| Life is definitely a "box of chocolates" when
you're dealing with a luthier as imaginative & resourceful as Allan
Beardsell ... you just never know how his next inspiration will manifest
itself! This model 4G with its German spruce top, X-Ray soundhole
rosette, Brazilian rosewood Laskin armrest, frequency compensated
bridge, raised side port surrounds and magnificently figured African
mahogany back & sides, illustrates my point perfectly.
And as many visual points of interest as there are on
the exterior of Allan Beardsell's guitars, they are just as intriguing
on the inside! Looking through the side ports to the interior of
this instrument, it is obvious that the foundation of this brawny
tone is the super rigid "frame" or side structure. The reverse kerfed
lining and double side construction ... deeply figured African mahogany
on the outside & birdseye maple on the inside ... combine to make a
light-but-robust underpinning for the top & back plates.
This frame, in conjunction with the radial back
braces, Allan's own take on the modern X-braced top, and some of the most
inspiring exotic tonewoods in luthierie, have conspired to create
a uniquely intricate but commanding voice! |
