Every now and then I challenge myself to designing a guitar that doesn’t quite fit within the box - or at least within my own design guides. That’s not what happened here.

A customer actually asked what a symmetrical, no cutaway Areli would look like, but my brain read it as A-symmetrical, and I went ahead designing with that in mind.

I picked up on my error before I made a fool of myself with the customer, but the design stuck with me.

The lines started with the Gideon, which you can see in the lower bout, but of course the upper bout is completely re-shaped. The twin swoop is something I’ve played with before, but this is the first time I’ve felt that it works well. There’s still a bit to figure out construction wise, like whether it’ll need to have an extended neck tenon, and it’s the perfect candidate for attempting bent sides. There’s a lot of potential.

I haven’t decided on a name yet, or if will even become part of the regular line up. I have trimmed down my selection in an effort to simplify my process, so adding another shape is probably not the best idea at the moment…

Take care, and I’ll see you in the next post!