It's hard to say which feature the eye focuses on first; the amazing figure of the walnut top or the massive inlay that covers the fingerboard. This is another example of a client approaching me with a fully realized vision, and it was just my job to bring it to life. The body has highly figured crotch walnut on the front and back, with Peruvian walnut used for the body core and neck-thru. The fingerboard is Gaboon ebony with a double binding of morado and maple pinstripe. The pickups, knobs, headstock cap, tuning keys, and backplates are all made from matching figured walnut.

    The inlay was certainly one of the more challenging of my career. This was mainly due to the size of the design and repetitious nature of the leaves. To capture the look of leaves turning their autumn browns, a uniquely colored mother of pearl was used. The pearl was so rare that I found only one importer that carried it, and I bought his entire supply. Morado was used for the branches, and mother of pearl and abalone were used for the moon. Two interesting details are the single bridges used to follow the arch of the body shape, and the inlay pattern extending on to the truss rod cover.