2001 Huss & Dalton D-RA Natural, Excellent, Original Hard, $4,499.00

Huss & Dalton 2001 Model D-RA DreadnoughtFrom the Shenandoah Valley shop of Jeff Huss and Mark Dalton, the two luthiers who are building some of the best acoustic guitars in the world…This guitar is LOUD and REFINED, one of the two best-sounding Rosewood dreadnoughts I have every heard. HAVE MERCY! This is a great sounding guitar! From the slightly arched top, to the amazing wood, the beautiful Abalone inlays, the astonishing finish job, the neck carved for the gods, this guitar is awesome.DESCRIPTION.  Solid East Indian Rosewood back and sides. The AAA Sitka Spruce top has a 25' RADIUS (meaning it is slightly arched) and shows an amazing amount of bearclaw (cross-grain figure) that has been checked for load-bearing ability and thickness-sanded. (Why an ARCHED top? Because a domed surface is inherently stronger than a flat one, H&D's radiused soundboard helps the guitar top better bear the stress of the steel strings. They achieved this by not only building an arch into the braces, but also preparing the sides in the same radius to accept the soundboard.) The bridge plate is Honduran Rosewood, which has superior tonal quality and is extraordinarily resistant to string wear. It is braced with hand-split Appalachian Red Spruce, which has a greater strength-to-weight ratio than other brace woods. Body, peghead and fingerboard binding is flamed Maple. Hand-carved and quarter-sawn Honduras Mahogany neck is reinforced with a steel truss rod and has a slight vee, it is fast and comfortable. Ebony fingerboard. Nut and 1/8" saddle are bone (of course) and the saddle is compensated for each string. Abalone top trim (D-41 style), rosette, back stripe, end graft. Necklace inlay on fingerboard and peghead inlays. Gold Waverly tuners (the best!!!). Best of all, this guitar is very light in weight.SPECS:Soundhole:                   4-7/8"Body length                   20"Body width                   15-1/2”Body depth                   4-7/8"Neck width                   1-23/32 (at nut)String spacing               2-7/32 (at saddle)Scale length:                 25.4”Body fret                     14thThe top is built with a 25' radius. A positive by-product of the radiused soundboard design, besides its load bearing properties, is a boost in the mid-range without overpowering the bass and trebles. This is design function is showcased in this guitar - boasting unsurpassed tonal balance.The Red Spruce is braced with hand split Adirondack Red Spruce, as are all of Huss and Dalton's guitars. Adirondack bracing is a stiffer bracing material and ensures a more responsive and lively top due to a more efficient transfer of energy.TONE. Ye Gods!! This baby is loud, yet not boomy like a lot of Martins - has a lot more midrange than most Martin dreadnoughts (a lot of the tone is due to the radiused top). The sound is very refined, I don't know a better word to use. INTONATION. H&D individually checks every string's length with a strobe and individually compensates it. I defy anyone to find a place this guitar doesn't play in tune, anywhere on the neck, even when the strings are coming apart.PLAYABILITY. Plays like butter, in every position. Fast as lightning, you can play it all day. What more can I say? (And the worst guitar I own has a good neck)Huss & Dalton D-RA custom acoustic guitar; serial number 523Stunning, pristine hand built custom acoustic guitar. near-PERFECT condition. (Some very light scratching on the back and a small fingernail sized ding on the top) Abalone pearl inlaid binding, Abalone necklace inlaid fretboard, and abalone necklace inlay on the head.  Comes with ORIGINAL TWEED hard shell case.
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