If you are a follower of Wayne Henderson guitars you know that they are all rare, wonderful, and highly sought after. What we have here is the rarest of Hendersons, a D-45 Deluxe Tree Of Life in Brazilian Rosewood and Red Spruce which comes to us from 2016. You are certain to gasp and drool over this one, we certainly have been. Wayne makes precious few of this model of guitar, the sheer amount of time, material and skill that goes into building such a guitar is impressive, and certainly limits the opportunity to make many of them. This is the true collector’s dream guitar! While this guitar certainly has the looks, that isn’t the only trick in its bag. The Henderson tonal pedigree is in full show here, big open basses, barking mids, and smooth trebles. This is the definition of a once in a lifetime guitar, don’t miss out!

We’ve seen quite a number of Wayne’s guitars pass through our shop, but he still manages to pull out new stops with his latest builds, which number into the 800s. In fact, this Henderson OM-41 is the only OM Cutaway we’ve ever seen, and it’s basically right off the bench and here in our lap. #803 was finished in 2020 with gorgeous Brazilian Rosewood back and sides and Adirondack Spruce on top—primo tonewoods being Wayne’s bread and butter. The 41-style appointment package features dark Abalone around the top and soundhole, with Grained Ivoroid bindings and a multicolored zipper backstrip. At the headstock, carved in Wayne’s signature fiddle profile, we have gold Waverly tuners and bone saddle, and an Abalone thistle behind Wayne’s inlaid name.
The soft Venetian Cutaway sets this one apart, and is such a welcome treat for those uppermost frets to earn their keep. The voice is characterized by even, smooth response across the registers. Wayne’s OMs have a more lush and inviting sound than his Bluegrass Dreadnoughts, so usually better equipped for fingerstyle, but honestly we had a great time digging in a bit with a flatpick on this one; it holds up well under a stronger attack. The neck is comfortable and wide with a 1 13/16” nut and 2 3/8” string spacing at the saddle, and the setup is easy on the hands too. We’ve got this OM-41 wrapped up in a Calton flight case to keep it safe and sound.

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If it’s good enough for Tim Stafford, you bet it’s good enough for us. Tim commissioned this Dreadnought from Wayne Henderson with a set of Madagascar Rosewood he acquired from LMI and held onto for 10 years before Wayne was able to craft it into this exquisite piece. Red Spruce on top, rounded V neck, and MOP diamond fretboard inlays complete the image. Stafford used this Henderson for several Blue Highway shows and for at least one record. To further boost the provenance, this is the first Madagascar Rosewood guitar that Wayne ever built! We’ve seen a lot of Hendersons over the years, and this one definitely stands apart.

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Wide open and raring to go: our 2006 Henderson OM is a bombshell. Seriously gorgeous Brazilian Rosewood back and sides with an Adirondack Spruce top and 28-style appointments—what more could you ask for? Killer projection and sustain, glassy playability, and clear and clean response? Sure enough, you’ll find all that and more tucked under the hood of this Henderson. Fingerpicking or flatpicking, this guitar soaks it all up. And it comes wrapped up in a Calton flight case so you can keep it sweet and safe on those rare moments when you won’t have it in hand.

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