I can still barely believe it, but I am the owner of this incredible guitar. Needless to say, it is the most beautiful instrument I've ever played. The whole process with Bob was just too much fun, and a great learning experience. My initial suggestion was to build Wolf, in Tiger wood, with a set neck. Like any project, of course, interesting decisions and modifications came up along the way. Like Bob said, the Cocobolo billet had some sapwood visible. Before he sawed it up, we both figured we'd try to find boards that didn't show this feature at all. But once it was cut, it became clear that this was the coolest aspect of the wood, and did in some ways evoke the Wolf inlay. Without a doubt the best Zoom call I've had during the pandemic was mocking up the hardware on different boards with Bob and imagining the final layout!
Bob had a great way of nudging me toward the right decisions - the headstock Eagle, for instance. Another change that arose during the build was the tail piece - Wolf had abalone inserts behind the Koi fish cut-outs. This just didn't fit against the cocobolo and brass, so we left them open to the wood grain below, which looks fantastic, in my opinion.
The guitar feels and sounds unreal. The neck is perfect. The range of tones available is massive, and I've only just started scratching the surface in that regard. It's perfectly balanced and the neck plays so well.
Someone mentioned the neck - we went with a Tiger style laminate for aesthetic reasons. The neck is one place to highlight Bob's work, because it still blows my mind. Here's a shot of how it started when first joined to the body:
And by some magic, by hand, he turns it to this:
And finally to this:
And not only is it stunning, but it plays like a dream, and access to the high frets is better than anything I've ever played.
If you're looking for a guitar of the highest calibre, a really fun process, and working with a fantastic builder, give Bob a shout. I can't recommend him more.