BUILD COMPLETE AND AVAILABLE NOW
$28,000 USD
Custom hard case and artist’s 32 page journal included.
Proceeds of this instrument to benefit Japan tsunami relief.
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Sakura represents over one year’s work to bring to fruition. Created from genuine mahogany with a rosewood fingerboard it was designed to ring like a church bell—and it does. Traditional Japanese cherry blossom art has been painstakingly hand engraved on steel front and back plates by master engraver Heidi Roos. Her incredibly detailed work required nine months to complete. Please read the complete build story to discover the depth of this instrument.
Custom brushed- nickel finished aluminum hardware, compliments the visuals along with my hand-cast acrylic 1937 replica knobs. Internal wiring utilizes vintage (1940s) Western Electric cloth and silk covered wire, Jensen built oil filled tone cap and a refurbished 1950s phenolic wafer 3-way switch. Medium oval frets, 25.5″ scale, Japanese Oxen bone nut and genuine pearl position markers.
Custom made pickups hand-wound by Seymour Duncan himself with genuine butyrate bobbins and degaussed A2 magnets. One of the most resonant and bold sounding guitars I have ever witnessed.
The difficult Japanese winter ends with the arrival of cherry blossoms. In April, the Hanami Festival celebrates the rebirth and symbolizes the transience of life. The Sakura guitar features front and back, hand-engraved, nickel plated ornamental steel plates with my original artwork in a traditional Japanese style.
Petals of genuine rose gold, stems and leaves in green gold and a rising sun of 24kt yellow gold adorn hundreds of hours of hand work by master engraver Heidi Roos.
Here, Heidi begins the arduous task of translating my drawing into three-dimensional carvings on cold-rolled steel plate in the workshop at Baron Engraving. The cherry blossom petals will be spot-plated with genuine rose gold, while the leaves and stems will receive judiciously placed hints of yellow-green gold plating. The background will receive a nickel plating.
This is my original study for the guitar, based upon the artwork and my design layout for the build. On the back plate you can see the rising sun above the clouds which will be filled with 24kt yellow gold. The mahogany instrument will be finished in a low-gloss transparent cherry lacquer.
Heidi and I thought it would be important to continue some of the engraving across the pickup. The original study shows both covers engraved, but we decided to only do one in order to create contrast.
The staggering amount of detail is evident in this closeup of the front plate—you can see how the lines catch the light as only hand engraving can.
Test fitting of the front plate on the lacquered instrument. The body and neck are honduras mahogany—the body being a single slab. The front plate mimics the Florentine cutaway, then sweeps away as it approaches the fingerboard, aligning with the line on the top side in one flowing arc.
Sakura is wired with vintage Western Electric cloth covered wire. A refurbished 1950s three-way switch made in the USA by Centralab routes the signal to NOS American potentiometers from CTS. The tone capacitor is an oil-filled Jensen made unit, and the entire assembly is shielded with Mil-Spec high density nickel paint.
Electronics include twin humbuckers hand-built by my friend Seymour Duncan. After ear-testing ten different options, I chose this set for its punchy midrange delivery and bell-chime highs. Special attention was needed to address the fact that the steel plates would affect the inductance of any pickup installed. It was important to tailor the pickup’s response to the situation, which resulted in a specific set for this guitar.
Here is a view of the headstock faceplate while being lacquered. My signature and monogram is evident in a matte nickel color. The cherry shaded lacquer contrasts nicely with the black ebony faceplate. I’m fond of the dark brown grain streaks that peek out from the black—if you’re going to use premium wood, it should look like wood. The tuners will be a custom matte nickel finish to match, with buttons lovingly color and feel aged by hand to remove any sharp edges. Sakura already feels like an old friend
