New Manzer Dehlicaster Indian/Spruce

We like to think that our shop contains some of the finest, strangest, and unique guitars on the planet. We’ve got seven-string nylons and 12-string baritones, Somogyi Mod Ds and Matsuda Deconstructions, fan-frets and adjustable necks and interchangeable saddles–but there’s nothing quite like the Linda Manzer Sitar Guitar. Linda’s work spans the length and breadth of what’s acoustically possible in guitar construction, so by comparison this “Dehlicaster” looks almost (almost) like an ordinary guitar with gorgeous Indian Rosewood and Spruce. Take one look at the bridge, however, and all bets are off.Linda’s sole source of information when she was building the first Sitar Guitar for Pat Metheny in the 1980’s was a brief two-page article titled “Djovari: Giving Life to the Sitar,” in which the respectable career of an Indian Sitar saddle carver is explained to Western audiences, perhaps for the first time. Linda scanned the article, and we’ve included it below. In modifying Djovari for the guitar, Manzer has implemented a system of Ebony shims to adjust the height of each string’s long saddle, allowing each string to be adjusted individually to optimize the amount of buzz and shimmer.Haunting and rhapsodic, with single-string leads inspiring sympathetic resonance from adjacent strings, the Dehlicaster is particularly moving. This is an instrument to completely change your perspective on what a guitar can look like, and what a guitar can do. With its esoteric and unmistakable sustain, the Dehlicaster is guaranteed to transport every fingerstyle arrangement or flatpicked solo into uncharted and exhilarating territory.