Mike Byle’s Sifel Creek Guitars have been cooking up splendid guitars for years now, and recently sent us two beauties which he’s had in his shop as show models for a few years now. This, his 15.5″ Cutaway, is done up in a pretty set of Madagascar Rosewood for the back and sides and a Sitka Spruce top with some gorgeous alternating color across the grain. Set up for a nimble left hand, this guitar plays like milk chocolate tastes: absolutely smooth.

Dynamically voiced by Byle, the responsiveness of the 15.5″ Cutaway manages to strike a balance between a delicate touch and a more aggressive attack, meaning that soft passages sound full-figured and delicate but when you need to dig in for some extra snap (say, for a Funk-Blues bass line), the voice cranks up to volume 11 with ease. Craving overtones in your trebles? These unwound strings are adorned with a subtle array of overtones which blossom a moment after the fundamental response.

You’ll be hard-pressed to find another guitar so exquisitely balanced. Although this guitar was built in 2010, it’s enjoyed a posh existence in Mike’s shop, and as such is still a brand new guitar (plus a few years of opening up).

Here’s a wonderful Grand Auditorium from Luthier Jason Simpson of Texas. Featuring a cutaway and custom flower inlay on top of the classic combination of Indian Rosewood and Engelmann Spruce. Cocobolo bindings envelop this beautiful instrument and complete the elegant look. The tone is clear and beautiful, excellent for fingerstyle play.

This is the first of Jason Simpson guitars with his new SJ body style and we just love it. It has a beautiful balance and elegant line. Jason’s sculpted armrest BEVEL is one of the most refined we’ve seen. We actually helped Jason test out his bevel during it’s design and it not only looks great but is extremely comfortable in any playing position. For this SJ we selected a premium set of old growth Brazilian Rosewood and topped it with AAA German Spruce. The look of this guitar is defined by the dark Ebony bindings, plain fingerboard, black nut and saddle with just the right of abalone accent on the top border and rosette. The voice is majestic, big bass, strong trebles and a sonority that is well-suited for fingerstyle, flatpicking or strumming. Versatility comes easy to this dazzling Simpson SJ. This instrument features:

Well the end has finally come for the amazing Dream Series guitars that Jason Simpson created for us. He continues to astound us with the tonal and visual beauty of his guitars. What we are most proud of hear is the powerful and moving voice that Jason achieves by pairing the African Mahogany (Sapele) with Carpathian Spruce on the GA sized body. The result is extreme versatility in a guitar that can easily move between style and genres. You can achieve big strummed sounds and the most delicate fingerpicked passages. Jason’s armrest bevel is extremely original and beautiful. On close inspection you’ll find laminated braces, bound soundhole and many other elegant touches that other builders don’t typically offer. This truly is a Dream Guitar…

Eric Weigeshoff’s got some good mojo working: our latest Skytop Grand Concert is a sharp-dressed firebrand in Sitka and Mango. The woods alone make this GC shine (gorgeous Bearclaw figure across the top, vibrant Flame Mango back and sides), right down to the Koa 12th fret. But put finger to string, and the real fun begins!

Brand new, this Skytop has a very lively response with trebles that cut through the mix with aplomb. The bass and mids are crisp and crunchy with a clean projection sustained up and down the neck. Slick setup is easy on the hands, and this pretty sans-soundhole guitar keeps on singing when you drop it into altered tuning territory. Twin soundports on the side give you a glimpse into Eric’s bracing style, and the paired Ziricote bridge and fretboard set off the Bearclaw Sitka in a classic study of light and dark.

Already this explosive and it’s brand new? We shudder to think how this latest Skytop GC will blossom with the addition of a few hours’ play time.

Common Misspellings: weigshoff, weigeshof, wegeshoff, sky top, sikta, ziricode

When it rains, it pours. That’s exactly what happens as soon as you put finger to string on this brand new, soundproofed Grand Concert from Skytop Guitars: a torrent of colorful overtones and crisp attack. After our recent visit to the 2017 Woodstock Invitational Luthier Showcase, we came home with a number of new builders to showcase at our shop, but this one takes the cake for originality. Flamed Myrtle back and sides, almost 3,000-year-old Ancient Sitka Spruce top, Koa appointments, and two large bass-side soundports in lieu of a traditional soundhole.

In so doing, Eric was able to brace the top much more lightly without compromising its structural integrity (like putting a big hole in the middle might do). The result is a warm, round fundamental with a quick response! Great balance across the registers, and it doesn’t take an aggressive attack to get heaps of projection; even a light touch goes a long way.

This Skytop GC is not your granddaddy’s ole Martin; it’s a whole new breed of guitar.