This instrument is in our Dutch Auction!
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On Feb 17th our power went out which affected the computer that runs our Dutch auction We apologize for not having a price drop on that day, but it was beyond our control.
We had so much fun with our last Dutch Auction we decided not to wait before putting another exceptional guitar on the auction block. We're not going to bother auctioning off misfits or leftovers, instead we're going to continue putting up top-notch instruments.
Next up is a J-112 model by famed independent luthier Roy McAlister. This is roughly the same shape as Santa Cruz F model, or a Collings SJ, and all were inspired, at least initially, but the Gibson J-185, often called a "16 inch Jumbo." With its narrow waist and rounded upper and lower bouts, this guitar shape is ideally suited to a cutaway, giving the player the same access all the way up to the 20th fret that you'd get with an electric guitar.
Roy McAlister honed his woodworking chops from fine furniture to guitarmaking at the Santa Cruz Guitar Company in the early 1990s. After several years with SCGC, Roy struck out on his own and one of the first guitars made under his own name went to David Crosby. Crosby's rave reviews of the instrument in Acoustic Guitar Magazine, and his almost gospel-like zeal in promoting Roy's work, led to models made for Jackson Browne, Robbie Fulks, and many other well-known artists.
Roy McAlister has taken some artistic liberties with this one and added some impressive faux tortoise-shell (celluloid) appointments. The body binding is purpleheart, but despite the name the wood in this case is a lovely reddish hue that matches the tortoise-shell coloring quite well. The back of the headstock, headstock binding, neck binding, and heelcap are all beautiful tortoise-shell celluloid, as is the purfling around the perimeter of the top. Other details include 1-3/4" Nut Width, 2-3/16 string spacing at the bridge, 25.4" scale length, gold Gotoh 510 tuners with ebony buttons, pearl edgedots for fret position markers, and blue paua soundhole rosette.
Many guitars made with Zircote (also spelled Ziricote) back and sides as being heavy, but not this one! Roy instead achieved remarkable balance, both in weight as well as sound, perhaps the European spruce top is part of that success. The sound is impressive, as one would expect, and although the bass is focused and powerful the treble is clear and distinct, We like the "dry" aspect of the sound not often heard in modern, larger bodied guitars made with dense tropical hardwoods. Guitars of this size made with Zircote often have a dark, almost muddy overall tone, but the sound of this example is quite the opposite. Zircote, by the way, is from southern Mexico and Central America, and although the wood is not exactly rare, pieces with this kind of grain and coloring are hard to find, especially in this size.
Of course you can find out more about Roy McAlister and his guitars by going to McAlister's website, where you'll have the option of buying a somewhat similar cutaway J model, but with myrtle back and sides and less binding detail, for only $6,000. Needless to say, replacing this Zircote example, with jewelry-like binding details, would be far more than that if you decide you simply must have a new example. But Roy's a great builder, and we'd be the last to say his guitars are overpriced, in fact among independent luthiers who work strictly solo, his work is considered to be a bargain. And of course that means that this slightly used example, which is in pristine condition, is an opportunity for you to get a truly handmade-by-one-guy guitar for about what you'd expect to pay for a nice East Indian rosewood/Sitka spruce model from a large manufacturer.
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