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Hand Made Guitars by Luthier Dan Koentopp

Three Little Electrics, Went to the Market

Three electrics recently came off the bench and, like all of my guitars, they were tailored closely around my clients. Their input guided the builds and determined specifications and wood choices. These three instruments feature new construction techniques that deliver more precision, tighter joinery, and new innovations that transfer directly into the overall sound. Each instrument, still unique in their own voice, sound insanely clear and balanced. To top it off, I had the opportunity to work with Ron Ellis who delivered custom pickups that matched the qualities of these guitars in ways that I can’t put into words.

In prior electrics, the necks were fit to the bodies with a long straight tenon, from the heel to the bridge. I removed most of the material with a router and then hand fit the neck by removing thin shavings with a deadly sharp hand plane. The joint was just as tight as I’m doing now but the transition from the tapered fingerboard to the straight tenon was an area that made it challenging to fit the top (The tops of these guitars are glued after the neck). Now, the electrics feature a long tenon that is tapered to the same taper as the fingerboard. This allows a beautiful transition between the fingerboard, the top, and to the body. The long dovetail joint also provides an extremely tight joint between the neck and the body.

The bodies are hollowed out by about 65% in a shape that I call the “lung cavity”. The neck is glued to the solid part of the body at the heel and floats through the lung cavity where it is glued again under the bridge. In both locations the neck is wedged into the joint. This design is the culprit of the sound and vibe these guitars produce. The neck almost becomes a backbone so it remains stable and transmits so much string energy to the body and the pickups, while the hollow body creates a resonance and flexibility.

This first guitar was special right from the conception and it continued to manifest and grow as it was built. My client wanted to use woods that were close to his hometown, Chicago. This guitar was going to represent him in every way and be a reflection of who he is and where his roots are. We searched together and located some special woods that were reclaimed from the City of Chicago. A well quartered Ash log from the North side of the city and a beautiful curly maple board that was also salvaged from a fallen tree on the North side. We worked closely with Horigan Urban Forest Products, Inc who specialize in reclaiming fallen trees in and around Chicago. I was not able to be present when my client visited their facility but through communication with both my client and the owners, they came up with wood that was truly meant to be. They sent me the already seasoned wood to my shop here in LA and I put it away to air dry for over two years.

There is a lot more I’d like to tell you about this guitar but I’ll save that for another post. In brief, I molded the neck from his 1953 Tele and made a couple of modifications to the neck including enlarging the nut a wee bit. Here are the specs:

Electric #048

  • “Lung” Chambered Ash Body
  • Figured Maple Top
  • Highly figured Birdseye Maple neck with countoured heel
  • Rosewood Fingerboard
  • Purpleheart binding and tremelo cavity cover
  • Nut width of 1.6375″, 25.5″ scale
  • 24 Fret with deep cutaway
  • Medium High frets (.092″ wide x .048″ tall)
  • Body Back Contour
  • Super-Vee Maverick Tremelo with reversed control plate
  • Callaham saddles
  • Magnetic Inlay truss rod cover at 22nd fret
  • Carbon Fiber Reinforcements
  • Abalone ring inlays on fingerboard
  • Abalone oval side position markers
  • Black pearl “Like Father, Like Son” inlay on rear of body
  • Schaller tuners
  • Ron Ellis custom pickups with oil in paper capacitor
  • Nitrocellulose Lacquer Finish in a natural honey-brown
#048 Koentopp Electric Guitar Front and Back

#048 Koentopp Electric Guitar Front and Back

24 Fret Rosewood neck with Deep Access Cutaway

24 Fret Rosewood neck with Deep Access Cutaway

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Headstock with Logo Inlay in Black Pearl

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Purpleheart binding wraps the edge

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Gorgeous Flame Maple from the North Side of Chicago

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Custom, hand made pickups by Ron Ellis

Latin Inlay in Black Pearl, "Like Father, Like Son"

Latin Inlay in Black Pearl, “Like Father, Like Son”

Profile Shot of the figured Chicago Ash

Profile Shot of the figured Chicago Ash

Guitar #049 was closely designed around my client and his current guitars. We spec’d the neck from his 1970’s Fender Telecaster neck and also incorporated a middle pickup. This featured the same Chicago Ash with a European Maple top. The finish on this was done to relate to the redness of a violin which was a challenge to do under a Nitrocellulose glossy finish. Here are the specs:

Electric #049

  • “Lung” Chambered Ash Body
  • Figured European Maple Top
  • Highly figured Birdseye Maple neck with countoured heel
  • Rosewood Fingerboard
  • Nut width of 1.6375″, 25.5″ scale
  • 22 Frets
  • Medium High frets (.092″ wide x .048″ tall)
  • Callaham bridge plate and compensated saddles
  • Magnetic Inlay truss rod cover at 22nd fret
  • Carbon Fiber Reinforcements
  • Abalone ring inlays on fingerboard
  • Abalone oval side position markers
  • Schaller tuners
  • Ron Ellis custom pickups with oil in paper capacitor
  • Reversed controls with 5-way selector switch
  • Nitrocellulose Lacquer in a “violin” red
#049 Koentopp Electric Front and Back

#049 Koentopp Electric Front and Back

Ron Ellis Pickups and European Maple top

Ron Ellis Pickups and European Maple top

Oval Position Inlays

Oval Position Inlays

Callaham Bridge and Saddles

Callaham Bridge and Saddles

Electric Headstock

Electric Headstock

Ash body in violin red

Ash body in violin red

Last, but certainly not least, this was a guitar I did for the shop. It’s more simply stated than the others and speaks with a very warm and clear tone. It features a plainer slab neck, an old Calaham bridge plate and Gotoh premium locking tuners that I had never used. It’s simple in its materials but man, what a voice this one has. Here are the specs:

Electric #047

  • “Lung” Chambered Mahogany Body
  • Figured Domestic Maple Top
  • Hard Slab Maple neck with countoured heel
  • Rosewood Fingerboard
  • Nut width of 1.650″, 25.5″ scale
  • 22 Frets
  • Medium High frets (.092″ wide x .048″ tall)
  • Callaham bridge plate and compensated saddles
  • Magnetic Inlay truss rod cover at 22nd fret
  • Carbon Fiber Reinforcements
  • Abalone ring inlays on fingerboard
  • Abalone oval side position markers
  • Schaller tuners
  • Ron Ellis custom pickups with oil in paper capacitor
  • Reversed controls
  • Nitrocellulose Lacquer in a honey-brown
#047 Koentopp Electric Front and Back

#047 Koentopp Electric Front and Back

Maple Top, Ellis Pickup, and Neck Treatment

Maple Top, Ellis Pickup, and Neck Treatment

Mahogany Body with Maple Neck and Contoured Heel

Mahogany Body with Maple Neck and Contoured Heel

The Money Shot of #047

The Money Shot of #047

Contoured Heel

Contoured Heel

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