I like to have a guitar like this available most of the time, but they dont stay long. The Falstaff is a classic design, so versatile and comfortable.

Using Brazilian Rosewood raises the game in every respect, its as if there is more going on in every aspect of sound - more volume, more potential power in the sense that you can play it harder, greater range of tone, added brightness to the treble and added warmth to the bass.

This particular set of wood is some more of the reclaimed material from a trusted source, of course with the legal paperwork should it be needed. The back is a glorious slab of deep colour- Rio being one of the timbers where "slab" sawing is far less of an issue than it would be with some timbers, and is actually a necessity if the full colour and grain of "Dalbergia Nigra" is to be seen. The soundboard is very fine grain European spruce - despite popular opinion, there is a lot of beautiful timber still available, but only in restricted quantities.

The neck is a laminate of mahogany, thick ebony lines and a centre section of mystery wood. When I find out what it is, I will need to contact quite a number of people and tell them what their guitar is made of!

For decoration, the bindings are my current passion, burr yew, with green abalone diamonds in the fingerboard, and a head veneer of Rio to match the body. Silky smooth Gotoh 510 tuners, 441/2mm neck.