Silvertone Classical Guitar - "Little Willie"

 

Who doesn't love Willie Nelson?  A great songwriter, singer, and guitarist.  His guitar playing in my opinion is completely underrated.  You can hear two notes and know immediately that it is Willie.  I think that is part of the definition of a good musician.  Not one who can copy every style out there, but rather one who has created his own.  No one else on earth would have put a pickup in a classical guitar, amplified it with a weird, Baldwin amp, and played gut strings with a flatpick.  Total Willie!!

Here is a Silvertone classical guitar that is meant to be a little bit of a tribute to The Red Headed Stranger.  I have never played a high end classical guitar, nor have I held Willie's Martin in my hands, so I can't make any quality comparisons.  What I can say is that for the price, if you can find one, these are a pretty good bargain.  They are out there and easy to find.  The problem(as it is with all these catalog guitars is finding one with a neck that isn't warped).  The neck on this one was dead straight.

Tough to nail down the exact maker.  The bridge and its bridge bolts are a Kay feature, but the serial number and made in the USA markings on the back of the headstock are Harmony features.  The work on this was done by James Ralston.  He reset the neck and bridge.  It plays great and is in tremendous shape for its age.  We put the ball end strings on it and added the beginnings of some indelible initials and carvings to replicate Willie's guitar.  It is thoroughly understood that the real mojo associated with "Trigger" is all the places it has been and all the songs it has played and created.  This guitar will never even come close to matching Willie's "Trigger" and all that it has seen, but it will be fun getting my friends and family to sign it.

I believe it is laminate construction, though there were some of these that were all hardwood.  This guitar would really benefit if it were re-braced.  The braces are the classic big and hunky Kay type that dampen the tone.  Not sure you want to put that kind of dough into it, but if money were not an issue, it could be worth it.

You can see how big and clunky those braces are.  Note the do not use steel strings warning.  More about that in the next post.

This guitar was never played.  The fretboard is this clean all the way up and down the neck.

some cool tiger stripes on the back of the neck.

even came with this cool cream colored chipboard case that is in as good a shape as the guitar.