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Make: EhlersModel: 15
Serial: 528 Top: Bearclaw Sitka Spruce (aged 20 years before the guitar was made) Back & sides: Indian Rosewood Fingerboard & bridge: Ebony Peghead inlay: Brazilian Rosewood Fingerboard inlay: Dog paw prints in gold mother-of-pearl Pickup: K & K Western Mini Strings: D’Addario EJ17 (.013-.056 Phosphor Bronze) These are normal strings, but I experiment |
This was my first high-end acoustic guitar. I love instruments that are distinctive in some way, and learning about this one made the deal for me. Ehlers guitars are all hand-made in a small shop in Mexico. Aside from beautiful craftsmanship and excellent tone, I really like the Ehlers corporate motto, “Ehlers guitars–no bullshit.” The folks at Pioneer Music Co. gave me a great deal and wonderful service on this exquisite instrument. It lives in a TKL Prestige Arch-Top case (model TKL-8815), which is protected by a case cover from Colorado Case Company.
The guitar was built in 2005 and spent its early life as a shop guitar in the Ehlers workshop, played by Señor Ehlers, his visitors and his staff. During that time the original neck was removed and some improvements were made to it. The guitar then found its way to Pioneer Music, and from there into my toybox. I’ve added a pickup and some custom inlays since then, all done by Portland Fret Works.
I never plan to name instruments, but many people asked me and so I decided to allow inspiration to flow. Because the guitar was born in Mexico, a name appropriate to that part of the world seemed right. As we have played together, this guitar seems to have a male voice and the images evoked by the tone are of a mysterious and handsome man with deep golden-brown eyes, a passionate soul, and a smooth, resonant voice. I spent a lot of time wondering what his name was, and Miguel is the one name that kept coming to me.
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 Close-up of the paw print inlay (gold mother-of-pearl). The gang at Portland Fret Works not only did the inlay work, they also helped me find the design. |
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