The Maxwell.
The original inspiration came from a very odd rustic-looking electric guitar spotted in 1986 lying face down in the mud at the old Maxwell Street Market in Chicago. The guitar immediately changed hands for $5 and landed at Specimen.
Its body had been crudely hewn out of a 2" x 12" piece of construction lumber. The fretboard scale length bore no relationship to the bridge location, which made the instrument play in an unbelievably strange intonation. Although it was quite unplayable, there was something about the guitar that made me unwilling to part with it.
Aluminum Maxwell
Amber Maxwell
Maxwell Custom
Denizen Maxwell
Silvertone Maxwell
Pink Maxwell
Jack MaxwellAfter contemplating this curious instrument for nearly four years, I decided to resolve its various design impediments and create a viable instrument of my own that could play up to Specimen standards but still retain the original charm of the Maxwell guitar.