I'm speechless. And drooling quite a bit. She's beautiful, Alex. Looks so sweet and classy. A masterpiece jewel. I love it. Like a sweet petite brunette wearing only a pearl necklace. Yummy! ;-) A totally different beast from say, Jess Jess, but every bit as good in a different way. I bet that thing purrs like a cat when you stroke it.

No markers on the fingerboard, great. Smooth. That Pau Ferro is the darkest one I've ever seen, almost like Ebony. Just when all these flashy "luthiers" have made me think I hate flame maple, you come up with this. It's refreshing to see that it really does look good. And it's a shame they kill that beautiful wood with those horrible vomit-burst 1" thick paint jobs.

Lovely piece of Walnut on the back, like a piece of fine Belgian or Swiss milk chocolate. I like the way you can see where the maple and walnut join, on the back of the "axe-blade", you know, with that maple corner opposed to the walnut back. Nice contrast. I've seen that on several of your guitars, and always liked it. Love the plugs too. Gotta have those. Suddenly, I no longer want that fur guitar strap. Look what you did, you gave me an attack of class! No leopard-skin pants for me! You'll have me playing jazz next. That Mono-spring trem really looks inviting. I hope the lucky man that gets this guitar will know how to handle it.   David (Belgium)

This guitar was shipped directly to Eli in NYC where the owner picked it up and spent some time with Eli playing it. I also wanted Eli to see the guitar and test the MonoTrem and the longer trem arm. Here is what Eli had to say.

YO MAN!!! this is one fun guitar! Between the short scale and the ultra sensitive trem it is practically another breed. Still has that Zach effect tho. Clear and balanced. The sound/feel is related but it is its own thing. Wild. Feels fantastic. I still maybe prefer the little extra bite of the 25 but this is different and fantastic and relaxed and fluid as hell to play. I just love it. I have called the chef and he will be over shortly. Can't wait to share this amazing and revolutionary new instrument with him. You rule. Somebody should just give you a couple mill and leave you alone to just create guitars. -Eli

I also "begged" him to play that guitar every day because it is so goddamn good and needs to be played. It is good only for that. To not have that guitar played would be almost obscene. If I believed in god it would be a sin. ha ha.

It sounds and performs like nothing else. Amazing Amazing. The tone through my amp is simply fantastic. Not as cutting as The Shadow, a little smoother and "lighter". and yet you can lay into it a little w/ great results. ALSO I can play w/ just hammering and pulling w/ my left hand while going buck wild w/ the incredible feather touch trem. It is supernatural!! Like talking or singing or something. That neck is something else as well. Are you using a new wax finish on the necks now? it feels very smooth. Also it is very slim. Different from my 2 Zachs but also super awesome. "Super Awesome" he he I sound like an idiot. -Eli

My conversation with Eli about this guitar.

> Did you play with it much?
I would say about 2-3 hours. Enough to totally feel comfy on it. That short scale is just butter to play. You touch it and the notes come out clear and warm.

It is interesting how your guitars vary but then after a bit each one becomes "the best". In a way they are all the best because they are intrinsically musical and balanced.

> How did you find the tuning stability?
As far as I could tell it was just as stable if not more so, than the shadow. Good work there!! That trem is so sensitive! It is so much fun. I think I will leave The shadow as is only because when you bend, the bridge on the mono trem starts to move right away and the other strings go down in pitch and for my more "restrained" style the stability when bending is the priority. I wish I could touch a button and have it go from one to the other haha. On the 26 I bet this mono trem is even something else....

If you use distortion a lot I think the mono trem is the way to go. Like singing. Either way, your latest innovation is a total success.

> Yes the neck is slimmer. I make necks in batches. Depending on how thick I make the blanks for that particular batch. I have experimented with various thickness. One batch I made, the necks were quite fatter than even yours. Bobby has a couple of those fat neck guitars. He likes them. He says they are different but also good. The neck width never changes, that is sacred.

That's funny. The width is sacred. I agree. Most comfy first position ever. I think Korina has a slimmer neck than shadow and this last one is slimmer still. All are great feeling to play. The benefit on the slightly fatter neck is that it is like a classical and it is great if you play with your thumb on the back of the neck. The benefit of the slimmer neck is that the transition from thumb on the back of the neck to "bending" position (thumb over the top) is incredibly fluid and effortless.

> I told one interested person recently that all my guitars are different but really the same. He did not understand what I meant. I did not know how to explain it.

Well what makes them great is in all of them. The balance, feel, quality and evenness of decay, clarity, huge frets, flat finger board, etc.

 

Silly question. Of course you shouldn't send it. You should give it to me instead! This is just too elegant for its own good. At this rate, nobody is boing to buy your guitars because they're great guitars, they'll start collecting them as works of art. Even the back is very, very beautiful. It's scary. I've not seen pao ferro this dark, either - did you stain it, or is this just a very dark piece?   Ludwik (UK)

My God sir. I must tell you that, if it would not lead to total domestic turmoil, I'd buy number 101004 from you (or the lucky recipient) today!
Thanks for proving that playing follow-the-leader is not a requirement of a modern luthier. - A Hopeful Future Customer, Austin TX