Dismal Ax

#1703 Road Dog

Haven’t done one of these in a while.
Top is one piece of salvaged chestnut barnwood, on a cucumbertree back with a hammered finish.
Neck is maple, with an osage orange fretboard, medium C-profile, .81″ at 1st fret, .90″ at 12th. 1.68″ wide at nut, 2.18″ at heel.
Bridge pickup is a homespun T-style single coil with alnico 5 polepieces and 12,000 turns, 9.6k ohms dcr.
Neck pickup is a homespun humbucker in a machined aluminum casing, with alnico 5 polepieces. Front coil has 6,000 turns, back has 4,000. Total dcr is 7.2k ohms.
Hipshot Classic open-back tuners, Kluson USA tuneomatic bridge.
Tailpiece is made from a 1950’s Ford V-8 fender emblem, strung through the back.
Pickguard is made from a 1973 Tennesse license plate.
Weighs 7 pounds.
$2250 including case and domestic shipping.
Available directly.
gwen@dismalax.com

#1702 Salamander

Another Salamander, this time with an eastern red cedar top on a basswood back.
I initially did the same gouged surfacing as on the walnut one, but wasn’t happy with how it turned out on the cedar, so I sanded it down and just did a mildly distressed finish, which suits it much better.
The neck is maple, with an osage orange fretboard.
Pickups are my homespun humbuckers, but my standard windings ended up sounding overly bright and harsh in this one, compared to the walnut version with the walnut neck and persimmon fretboard, so i made a set of overwound ones, which sound much fuller and less brash.
Bridge pickup: 7200 turns per coil, 10.6K ohms DCR
Neck pickup: 5600 turns per coil, 8.2K ohms DCR
Both have alnico 5 rod polepieces and aluminum casings.
Brass compensated bridge/tailpiece combo.
Hipshot Classic tuners.
Weighs 6.6 pounds.

$2250 including case and domestic shipping.
Available directly.
gwen@dismalax.com

#1701 Salamander

Further evolution of the Salamander design, featuring a carved walnut top, surfaced with a gouge to give a hand-hewn look, on a contoured basswood back.
Very sleek and comfortable.
Neck is walnut, with a persimmon fretboard.
Homespun humbuckers with alnico 5 polepieces.
Bridge~ 6000 turns per coil, 8.7K ohms DCR
Neck~ 5000 turns per coil, 7.5K ohms DCR
Aluminum compensated bridge/tailpiece with locking studs.
Hipshot Classic open-gear tuners.
25″ scale, 22 high/wide frets
Weighs 6.8 pounds

$2250 including case and domestic shipping.
gwen@dismalax.com

#1606 salamander

this is a new one.
from Wikipedia~
“The salamander is an amphibian of the order Urodela which, as with many real creatures, often has been ascribed fantastic and sometimes occult qualities by pre-modern authors (as in the allegorical descriptions of animals in medieval bestiaries) not possessed by the real organism. The legendary salamander is often depicted as a typical salamander in shape, with a lizard-like form, but is usually ascribed an affinity with fire, sometimes specifically elemental fire.”
a curious thing, considering the typically moist habitat and manner of the non-mythical variety.

one piece cucumbertree body with lightly hammered and torched finish.
bolt on maple neck with osage orange fretboard.
homespun humbuckers with aluminum casings and alnico 5 polepieces.
bridge~ 6000 turns per coil, 8.8k
neck~ 5000 turns per coil, 7.5k
aluminum compensated tailpiece
hipshot classic tuners
weighs 6.6 pounds.
$1750 available at Little Branch Farm

#1605 the new old barnstormer sc

i change things a lot, often with little or no explanation.
for the past few years, i have been using this shape for the barnstormer…

but some of you may remember this as the original…

so this is the new version of the old one, which i like better than both.
particularly with the new bridge and pickup covers.
like the previous iteration, this one has a bolt on neck.

the body is made from sections of salvaged 2×4 beech barn rafters, with the edges hollowed out prior to gluing up.
the neck is walnut, with an osage orange fretboard.
homespun p90 pickups, brass compensated tailpiece, hipshot classic tuners.
oh, and a cute bug hole in the end by the strap button.
$1950 available at Little Branch Farm

#1604 rusticator sc

one piece elm barnwood top with original red paint, on quartersawn sweetgum back.
walnut neck with persimmon fretboard.
two homespun humbuckers.
brass compensated tailpiece with locking studs.
grover deluxe tuners.
weighs 7.7 pounds
$2500 gwen@dismalax.com

dscn7356

#1407 barnstormer (makeover)

this is one i built a couple years ago and decided to change a few things on.
here is how it looked before~

and now, with an antique copper pickguard and one less pickup~

the top is one single piece of elm barnwood with the original red paint, on a single piece cucumbertree back, with a distressed finish.
neck is maple, with a persimmon fretboard.
single coil pickups with coil taps wired to give humbucking operation in the middle position.
grover deluxe tuners and brass hardtail bridge.
weighs 7 pounds.
$1950 including case. available at Little Branch Farm
gwen@dismalax.com