A riff on the modular body style I've used in guitars like "Toshiro's Lady" and the "Twist", this one has a body combining flamed Maple and Thuya burl.  They are connected to the solid Rosewood neck-through piece supporting the tuners, the circular Ebony pickup and the tailpiece.  A piece of Mokume steel anchors the back end of the body.

Building on the experiences of building the first 6 Carcavelos Mahogany guitars, this one features the iconic "seismic spiral" and a top showcasing the weathered and worked barrel wood from 1755.

It all started with the headstock, or rather the tuners I acquired as part of a payment for a guitar.  They are ornate 6-in-line brass machined and larger than the usual 6-in-tuners, making for an awkward traditional style headstock.  So I tried something else.  Using pre-plastic Catalin and a piece of old East German Bakelite mounted on an aluminum base I fashioned a playful assembly with a constructivist vibe, connected to a laminated through-neck of Maple and Padouk. I also wanted to use an Archtop Bigsby I've had for a while and had to find a way to connect it to the neck piece.  A construction of Ebony and aluminum I call "the lobster" now supports the Bigsby.  The flame Mahogany body wings with a "Totem-style" resin top complete this colorful and piece.

Cutting up the large boards of Carcavelos Mahogany often reveals the large dowels used to join the massive planks. These holes at times limit the useable length of the wood. But they are also witness to the life and wear these planks have experienced. I've always liked the cross sections of these boards, with some of the holes still filled by a slice of dowel. Taking a cue from my Vienna line of hollowbody guitars I felt they would well double as soundholes.  The top on this Mahogany-one-piece hollowed out body is an assembly of cross sections.  The shape derives from the "butterfly" shape I've used on many Totemguitars and is echoed by the angular design of the headstock; once again the original starting point for this piece.

I used to visit a retired wood dealer during my time in L.A. in the 90's, a man who had collected a treasure of beautiful woods over the years, most of it dating to the 50's and 60's. He only accepted cash and so I was only able to nibble at the edges of this hoard. One piece I acquired was a massive chunk of fiddleback Maple. It has traveled with me from L.A. to Vienna and now to Portugal.  Its thickness destined it for a wrap-around body, like my "modern Lute". Taking hints from the hybrid line the body pieces are highly sculpted to showcase the figured wood and connect to the through-neck and each other by an aluminum piece.