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Welcome to ​

PAR​IZONA​ Guitars

The primary mission of PARIZONA Guitars is to provide high quality, handcrafted acoustic guitars at a very reasonable price.  To this end, I only use woods that meet my standards in quality and beauty.  All my guitars are one of kind musical instruments. Attention is paid to combining specific woods to get the optimum sound from each guitar.  All braces, necks, bodies, etc. are hand cut and carved.  No high end machining is done on any of my guitars.  All PARIZONA Guitars have a hand applied finish which requires over a month from first application to final polishing.  A single guitar takes five to six months to complete. I take great pride in all the guitars I make and since all of my guitars are one of a kind, I tend to give them all names which in some way reflects their final look.  When you purchase a PARIZONA Guitar, you will be gaining a new family member which will provide generations of musical enjoyment.

Feel free to browse my site and contact me should you have any questions or wish to purchase a PARIZONA Guitar.

Thank you for visiting PARIZONA Guitars!!!


How are PARIZONA Guitars are constructed??

Below are a few details about how PARIZONA Guitars are constructed. The philosophy behind the design and construction of PARIZONA Guitars focuses on the delivery of a beautiful guitar of uncompromising intonation, responsiveness, and tone. Also, considering that a well made acoustic guitar is expected to be enjoyed for decades, and consequently has to endure a variety of physical and environment changes, PARIZONA Guitars are constructed to provide ultimate beauty, playability and serviceability.

Neck Construction:

All of the necks are hand carved. Honduras Mahogany, preferred wood for guitar necks, is used in most builds. Since Honduras Mahogany is getting more scarce and expensive, other fine neck woods such as Sapele and maple are also being used. PARIZONA Guitar necks are not cut from a single billet. Instead, they are constructed from a quarter sawn board with a 15° head to neck-scarf joint and a laminated heel block reinforced with a carbon graphite rod. The heel laminations are cut from the end of the same board, resulting in good color and grain matching when glued up.

For neck reinforcement, two 1/8" x 3/8" carbon graphite rods are embedded on either side of a two-way adjustable truss rod that is adjusted through the sound hole. The truss rod is installed so that it can be removed for repair or replacement if necessary. 

Neck / Body Joint

The neck is joined to the body utilizing a very simple, flush mount, two bolt system, without gluing the fretboard extension to the guitar top. This allows for the easy removal of the neck, if necessary, for neck set adjustment, or truss rod repair or replacement.

Top and Back Bracing pattern and Brace Shape:

All of the guitar models available are braced with a slightly modified, traditional X-brace design. The tops are braced to a 25 ft. radius, and the backs to a 15 ft. radius. The top bracing has a tapered profile instead of the commonly used scalloped profile. This profile serves to modulate the tonal response of the guitars -- especially the dreadnought models -- tempering the bass slightly to let the mid and treble tones come through more clearly. To maximize the responsiveness of the top and back plates, animal hide glue is used for joining the plates and gluing the braces.

Final Finishing:

PARIZONA Guitars are finished with a hand applied, high gloss shellac. The products I use produce a thin, glossy, durable finish that enhances the natural appearance and feel of the wood, and is acoustically transparent.  Finishing begins with 6 - 10 coats of sealer,  The sides and back are then coated with a couple coats of filler (depending on the wood type).  I never use filler on the sound boards as I feel this inhibits the natural acoustics of the top wood. After filling, the wood is again sealed in preparation for the final finish.  8 - 12 coats of shellac go on most guitars.  Each coat is hand applied and is very, very thin.  The same finish is used on the neck resulting in a very smooth, fast feel. This method of finishing enhances the responsiveness and projection of the guitars. The finish I use is a natural shellac product formulated with synthetic resins and has the look and feel of a shellac finish, but the durability of synthetic finishes. Once fully cured, it results in a gorgeous, thin finish that allows the wood tone to come through, yet still provides exceptional durability.



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