Masterbuilt #1 is an homage to two of our favorite and timeless designers, Gustav Stickley and Harvey Ellis.  Working together during the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, these men helped shape the timeless style that has become broadly known as “Arts & Crafts.”  Even more importantly, their design aesthetic was based on the principle that form must always follow function — something that we have considered vital to the design of our instruments from the very beginning.  A beautiful instrument that does not sound and play wonderfully is merely a piece of instrument-shaped art, and we have never wanted our instruments to be “just” art.  Masterbuilt #1 features some of the very finest materials that we have available to us and was built between September 2015 and March 2016.  For woods, we used a Roasted Ash body, an English Brown Oak neck and top (a first for us), and an Old-Growth, CITES Certified Brazilian Rosewood fingerboard. The instrument is also loaded with a number of intricate inlays that have been conceived and executed in the “Arts & Crafts” style. The stunning truss rod cover is held in position only by magnets and was meant to mimic a stained glass window.

Specifications

• Roasted Ash Body
• English Brown Oak Neck w/ Brazilian Rosewood Fingerboard
• English Brown Oak Top (Solid)
• 24 Frets, Large Frets
• 34″ Scale Length
• 19mm String Spacing
• Fodera / Duncan Dual Coil Pickups
• Fodera / Pope Custom 3-Band Preamp
• Black Hardware
• Inlay Details