitars.
There’s a handful of bracing designs that can make a great sounding guitar, but my approach certainly produces tone that is amongst the greatest. I personally tune every top’s bracing AFTER final setup to guarantee a great sounding guitar every time. The results are undeniable once you’ve experienced an Overhaul.
sustainably vintage
I take deep pride in upcycling these materials that are limited and in some cases, aren’t even available anymore. At no point in our process do we need to use any new woods that are not overly abundant, and most often no spraying new nitrocellulose lacquer .
The flat top, steel strung guitar is the product of early 20th century industrialization. The scale at which those industries consumed materials was destructive for Brazilian Rosewood, some species of Mahogany, Ebony, Tortoise shell and the ecologies from which they came. Remnants of these overburdened commodity trades continue today but we circumvent any of our needs for those materials by upcycling the good bones of these old guitars.
The steel strung guitar defined much of the world’s music of the 20th century in no short part due to its time and place in a rapidly expanding, industrialized global market. The instrument’s development and its adopted place in the musics of countless cultures was defined and enabled by mass production and the subsequent availability of these useful instruments.
Millions of these guitars were made in American manufacturing centers during that time, some with great care and attention to detail, others with only aesthetic flashiness and production rate in mind. What both approaches had in common was their materials - Wood - the real thing and not a composite in sight. Many guitars that were built in haste with corners being cut were still built of high end tone woods because that’s what material was available to them. That fact makes these guitars what I would call “serviceable”, able to be modified into a guitar that tonally and functionally can compete with the greatest of flat top guitars.