Fairbanks Nick Lucas Guitar
My friend Mark lent me this stunning example of a Nick Lucas style guitar, hand crafted by one of America's finest luthiers - Dale Fairbanks.
I've already ordered a custom J-35 and can't wait to show it off!! Here is a description of the guitar from Dale's website. The Fairbanks F-20NL is a faithful reproduction of the second model endorsed by the crooning troubadour of guitar music in the early twentieth century, Nick Lucas. Like the F-10NL, the F-20NL uses the same templates and molds as the standard F-20 and adds roughly 1/2" to its total body depth, creating a much larger presence in relation to its body size. Thin, unscalloped top bracing creates a loud, well-balanced tone all the way up the neck. In addition, standard NL appointments include double-bound fingerboard, soundhole, top and back, and MOP Nick Lucas-style fingerboard and headstock inlays. Specs are below. |
Specs
- Top and bracing: red spruce
- Back/sides/neck: genuine honduran mahogany
- Scale length: 24-3/4"
- Width, upper bout: 10-1/4"
- Width, lower bout: 14-3/4
- Depth, neck block: 4-1/8"
- Depth, tail block: 4-1/2"
- Frets to body: 12, 13, 14
- Nut/saddle/pins: unbleached bone
- Nut width: 1-3/4"
- Saddle spacing: 2-3/8"
- Body binding: ivoroid/B/W
- Fingerboard binding: ivoroid/B/W
- Fingerboard inlay: MOP Nick Lucas
- Headstock inlay: MOP fleur de lis, "Fairbanks"
- Finish: nitrocellulose over shellac