People may not know that guitars are in fact my first love. Before I began building mandolins, my early days in luthiery were spent making guitars. First on my own and then at Larrivée guitars for a time. My approach to building them is similar to my mandolins. They are very traditional in design and materials, and they are of all-hide glue construction.
Presently I’m building Dreadnought-style guitars for bluegrass, folk and country players who appreciate the deep powerful sound they offer. More recently I’ve added a new guitar model. An L-00 style guitar with a 13-fret neck but the same familiar Long scale of a Martin guitar. The power, projection and balance of the first instrument has been remarkable and I’m eager to build more of this model.
This first Wiens L-00 features a one-piece mahogany neck, Hand stained Carpathian spruce top braced with adirondack spruce braces and a maple bridge plate. The back sides, fingerboard, headplate and bridge are all of exquisite ziricote, with it’s dramatic graphic figure exhibiting stalactites, faces, and landscapes
The unbleached Bone nut & saddle and bridge pins further the vintage look while The fretwire is stainless steel for durability and the tuners are Waverly with vintage oval knobs. Hot hide glue is used throughout the construction.
My take on the L-00 has many of the style points of a classic old Gibby but the longer Martin scale of 25.4″, giving it a familiar response and sparkle for those used to the Dreadnought sound. It’s a more comfortable guitar to hold and play however and doesn’t lack in bass. The punch and clarity are exceptional.
The neck is shaped to a familiar pre-war OM pattern and joins the body at the 13th fret. This places the bridge more in the center of the lower bout where it best excites the soundboard resulting in an incredibly dynamic music machine.
This Wiens D28-style Dreadnought features an stunningly clear Adirondack spruce soundboard, with herringbone rosette and purflings and an enlarged soundhole. Indian rosewood back, sides and headplate. The Honduran mahogany neck features twin carbon fiber rods and a stainless steel 2-way truss rod. The ebony fingerboard is adorned with the traditional diamond MOP marker inlays and stainless steel frets with ivoroid binding
The squared off rosewood peghead is all business with Hand-cut Mother of Pearl Logo, ivoroid binding, bone nut, Waverly tuners with vintage oval buttons…And the traditional diamond carved into the back.
