7-String Guitar

     May 2007

"I was commissioned to make this guitar by Christopher Stell from the Eden-Stell Duo, principally for use with the Vida Guitar Quartet. The challenge was not only to create a balanced and beautiful sound with great projection, but also to achieve aesthetic harmony and not allow the extra string to make the guitar look bulky or out of balance.

Siting the centre string in the 'eyehole' in the head helped to achieve the desired look as did careful attention to the size of the bridge. Christopher Stell likes the guitar so much he even uses it at times as his regular 6 string by simply removing the bass string!"

Materials

     Soundboard: Alpine Spruce or Cedar
     Cedar was used on the model shown
     Back and Ribs: Indian Rosewood (Palisander)
     Neck: South American Cedar
     Fingerboard: Ebony
     Rosette: Designed and made by the maker
     Tuners: Rodgers
     Case: Hiscox Liteflite