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Ishpingo Classical

$5,600 - Sold

By John Ward Custom Guitars

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I miss this instrument already! I got to play it a bit during the setup process and it played so nicely. It is very light and responsive, and it seems to me like it pulls the music out of the player rather than the player having to push it out. I know that is not a very technical analysis but it is what I felt when I played it. It's very balanced across the strings and it has lots of sustain. The customer who bought this one finger picks a lot of pop music like The Beatles, so sustain is good for him.

The back and sides are Ishpingo, a beautiful wood. It's similar, I would say, to Mahogany in characteristics other than the color. It's also a bit like a Maple but not so bright. The top is Alaskan Sitka Spruce actually from Alaska if you can imagine that! I have had very good results with soundboards from this wood. The fretboard, head plate, and bridge are Machiche —chosen to complement the Ishpingo and the one-piece Cedar neck.

The tuners are Gotoh with the ball bearings that let you tune without the tuner barrels squeaking, expensive but well worth it.

The nut is black Tusq which I really like for its tone and the self-lubricating properties that also help when tuning.

The instrument is in the style of Hauser (think Segovia) but with a Florentine cutaway. It is fan-braced with a diagonal brace. This diagonal gives the soundboard more stiffness on the treble side than on the bass side. Done correctly, you get brilliant highs and really strong, clear lows.

This instrument can be built as a cutaway or non-cutaway.

I would love to make one for you!

A hard case is included.

Contact John Ward Custom Guitars

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