Guitar Label
This label was developed to be glued into our completed projects. The house in the logo is the famous Nuttby Mountain house that became an icon in Northern Nova Scotia for over 40 years. I have sold many copies of my shots of this building over the years. Sadly in 2006 the building finally succumbed to the elements.
This logo is inspired by the Collings guitar logo which features a scene from their area of the US.
08-FEB-2008
Wile Guitar Collection
Here's a shot of the guitar's we have built to date - an eclectic mix!
Gibson F5-G
One of our all-time favourite instruments. Without question, the Gibson F5 is the gold standard in Mandolins in the world. This model is a 2004, which has an awesome sound and continues to improve with age.
RAW Custom Mandolin
This mandolin was our first foray into building an acoustic instrument. Very simple without any binding or high-end features; producing a neat sound. The maple burl fingerrest is from some wood my dad found for me, and some of it has found its way into every instruemnt I have made to date.
Archtop Guitar #1
In my opinion, the archtop guitar represents the pinnacle of the guitar building craft. It was for this reason I set out to attempt this danting task. I hope you agree I have met the challenge.
The archtop guitar has a number of traditional attributes which are important to adhere to, much like the finest violins in the world, European tonewoods are demanded. This instrument uses the finest Carpathian spruce from Northern Italy, and European maple from the old forests of Germany. The top and back are carved by hand to create a very thin drum-like membrane to transmit the sound of the strings for that classic archtop sound. The maple neck is hand carved and shaped to maximize the playability of what is really a large guitar.
The tailpiece, fingerest and headstock overlay all incorporate my maple burl overlay, which is becoming a trademark attribute of my instruments. Most of the direction and inspiration for this guitar comes from Bob Benedetto who is the finest archtop builder in the world. His book "Making an Archtop Guitar", as well as a few personal tips from the master himself; made this project possible.
This guitar has already been played in public, and truly presents that 40's jazz vibe that these guitars are known for - I hope you feel the same.
000-14 Flamed Maple Guitar #2
This was a guitar made by my son and I. A six-month project requiring lots of patience. The body is Flamed Maple with Cocobolo bindings and inlay we made from scratch. The spruce top was braced by hand by my son and all inlay was done by hand. The abalone "R" inlay in the headstock is becoming a trademark for our work.
000-12 Brazilian Rosewood Guitar #3
This guitar incorporates many attributes to make it a very special instrument. The Western Red Cedar top gives the guitar a warm voice for a small bodied instrument. The very stunning Brazilian Rosewood Back & Sides were recovered from a house in Brazil where they used this wood for structural beams - WOW! Brazilian rosewood is the creme-de-la-creme of guitar tonewoods and the sound of this set does not disappoint. Accented with the bloodwood body binding and my trademark maple burl endpiece, makes this truly a feast for the eyes. Enjoy!
Koa 000-14 Guitar #4 (Kim's Guitar)
Another small body 14-fret guitar. This time I wanted to use some of that Koa I have been hoarding for a special occasion. If Brazilian Rosewood is the King of tonewoods, well Koa has to be the Queen. With the flamed maple binding this presents a nice contrast to the wood and sets everything off nicely.
