WELCOME TO MY NEW WEBSITE !
5 NEW 2017 Desmond Guitars For Sale!
2017 PEARL BEAUTY II
$13,000.00
NEW 2017 Desmond Pearl Beauty II, "Especial Model". German Spruce top with Camatillo Rosewood back and sides. Sides are doubled with Indian Rosewood laminated on the inside of the Camatillo Rosewood outside, for a total thickness of more than 4mm's. Camatillo Rosewood back is thicker than normal, thus contributing to the very stiff sound box, which is also quite heavy. The idea of my double sided guitars is to make a strong sound box which will support an average thickness top, allowing the top to work more efficiently and thus producing a louder guitar with a more FOCUSED projection of sound. This is similar to the philosophy of a Greg Smallman guitar, but without the ultra thin top and carbon reinforced lattice bracing. What I'm doing with my double sided guitars is to attach a more conventionally thicknessed top, say 2.3mm's-2.7mm's, to the double sides and also use a thicker back than normal, 3.0mm's-3.5mm's thick. I brace these tops with either my Desmond "GRID" bracing, OR a relatively standard fan bracing, however, with additional cross braces which creates a partial GRID bracing, a la Daniel Friederich. I have found that the best sounding guitars have soundboards that are slightly thicker than a thin Spanish top, and with more bracing. The best trebles come from tops that are thicker and well braced. Custom designed one of a kind rosette made by myself. This PB II guitar has beautiful Nickel Silver tuning machines with White Mother of Pearl buttons, handcrafted by Rob Rodgers in Nova Scotia. Scale length is 650mm's with an additional 2 mm's of string compensation. Action is 4/3mm's with plenty of saddle to go lower. The guitar is entirely finished in shellac, applied using the tedious French polish technique. A TKL double arched hardshell case comes with the guitar. THIS IS AN INCREDIBLE SOUNDING GUITAR! Powerful and focused, with singing trebles and ample basses. Sound is a difficult thing to explain, but that said, this is a very special guitar. Every musician that has played it fell in love with it! They all believe that it is perhaps the best of the 5 new Desmond guitars. But alas, sound is a subjective subject from musician to musician. My NEW 2017 Cedar/Indian RW guitar is a close second to this one, if not better sounding. Tough to say. Any questions? Call me at 407-452-8750. 3/20/17
2017 Desmond "STEINWAY" Guitar
$11,000.00
This is my NEW 2017 Desmond "STEINWAY" guitar. The top on this guitar is made from a discarded 1910 Steinway Model "O" piano sound board, serial #142179. I build this guitar for Jim Truby, but upon completion, he could not afford to buy it. The sound board on this guitar came from Jim's 1910 Model "O" Steinway. The sound board on his piano was replace in 1994, if I'm not mistaken, after it caved in a bit and had to be replaced. Jim saved this original sound board and asked me to build him a guitar from it. Well, here it is! Traditional fan bracing on the inside of the top, but with some additional cross braces strategically placed in between the fan braces on the treble side only. Back and sides are made from nice quality Flamed Maple. This is NOT one of my double sided models. It is a light weight, traditional guitar. Fingerboard is Ebony, as is the bridge. Tuning machines are the new and improved Irving Sloane machines built these days by Waverly. These are excellent machines since they have been redesigned! Scale length is 650mm's plus 2mm's of string compensation. This guitar plays very easily and is a joy to hold and play! It has deep sounding basses and beautiful and clear singing trebles, a bit on the warm side due to the Maple soundbox. I would say this guitar is moderately powerful. Custom made rosette, a la Antonio Torres, made by myself. The back on this guitar is a 3 piece back, with the inner wedge being of Brazilian Rosewood. The head face veneer also has a matching wedge of Brazilian Rosewood. This is a relatively light weight guitar, and it's entirely finished in shellac hand applied in the French polish method. Frets are my standard High/Medium Wide nickel silver. Action is designed and set up at 4/3mm's with plenty of room to go lower. Comes in a double arched TKL hardshell case. Please call me if you have any questions. 407-452-8750. Bob 3/20/17
2017 Desmond Cedar/Indian Rosewood
$10,000.00 SOLD
Above is my NEW 2017 Cedar/Indian Rosewood Double Sided guitar. This is an incredible guitar! Very warm, but powerfully loud with excellent projection. It's pretty much a CANNON, but extremely warm, very clear, and musical. Back and Sides are Indian Rosewood, with the sides being doubled with Indian Rosewood for a total side thickness of about 4.5mm's. The back on this guitar is thicker than a normal back, being around 3.5mm's thick. This all makes for a heavier guitar and a more sturdy sound box, which allows the top to pump air more efficiently. The Cedar top is GRID braced in the Desmond way. This guitar as well as my new Spruce/Brazilian Rosewood has a new prototype "Sliding Door Sound Port", an idea I have been toying with for many years. The deal is, I LOVE sound ports as long as they aren't too big. That said, not every player likes sound ports. This way, the player has the choice of sliding the door all the way open, or closing it all the way, or somewhere in between! It's a great device and it allows the player to decide. That said, it is limited to the maximum size THAT I LIKE. If a sound port is too large, then the volume of sound coming through the port becomes too loud and influences the guitar's sound too much. So, personally, I like my sound port on the smaller side. But I do like having that sound port open. The tuning machines on this guitar are made by "Sheller" from Germany, not to be confused with the cheapo tuning machines made by the Shaller company from Germany. I have found that Sheller tuning machines are perhaps the best tuning machines "mechanically" in the world! I'm a fan and this guitar has them! These tuners cost me about $450.00 per set, shipping included. They are just THE BEST. Fingerboard is Ebony. Bridge is Indian Rosewood. Scale length is 650mm's plus 2mm's of string compensation. Rosette is my own design custom made by myself. Guitar is entirely finished in shellac applied with the French polish method. Guitar comes in an arched top TKL hardshell case. Please call me if you have any questions about this beautiful sounding guitar! 407-452-8750 Bob 3/20/17
