This guitar was commisioned by my 5 year old niece Katelyn. She took me aside a couple months ago and asked: "Uncle Dave, can you build me a heart shaped guitar? It can be any color you like but I really like pink." How could I refuse such a heartfelt request?

The design was driven solely by the aesthetic requirements of the guitar. The bracing system is a modified X-brace with multiple finger braces on the treble and only one on the bass side of the soundboard. This configuration allows the bass side to vibrate more freely while maintaining a stiff treble side. The interesting thing abou the heart shape and that way the neck attaches is that there is an extra large area of the soundbox on the bass side. The profile of all the braces are parabolic to allow a more even vibration along their length. The back bracing is an x-brace system that will add significant low end response and increase the projection. This is necessary for such a small bodied guitar.

The bridge design takes from the Benedetto tailpiece in that there will not be any bridge pins. Instead there will simply be a hole with a slot that will hold the ball end of the string in place. This way there are 6 less pieces that can be lost.

The finish is Tru Oil for ease of application and repair. The inside has been given one coat of the oil to try and keep it safe from orange juice spills, rain, etc.

So far the body produces an excellent tap tone for the size. The soundboard is Sitka spruce that has been aged for 2 years in my shop. It had some mold on it that was cut away from the heart pattern. The back and sides are cutoffs from acoustic guitar #012. Very nice quilted maple with an excellent tap tone. The neck is a two piece mahogany joined down the middle. It is lightweight and resonant. The binding is intensly flamed koa with a nice b/w purfling. There will be a custom padded soft case hand made by my mother included with the guitar. I think Katelyn will love it.

Tomorrow this guitar will be strung up. We'll see how it sounds. I'll update the gallery in a few days with some new pictures.

Heart Shaped Acoustic #014

Body: Quilted Maple
Top: Sitka Spruce
Fingerboard: Bolivian Rosewood
Binding: Curly koa with b/w purfling
Scale Length: 22-3/16"
Frets:19

Inlay: Mother of Pearl
Tuners: Gotoh
Finish: Tru Oil