Northwood 000-14 Cocobolo

Welcome to a life-changing guitar -- at least for me.

This deep-bodied 000-14 in Engelmann Spruce and Cocobolo has given me so much joy. It is my only acoustic guitar and the only one you would ever need. 

Northwood guitars are handmade exclusively by master luthier John McQuarrie, out of British Colombia, Canada. I have never played a guitar less than $10,000 that felt like it outclassed this Northwood. I always leave a guitar shop impressed with the one I already own. 

Northwoods are rare. Northwoods in Cocobolo, practically mythical. I've only seen two Cocobolo Northwoods come up for sale on Reverb in the past four years. This guitar is at least $4,500 if purchased new. Buy it here and save big. Sorry, no trades.

So, what's so life changing? Well, the 000/OM body size is known for its versatility. Add in a deeper body and you've got resonant bloom and strong bass. Add in the Engelmann/Cocobolo solid wood combination with John's extraordinary skill, his Larrivee legacy of balance across the range, and my words fail. All I often do when I play is smirk and chuckle with happiness. I didn't know I could afford a guitar that made me feel like this. I still get chills. 

The only reason I am selling this life-changing 000 is because I so rarely strum at this point that I am choosing to downsize and upgrade to a Northwood 00 in Brazilian Rosewood. I have mixed feelings, trust me.

This guitar is in excellent condition. I had a clear pickguard and strap pin shipped to me by John McQuarrie. They were professionally installed along with a K&K Pure Mini pick-up. There are some small pin-prick sized dings along the treble side and some swirling along the pickguard and around the sound hole. That's about it in terms of wear. I'm pretty proud of that since I play it practically every day. 
 
I am the second owner of this nine-year old guitar. I have diligently kept it properly humidified. I almost always play in my home and have played it out rarely. I have had it professionally set up twice in its three and a half years with me. Just got another thumbs up from my local luthier again on Dec 2, "You baby your guitars as much as any of my customers."

The one thing that bugs me about this guitar is that there is the slightest of separation at the heel cap. It bugs me simply because it might turn some people off, but I've been diligent in its care and I'm offering it here with confidence. It is worth noting that the guitar came to me like this and it has been stable the entire time I have owned it. I spoke immediately with John McQuarrie about it, including pictures and he gave it a clean bill of health, as have two other professional luthiers who have inspected it personally over the years.

The specs are below. I have personally measured them and checked against other sources to validate. You can find sound clips of this specific guitar by visiting the sold section of Paramount Guitars' website, which is where I bought it.  Check out the embedded video for a review of a similar Cocobolo Northwood by John Fowler of Shoreline Music. Shoreline also has several Northwood 000 reviews on their YouTube page that can add further context to your discernment.

I will always love this guitar and I hope it changes your life as much as it did mine. I have shipped and sold mulitple guitars without incident. This one ships with a D'Addario Humidipak to mitigate any humidity concerns while in transit.

SHIPS DEC 28 OR LATER. Happy holidays!

Specs:

-Top: Engelmann Spruce (beautiful medullary rays everywhere)

-Back/sides: Cocobolo Rosewood (straight-grained, quartersawn)

-80-series trim: abalone rosette, ivoroid fingerboard and headstock bindings, MOP dot fingerboard and bridge pin inlays

-East Indian Rosewood bindings, head stock veneer and heel cap

-Ebony fingerboard, bridge, bridge pins and tuner buttons

-Mahogany one-piece neck

-Bone nut and saddle

-Gotoh tuners

-Clear pickguard, strap pin and K&K Pure Mini Pick-Up professionally installed

-1 13/16" nut width and 2 3/16" saddle string spacing 

-24.9" scale length (hence the 000 designation)

-14 frets to the body (hence the 000-14 designation)

-4 11/16" body depth at lower bout (hence deep-body designation)

-11 5/8" upper bout, 9 7/16" waist and 15 3/16" lower bout

-Original black hardshell TKL case in very good condition included