2017 Desmond Spruce/Brazilian Rosewood Double Sides $10,000.00.
Available at Savage Classical Guitars 631-335-5447
Above is my new 2017 German Spruce topped guitar with Brazilian Rosewood Back and sides. It's one of my "Custom" models. Sides are doubled inside with Indian Rosewood for a total side thickness of over 4mm's. Brazilian Rosewood back is thicker than normal, about 3+mm's, which makes for a heavy sound box. The heavier and more solid sound box allows the soundboard to work more efficiently, thus producing a louder guitar with a more focused projection. Top is GRID braced in the usual Desmond way. Top thickness is medium thick, about 2.5mm's at it's thickest and 1.8mm's at it thinnest. This is a wonderful sounding guitar with clear and strong trebles, good mid ranges and ample bass. Scale length is 650mm's plus 2mm's of string compensation. Tuning machines are made by "Sheller" in Germany and are perhaps the best tuning machines mechanically on the market today. I LOVE these tuning machines and will be using them on some of my best guitars into the future! Fingerboard is Ebony and bridge is Brazilian Rosewood. Custom designed rosette made by myself. This guitar has my prototype "Sliding Door Sound Port" built in. This is a feature that I am experimenting with and I LOVE it! Basically, it allows the player to adjust the amount of monitored sound coming back in the direction of the player's left ear, mainly. I have found that "less is more". I usually open the sliding door until it forms an open "circle" and that is enough for my taste. Or it can be opened all the way or closed all the way. It's all up to the player's desires. Guitar is completely finished with shellac applied in the French polish method. Comes in an arched top TKL hardshell case. Action is set up at 4/3mm's as are all of my current guitars, with plenty of room to lower the action to Flamenco height. If you have any questions about this guitar, please give me a call at 407-452-8750. Thanks. Bob 3/21/17
2017 Desmond Spruce/Quilted Maple Double Sides $12,000.00
Above is my new 2017 Desmond German Spruce topped guitar with Quilted Maple sides and back. Sides are doubled with Flamed Maple laminated on the inside for a total thickness of over 4+mm's. Quilted Maple back is thicker than normal, which creates a stronger sound box, and enables the top to work more efficiently. German Spruce top is GRID braced in the Desmond way. This guitar is one of my "Especial" models, which means I use the very best materials, upgraded decoration and best tuning machines available. Speaking of tuning machines, this guitar has custom made tuning machines by Rob Rodgers in Nova Scotia. Side plates are engraved brass and buttons are White Mother of Pearl. These are exquisite tuning machines and mechanically excellent as well. Rosette is custom designed and handmade by myself. The custom made head and back decoration matches the rosette decoration, and it is also inlaid in the bridge tie block. Fingerboard is Ebony and bindings and bridge are Cocobolo Rosewood. Scale length is 650mm's plus an additional 2mm's of string compensation. Guitar is finished entirely in shellac hand applied using the French polish method. This is a gorgeous sounding Maple guitar. Not as dark sounding as a Rosewood instrument, but rather, "creamy" sounding and warm sounding, with beautiful clear trebles, good mid range and good bass. It is fairly powerful despite the fact that it is not a Rosewood sound box. Visually, this guitar is stunning! It's comfy to hold and easy to play, with a standard action of 4/3mm's and plenty of saddle to go lower. Guitar comes in a double arched TKL hardshell case. Any questions, please call me at 407-452-8750. Bob 3/21/17