Dale Fairbanks has been fascinated with the guitars of the 20s and 30s for decades, and his builds are steeped in the traditions that bring those tones to life in modern instruments.
This is a Fairbanks F-20, modeled after Dale’s personal 1936 L-00, with a lovely burst, perfectly aged aesthetics, a Madagascar rosewood bridge and fingerboard, and tones to die for. I don’t even want to list it, I want to keep it for myself.
Fairbanks says: “The Fairbanks F-20 is the perfect guitar for those looking for a punchy, well-balanced instrument with comfortable proportions. Wide, vintagey string spacing at the bridge makes for comfortable fingerpicking and the unscalloped bracing under the top enables it to be driven hard and still maintain a sweet bounciness, something this design is known and loved for. As with all Fairbanks guitars built with Mahogany back and sides, it’s feather light and, in the words of Catfish Keith, makes the player levitate above the stage! Fairbanks Guitars cannot confirm the accuracy of this particular piece of hyperbole, but we can confirm that the F-20 is perfect for blues, ragtime and otherwise folky picking and strumming.”
Here is a nice demo from The Music Emporium:
Condition: New (aged); Top: Sitka spruce; Back and sides: Honduras mahogany; Neck: Mahogany, soft vintage V; Nut: 1 3/4; Width: 14 3/4; Depth: 4 5/8; Scale: 24.75; Binding: Ivoroid; Purfling: b/w/b; Rosette: ivoroid; Orientation: Lefthanded (of course)
