photo/Ray Reiss

• Fully-acoustic aluminum body

• Bird's eye maple neck with aluminum facing on headstock

• Ebony fretboard

• Banjo tuners

• Mini- humbucking pickup in neck position

• Fishman Transducer pickup in ebony bridge

• Volume and tone controls

• Custom-made aluminum tailpiece with sculpted ebony insert

When plugged in with a regular mono cable, its mini-humbucker provides a feedback resistant electric signal. When used with a stereo 1/4-inch cable plugged into a Fishman Power Blend pedal, its transducer in the bridge surreptitiously accompanies the humbucker via a third wire. This enables either a stereo or combined output with a broad and complex tone pallet.

I have always been critical of transducer units, but I believe that the technology has finally matured. And, coupled with the sustain of aluminum, the sound of this instrument is truly stunning. It's like listening to a guitar through a microscope. A tiny drop of water teaming with life.