When considering tone, we wanted to retain the qualities that Jim's guitars have been known for: clarity, tonal range and versatility. 

One tonal characteristic we did address was warmth. We wanted to warm up the sound a little - take down the brightness just a bit while retaining clarity. We like to say "where warmth and clarity intersect." Our goal is to provide a platform that the player can use as a foundation for their personal vision.

After some exploration and prototyping, we decided to combine Spanish Cedar bodies with Sitka Spruce or Western Red Cedar tops.

To our ear, the Spanish Cedar provides a smoother, more rounded tone than some other body choices and the Spruce and Western Red Cedar tops complement the warmth while adding the clarity, dynamic range and responsiveness we are after.

The Tone Chain

We think of tone as a chain of connected components - the Tone Chain. Here's what we mean:

String-through Design

sustain, resonance, harmonic content, tighter low-end response

It starts with our string-through design, with the strings passing through a brass string ferrule block on the back of the guitar. The brass block provides a solid anchor point for the guitar and efficiently transfers vibrations from the strings to the guitar body and top. The dense brass block also contributes some lower frequencies, resulting in a warmer and fuller tone.

Wood Combinations

warm, inviting tone that retains clarity and articulation

Spanish Cedar

warm, open, balanced, resonant, smooth

Sitka Spruce and Western Red Cedar

clarity, resonance, articulation, dynamic range

Spanish Cedar Body + Sitka Spruce / Western Red Cedar Tops

Pairing these woods results in a balanced tonal spectrum. The warmth of the Spanish Cedar body complements the clarity and projection of the spruce and western red cedar tops. The combination produces a guitar with a warm, inviting tone that retains clarity and articulation.

Bridge Block Size and Placement

clarity, sustain, increased midrange, and warmth

Our bodies are completely hollow except for a small block under the bridge. The bridge block is part of the body (not added) and contributes to sustain, increased midrange, and warmth. The block also eliminates feedback.

Tiltback Peghead

clarity

We use a tilt-back peghead design to add tension on the nut.  We feel this provides a small bump in clarity to the notes.

Lindy Fralin PAF Pickups

clean, clear tone; clarity and articulation; pronounced midrange

We are using several flavors of Lindy's PAF pickups. Our choices reflect our goal to provide a clean tone with good midrange to act as the platform for the player to shape their sound.  Lindy has several pickups that perfectly meet our needs.

We will occasionally select a set of pickups from other makers that can add a little variety to the mix yet still meet our tonal goals.

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