Grit Laskin’s work occupies a singular niche in the guitar world with his elaborate, bespoke inlay projects and ergonomic innovations. This petite 12-fret steel string from 2008 is Grit’s The Blue Notes, and comes to us with dramatically grained Brazilian Rosewood and Sitka Spruce, florentine cutaway, soundport, arm and rib bevels. We commissioned this guitar from Grit for one of our longtime clients. If you have a copy of Grand Complications (and if you don’t, why, snag one toot suite!), you’ll find a more extensive treatment of Grit’s process with this very guitar on pages 58 and 173, as well as 49 other Laskins.
Number one, a guitar has to sound good. In this, Grit delivers every time. The smaller air chamber and 12-fret neck combine for a clear balance between warmth and note definition, and playability is smooth and easy. We have recreated the artist’s statement here to best explain the scene sprawling across the headstock and fingerboard of The Blue Notes.
“The inlay art on this small Brazilian Rosewood cutaway steel-string is entitled The Blue Notes. This design is my riff on the theme of “Dream Guitars.”
Thinking about the theme—guitars, dreams, music—led me to the idea of young senses, the sensibilities of children in other words, being more open to their creative expression than many busy adults.
In the scene, viewed from above, we see shadowed adults hurriedly walking by, across the fingerboard, oblivious to the music around them (represented by the red notes, emerging from the soundhole). In one instance the music is destroyed, crushed underfoot.
The young sisters however see/hear/feel the music the adults miss—for them, represented by sky-blue notes. The music is not only sensed by them, but flows through them, hence the engraving that blends their skyward looking images with the notation
The background material is Tahitian Blacklip shell in laminate form. This is meant to represent the random grayness of the street.
The red notes are Red Coral stone; the blue are clear Torquoise.”
Other keywords: inlay, inlay art, engraved inlay, artist, guitar art, art guitar, william laskin, lutherie, luthier
Working with Grit Laskin has been one of the joys of my career. We have done a number of projects together where I provide the initial seed of an idea and Grit takes the ball and runs with it. This one was a particularly cool project. My idea was how many people just go through life with blinders on and don’t see the beauty of the world, but some do manage to be present for the magic. Grit represented this idea by showing shadowy figures bustling to work while youthful sisters recognize the music all around them. Stunning inlay on top of a guitar that is a masterpiece of tone as well. | Scale Length | 25.5 in |
|---|---|
| Nut Width | 1.75 in |
| String Spacing | 2.188 in |
| Woods | Spruce - Sitka, Rosewood - Brazilian |
Grit Laskin’s work occupies a singular niche in the guitar world with his elaborate, bespoke inlay projects and ergonomic innovations. This petite 12-fret steel string from 2008 is Grit’s The Blue Notes, and comes to us with dramatically grained Brazilian Rosewood and Sitka Spruce, florentine cutaway, soundport, arm and rib bevels
Working with Grit Laskin has been one of the joys of my career. We have done a number of projects together where I provide the initial seed of an idea and Grit takes the ball and runs with it 