2016 Charis (Bill Wise) SJ Cedar / Indian Rosewood
Offered is this fantastic Charis Small Jumbo built by Bill Wise. Charis instruments are often compared to the work of Jim Olson, who I understand Bill studied under. I've sold a few Olson guitars over the years and Jim's influences are obvious.
This Charis SJ is one-owner custom-ordered instrument with a 14 fret neck and a 25.6" string scale. It has a 15.25" wide lower bout, a waist that is just 9.375" wide, an overall body length of 19.5" and a depth that ranges from 3.875" to 4.375." The top is made of Western Red Cedar and the back and sides are made of a really fine set of straight-grained East Indian rosewood. The binding and rosette were upgraded to Brazilian rosewood and extra abalone trim was added, as were dove fingerboard inlays. The neck is a five piece design made of alternating layers of Mahogany, Maple and Rosewood making it very strong and allowing for a neck shape that is a relatively thin and sleek. The fretboard is black ebony with a 16" radius and a 1.75" bone nut. It has a black ebony bridge with 2.25" string spacing . The tuners are gold Gotoh 510's with both ebony and gold buttons included. This guitar was further upgraded at the time of construction with an LR Baggs Lyric pickup. It comes in its original light grey / blue Mainstage fiberglass flight case.
Rather than the typical dovetail neck joint, the Charis utilizes a bolt-on system like Kevin Ryan, McPherson and many other premium builders. You won't notice any difference unless it becomes necessary to make a repair, at which time the bolt-on method makes any neck adjustment a far more simple process.
The Charis SJ is a joy to play. While designed with the fingerstylist in mind, it is a great strummer too. It has a huge voice with a strong bass end, clear highs and lots of note separation and sustain. The overall sound is nicely complex with lots of note to note separation and overtones. Please check out the brief sound sample included below. This thing projects! The guitar is smooth and easy to play thanks in part to the very sleek neck. It is setup with Elixir Phosphor Bronze light gauge strings with 12th fret string heights of 6.5/64" on the low E side and 4.5/64" on the high E side.
This guitar was built in 2016 and remains in marvelous condition, with the only flaw being a series of tiny impressions on the back near the cutaway (see included photo). They are really hard to find unless you are looking for them. In all other respects this guitar is in near mint condition, frets included.
A new example of this instrument with the tonewood options of this guitar would cost you approximately $9K. Get this extremely well-preserved 2016 Charis for thousands less. A very fine SJ acoustic indeed! I've heard these called a "poor man's Olson" and with good reason. Make it yours!
Capital Guitars
Capital Guitars accepts payment via PayPal, credit cars via PayPal, wire transfer, or via bank check. Guitars ship only after payment clears. See something you wish to purchase? To pay via Paypal, just click the 'Buy Now' button, or send an email to capitalguitars@gmail.com indicating the guitar you wish to purchase, where you live (for calculating the shipping cost and NYS sales tax if applicable) and confirm the email address you use for Paypal. We will send you a Paypal invoice referencing the specific guitar being purchased. Just follow the prompts in the Paypal email to pay for your guitar. Once we receive your cleared payment we will contact you with tracking information and a paid invoice. That is all there is to it! Shipments to locations within the State of New York are subject to imposition of applicable New York Sales taxes. Trade proposals involving quality gear are welcomed! Email me a pic or two of your proposed trade and a brief description of its condition and we will let you know what we can allow you in trade. We also do LAYAWAYS! All layaways require a non-refundable up-front payment equal to 20% of the purchase price. Your deposit holds the guitar for you, with 60 days to pay the balance. Contact us via email for more details.
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Refunds of the original purchase price less shipping and a 10% restocking fee may be requested within 48 hours of delivery. Exchanges within one (1) week of the original date of purchase may be made for an item of equal or greater value at the discretion of Capital Guitars. Where permitted herein, items must be promptly returned at the buyer's expense, in the same condition as received with all accessories and paperwork included. Sale items, purchases that are made via layaway, those involving trades and/or international shipping are considered final except upon an error by and at the discretion of Capital Guitars. All deposits are non-returnable. Our apologies, but we are a very small operation and returns are extremely time consuming and costly.