Summary

Finish: Lacquer, natural satin

Body Material: So, i’m not 100% sure as to what either the top or body wood of this instrument are as the wood is not domestic, but if I had to guess I would say it appears that the body is Mahogany, and the top is some sort of Zebrawood. Having said that, the wood selection here is quite good looking, and this thing is S-O-L-I-D. Believe it or not, the back and sides of this instrument are about 3/4” of an inch thick, and it is apparent from a few telltale forstner bit tooling marks up inside the instrument towards the upper bout that this body is seamless and was indeed made from one large solid chunk of wood that was then hollowed out with a drill press and then worked to regular dimensions before it was topped with the Zebrawood, which is ladder braced and about 3/32” thick. 

 No kidding, I know it’s hard to believe but i’m serious, don’t think i’ve ever seen something else quite like it in person as far as the style of construction goes here. Even the neck appears to be seamlessly extended from the body, the grain matches up at every visible point, by which I mean to say that the entire instrument has been carved out of one large solid piece of Mahogany, with the exception of the top, the fingerboard, and the headcap. No really, I’m serious. Look closely at the pictures to confirm this, I have done my best to show relevant points that may confirm what I am talking about, specifically around the heel of the neck. Pretty far out to think that this instrument would have started as a large block of mahogany larger than the entire instrument. 

Neck Material: Solid Mahogany, it’s the same piece as the body, as explained above. Fingerboard is Rosewood. Headcap is Rosewood and Maple, 3-pc.

Neck Profile: Chunky D

Fingerboard Radius: Very Subtle, About 20”, basically feels flat

Scale Length: 21 1/2”

Nut Width: 1 3/4”, Bone Nut

Bridge: Solid Rosewood with Bone nut, Hand Carved, strings through from underside

Hardware: Obviously not metal in the least bit, these tuning machines are old-school style friction pegs and seem to be carved out of solid Cocobolo

Case: Comes with original soft shell case, see photo, fits the instrument great.

Repairs/Modifications: Nothing is apparent

Neck Details: This neck is arrow straight and I really doubt that its going anywhere considering the construction of this instrument

Action: About.175” across, measured at the 12th fret, although the body joint is at the 9th fret, putting the 12th pretty far up over the body. Action at the 9th fret is about .150” across.

Fret Wear: These frets are in great shape!

General Cosmetic Condition: This instrument is looking good all around. There is a small dent in the topside edge of the instrument on the lower bout, traditionally treble side (Bass side in the case of the instrument, due to the string gauges), but it is very minor. Not much else to point out, it’s in great shape and a fine looking instrument!

Other Notes: Well, I will go ahead and say that this instrument is a whole lot of fun to play and experiment with, as well as having a pretty sweet plucky and thick bass-y kind of tone. Having said that, it's a bit tricky to keep in tune with the friction pegs and current string gauges, which was how the instrument was strung when it came into my life. Having said that, I've got no idea what i'm doing with this thing outside of just finding a tuning that sounds good to my ear and holds tension and going from there. I'm not sure if the current string gauges are proper for the instrument as far as what a traditional tuning might be, the two thicker colored strings seem to really want to slip the nut unless tuned pretty specifically, so some work could definitely be done there, as in maybe filing the slots down lower or trying a different string gauge. 

 Anyway, I really enjoy this instrument and was considering keeping it around to noodle on, but believe that it would be much better off in the hands of someone who could make something more of it than myself. Feel free to ask any question and I will be happy to answer to the best of my abilities, as this is a bit of a funny one. My client told me that this specific instrument was named "Leona", after a woman that the Luthier Mr. Enriquez once knew. Thanks for looking!