So…Stewart dropped by and showed me his Blueberry Groove.
Things I noticed-
1. The top is standard thickness ( approx-3.3 mm) to the top of the grooves. The grooves eat up about .75 mm in thickness and are spaced about the same distance apart. The grooves are placed for aesthetic appeal and do not appear to be strategically placed however I suspect if the grooves were in a uniform symmetry all across the top, lateral top stiffness would suffer greatly.
If the grooves were cut in the inside of the top, too much gluing surface area would be removed and brace/top failure would be the likely result.
2. The bracing is a non-traditional double X pattern and braces are approx. 6.4 mm thick.
3. Fingerboard, bridge and bridge plate is rosewood.
4. Headstock is not garish or overdone . It’s a simple rectangular cut ”Martinish” style headstock that is also grooved for visual symmetry.
5. The neck has grooves placed at the fret markers for a textured feel against your thumb to give a tactile indicator of where your hand is placed along the fretboard.
6. All glue joints , purfling and bracing is impeccably done.
7. Body is Sapele and top is spruce. I suspect Sitka but Blueberry calls it Alaskan Spruce.
8. Neck is a 3 piece laminate and appears to be dovetail neck joint. Also it is a 2 piece mahogany heel.
9. Nut width is 1-11/16 “.
10. The guitar has a very solid tone and impressive bass response ( for a “hog”). Projection is very adequate as well.
11. Finish of the guitar is an oil rub rather than a poly or nitro composition. Type unknown.
Overall thoughts- Fretwork was better done than previous Blueberries I’ve seen all be it they were post production models. Setup was very nice for average playing however when strummed aggressively, some fret buzz was noticed. Stewart’s guitar has been worked and definitely passed around a bit. The cosmetic war wounds it has sustained were noticeable however non-detracting. At worse case, the tops of some of the grooves had been damaged but again, it did not detract from the overall appearance.
Long term usage I think will cause dirt to show in the wood along the tops of the damaged grooves.
The Bridge plate showed premature wear around where the string ball rests and some damage either through improper string changes or the bridge plate itself was softer than normal resulting in considerable chipping and wear. This resulted in the tone being compromised I am certain but it was still very impressive. A maple bridge plate would be a big improvement IMO but I lean toward sugar maple bridge plates in any guitar.
There you have it from my perspective. No gimmicks that I can spot. Don’t take my word for it however. I'm just a nobody. The MAN said, if you want to try one, give him a shout. It just costs you freight to try it.
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