This David Nichols OO style guitar demonstrates Nichol’s high degree of familiarity with pearl inlay – it looks like it was easy for the builder to do, a sure sign that it isn’t. This David Nichols OO style guitar is a great example. Dave Nichols has spent decades doing custom inlay work, including a lot for the Martin Guitar company, and he’s chosen the classic designs and here, the ‘Style 41’ inlay set executed in Mother of Pearl and Abalone.
Mother Of Pearl
Here is a lovely Deering Calico Blonde 5-String banjo, built in Lemon Grove California, just before Deering Moved to Spring Valley. Deering started business as a banjo company in 1974, working from a shop in Lemon Grove, California. By 2001, the business had grown and new premises were opened just a few miles east in Spring Valley.
This Stelling Golden Cross Open Back banjo was originally a resonator model but was converted to open-back by Geoff Stelling. As with other Golden Cross banjos, the neck and rim are Maple, with Ebony for the fingerboard; inlays and the truss rod cover are Mother of Pearl. This is a very attractive instrument!
Now discontinued but based on the classic 14-fret OO sized body, the Larrivee OO-05 pairs a Sitka Spruce top with tropical Mahogany for the sides, back and neck, with Ebony for the fingerboard and bridge. This fine example dates to December 13, 1993 and was built in Victoria, British Columbia.
Here is a spectacular rarity – the Martin D-42 Purple Martin, #38 of 50 built during 2018 and featuring a fantastic inlay set. Based on the classic Dreadnought design and pairing a bearclaw-figured Englemann Spruce top with Katalox for the sides and back, this is an example of Martin’s work at its finest. Katalox, sometimes known as ‘Mexican Royal Ebony’ and formally named ‘Swartzia cubensis’, is a hardwood sourced from southern Mexico to northern South America.
Here’s a lovely Huss & Dalton OM Custom built during 2002 and in very clean original condition, sporting a ‘Stingray’ inlay set and Abalone rosette ring. Built using the well proven Orchestra Model design, the Huss & Dalton OM Custom features an Adirondack Spruce top with tropical Mahogany for the sides, back, body blocks and neck. The bridge is ebony, the fingerboard binding is also ebony , the body binding is tortoise and the head plate is Indian Rosewood.