Potvin Guitars
Bee Models
The bright colors of Mike
Potvin’s latest solidbodies—(left to right) the Swing
Bee, Killer Bee, and Super
Bee—got our attention
from across the room. The
Swing Bee features TV Jones
pickups, a Bigsby, and an
f-hole, while the Killer Bee
features a trio of P-90s and
a vintage car emblem, and
the Super Bee features a
Tele-style bridge setup with
a TV Jones pickup in the
neck position.
potvinguitars.com
Jeffrey Yong 10-String Acoustic
Moved by the tragic March 2011 earthquake
in Japan, Malaysian luthier Jeffrey
Yong designed and completed this 10-string
guitar in his Kuala Lumpur shop in time
to present it in Montreal. Yong used the
Southeast Asian woods monkeypod (which
is similar to koa) for the body and blackwood
for the fretboard and bridge, and he
says the armrest, side port, and lower-bout
cutaway are standard features on his instruments.
The headstock is an interesting
half-slotted, half-pegged design, and the
soundhole, back, and bottom strap button
are appointed unevenly—all representative
of a seismic shift. To get a chimey sound, its
D and G strings have octave pairs, and the
B and high E have unison strings.
gimmusic.com
Widman Custom Electrics
Electric Banjo
John Widman’s electric 5-string banjo
features a pau ferro compound-radius fretboard
with 22 frets, a one-piece chambered
mahogany body, and a maple top, in addition
to a Lindy Fralin mini humbucker
controlled by 500k CTS Volume and Tone
pots and a 3-way selector. “They give the
banjo players a chance to plug in, use
effects . . . they really rock out on them,”
says Widman.
widmancustomelectrics.com
Linda Manzer Pikasso Archtop
Linda Manzer built the original Pikasso guitar
for Pat Metheny 27 years ago when she was
asked to design a guitar with “as many strings
as possible.” This 36-string archtop version
was introduced in Montreal after being completed
and strung up only a couple of days
before the show. With a seemingly endless
variety of notes and tones coming from the
five string sets, including beyond the adjustable
bridges, this masterpiece was created by
Manzer, for Manzer. It took more than six
months to build, and it boasts an ergonomic
wedged body and a carved back and top.
manzer.com