From the desk of John Arnold himself :
TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:
This letter documents the construction of a John Arnold guitar, serial number 91.
Build date: January 2015 to July 18, 2015.
Description:
Model number D-18AC, dubbed the ‘Al Capone’.
Style is after an early-1936 Martin D-18, with ‘Adirondack’ red spruce soundboard, Honduran mahogany back, sides, and neck, Brazilian rosewood peghead veneer, and Madagascar ebony fingerboard and bridge.
Construction details include forward-X Sitka spruce bracing, ‘Timeless Timber’ sugar maple bridgeplate, ribbon side reinforcements in the 1930’s Martin style, Honduran mahogany neck and tail blocks, current issue Waverly oval button tuners, and full hot hide glue construction. The saddle and nut are pre-ban elephant ivory, sourced from Boone Trading Company.
The neck width at the nut is 1 ¾”, and the string spacing at the bridge is 2 5/16”.
Trim details include black celluloid body binding, tortoise celluloid end piece inlay, and ebony heel cap. The fingerboard inlays are abalone shell dots in the correct size and configuration (smaller in diameter in the early style). The headstock features a custom made metallic gold ‘Arnold’ decal. The rosette is old stock celluloid which came from the old Martin factory. The finish is polished nitrocellulose lacquer.
The Honduran mahogany in this guitar is some of the finest ever available. It is old growth, fully quartersawn, and straight-grained. It was sourced from a local wood importer in the late-1980’s, and has been in climate-controlled storage since that date. The quality of this wood is consistent with the mahogany Martin was using in the 1930’s and before.
The red spruce soundboard on this guitar is from a 160-year-old tree that was harvested in the Campbell Creek watershed of Maggie Valley, NC. This area has been family owned since the 1800’s.
Date: July 18, 2015
Signed:
John Arnold, Luthier
