The Endurance

The Endurance guitar is the product of over 10 years of research and development. In my early twenties and had become a huge fan of Allan Holdsworth. I chased his tone relentlessly and as part of that chase I purchased his signature headless guitar. That instrument was much smaller than normal guitars but it somehow felt “right”. As built several iterations of this guitar I made mental notes and continued improving the design. Over the years new hardware manufacturers arrived on the scene and my building methods and ideas improved. One of the main features I wanted was the ability to break this guitar down and have it fit in my carry on luggage. That final piece of the puzzle was only made available to me this year.

I used my favorite combination of woods for this build. I source through various small vendors and pick only the pieces that really speak to me. To prevent myself from rambling I have broken the description of this guitar down into sections.

Wood Selection.

I love the classic combination of Maple and Mahogany. To be more specific, I love maple burl. I can stare at a piece of maple burl for hours, the figure on the wood reminds me of the Crab Galaxy and it blows my mind to thinking about how the inside of a tumor-like growth on a tree can look like a Nebula millions/billions of miles away.

Mohagony is a humble wood, tired and true and I tend to pick it out by its weight. I favor a lighter mahogany and don’t mind the grain too much. I always chamber it because I feel like it allows the wood to breathe and resonate a little better. Chambering the Mahogany allows me to craft the sonic profile I seek out in this particular guitar.

With Necks I love the combination of a Birds Eye fretboard and a Flame maple neck. Aside from quilted maple every variant of figured maple is represented on the guitar, The Birdseye maple matches the character of burl better in my opinion and a high grade flame on the back of a neck is always a show stopper. I have been using “terrified” woods for necks and fretboards for awhile now and definitely prefer them. “Torrified” is a process where the woods are basically baked in an oven, the caramelized color comes from some oil the sugar in maple burning, it also removes moisture presenting you with a bone dry neck which is so important for stability.