I just came across this post, and wasn’t sure if I should chime in or not, but it's a subject dear to my heart. I couldn't be happier with the way this whole thing worked out. At the beginning Richard said we could do anything I wanted. So it was a spare-no-expense dream situation for sure. It’s clearly not for everyone, but for me personally, it’s perfect for everything I do; fingerstyle, flatpicking… It’s the only guitar I own (I have two of them), and I never think about other guitars anymore.
It's been six years now since we designed this guitar. I understand it has gone on to to be the best selling signature model for them, besides the Tony Rice of course. A lot of people probably don't know how endorsement deals work, but I don't get any kind of piece of that. I have no financial interest in the sale of the guitars whatsoever. But I do get a big kick out people getting in touch and saying they are very happy, seeing them in stores, reading reviews, etc.
I also was not crazy about the idea of signature models. And for that reason it was a very conscious thing from the beginning not to have any obvious personalization, like an inlay of my favorite cat or something. I just wanted it to be something that anyone would see at a store and find it appealing in an old school, simply appointed kind of way. And being a huge acoustic guitar nerd myself, I just wanted it to be truly great to a large amount of people, yet reflect my own personal preferences in tone and playability. And of course people can order them anyway they like. I have seen quite a few custom variations over the years. I've seen them in Brazilian, mahogany… with a cutaway, sunburst, narrower necks, wider necks. I've even seen it as 000…
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