Though he didn’t know it at the time, Jeff Figley was on his way to becoming a luthier when he moved to a small farm in New Hampshire to open the King Blossom Cabinet Shop in 1983. While making pieces of high-end cabinetry over the years, he found himself setting aside some of the more beautiful pieces of wood that came through the shop, with the intention of saving them for something special. Not necessarily thin king about guitars as a future project, Figley built up quite a stash of gorgeous wood.
Figley always had a passion for music and began playing guitar in the early ’70s. But it wasn’t until the late ’80s that he built his first, when he found his creative side left unsatisfied by building only cabinets. With honed woodworking skills, a woodworking shop, and a love for fine wood already in place, Figley borrowed a couple of books from a luthier friend and set out on a two-year journey to build his first instrument. Constructed from both spalted and bird’s-eye maple, Figley still owns his No. 1, which is still his favorite guitar for tone thus far.
When asked about design inspiration, Figley cites PRS as a major influence because of their use of highly figured materials. “I’m all about the wood, so I strive to create a noble purpose that equals its beauty,” says Figley. But he isn’t afraid to experiment with other materials—he came up with the idea of using truck-bed liner as a guitar finish. “I just don’t add the optional ground rubber, and when it’s thinned properly, it makes a roadworthy textured finish,” he says. “The purists knock it, but these guitars have great tone.”
With an interest in passing his experience to hopeful builders-to-be, Figley offers periodic internships at King Blossom Guitars, allowing an intern to build their own instrument under his supervision. “Just start, don’t stop, and don’t pay much attention to what others are saying and doing,” is his best piece of advice for an aspiring luthier. “Most people don’t think outside of the box. Be an original and hone your skills.”
Figley recently incorporated CNC technology to King Blossom for some of the rough work, enabling him to be more creative and develop new ideas, but he steadfastly maintains the importance of handcrafting in building guitars. “The attributes of a world-class guitar will never be achieved by anything but refined, custom handwork,” shares Figley. “I have no intention of getting away from this aspect that defines a superior instrument. It’s the hands-on detailing that I love.”
Pricing and Availability
All King Blossom guitars are custom
built to a client’s specs. Figley will guide
a customer gently so they end up with
a finished instrument built to their personal
preferences. Guitars are available
by ordering direct and the current wait
time is approximately three to six months,
depending on the complexity of the build.
Figley currently makes 12-15 guitars a
year, but with the recent incorporation of
CNC to his shop, he intends to bring that
number up to 75-80.
Model 1 #0018
This chambered-body Model 1 features a
big-leaf maple burl
top with soundholes
created with some
help from Mother Nature. Utilizing
mahogany for the
body and neck, the
27-fret ebony ’board
boasts illuminated,
fiber-optic side dots. With a DiMarzio 36th Anniversary PAF
pickup in the bridge
and a DiMarzio EJ Custom in the
neck, this Model
1 also features
a piezo-loaded
bridge from Graph Tech.
Model 1 #0012
Utilizing highly figured
maple burl to top the
mahogany body of this
version of the Model 1,
it too is adorned with
fiber-optic side dots
for guidance along
its ebony fretboard. Outfitted with Sperzel
locking tuners and a
bridge and tailpiece by
TonePros, this looker
is loaded up with a DiMarzio 36th Anniversary
PAF pickup
in the bridge and a DiMarzio PAF in the
neck position.
RGM #0001
This RGM model’s
maple top rests on
a body carved from
poplar and features
Figley’s use of truckbed
liner for a road-ready
finish on the
back and sides. The
maple neck is topped
with a rosewood fretboard
and the instrument
is outfitted with
a ResoMax bridge and
tailpiece by Graph
Tech. For electronics,
this RGM has a pair of DiMarzios, with a PAF
Pro in the bridge and
a PAF in the neck.
Riffguy Signature RGM
The Riffguy Signature
RGM is the culmination
of a two-year project
between Figley and one
of his artist clients that
incorporates features of
an SG, Strat, and Les
Paul. The Khaya African
mahogany body is
capped with a highly
figured maple top while
the Khaya African
neck is topped with
a scalloped Bolivian
rosewood fretboard
sporting an antique
walrus-tusk nut. This
RGM is loaded up
with a Riffbucker Articulator 1 bridge pickup and an Articulator
2 in the neck.
RPG #0005
Finished with a classic
sunburst, this RPG
utilizes AAAAA-grade
quilted maple for the
top, back, headstock
veneers, and pickup
rings. With a DiMarzio DP223 36th Anniversary
pickup in the
bridge and a DiMarzio DP190 Air Classic in
the neck, this axe is
outfitted with Sperzel
TrimLok tuners, a Graph Tech nut, and
bridge and tailpiece
by TonePros.
RPG-RS Prototype
Figley’s RPG-RS
Prototype is designed
to maximize the
acoustic properties
of the electric guitar.
The hollow mahogany
body houses soundports
in the horn
cutouts, which allows
the guitar to breathe
and project sound
without feedback
from floor monitors.
The one-piece maple
top integrates the
pickup rings, bridge
mount, armrest, and
straight string-through
tailpiece, all of which
are carved out of one
solid piece of wood.
“This guitar is far
more alive than anything
I’ve ever built,”
says Figley.
Diamond Pedals Dark Cloud
True to the Diamond design ethos of our dBBD’s hybrid analog architecture, Dark Cloud unlocks a new frontier in delay technology which was once deemed unobtainable by standard BBD circuit.
Powered by an embedded system, the Dark Cloud seamlessly blends input and output signals, crafting Tape, Harmonic, and Reverse delays with the organic warmth of analog companding and the meticulous precision of digital control.
Where analog warmth meets digital precision, the Dark Cloud redefines delay effects to create a pedal like no other
But by gosh, if delay—and its sister effect, reverb—haven’t always been perfect for the music I like to write and play. Which brings us to the Fishman EchoBack Mini Delay. The EchoBack, along with the standard delay controls of level, time, and repeats—as well as a tap tempo—has a toggle to alternate between analog, tape, and digital-delay voices.
I hooked up my Washburn Bella Tono Elegante to my Blues Junior to give the EchoBack a test run. We love a medium delay—my usual preference for delay settings is to have both level and repeats at 1 o’clock, and time at 11 o’clock. With the analog voice switched on, I heard some pillowy warmth in the processed signal, as well as a familiar degradation with each repeat—until their wake gave way to a gentle, distant, crinkly ticking. Staying on analog and adjusting delay time down to 8 o’clock and repeats to about 11:30, some cozy slapback enveloped my rendition of Johnny Marr’s part to “Back to the Old House,” conjuring up thoughts of Elvis trapped in a small chamber, but in a good way. It sounded indubitably authentic. The one drawback of analog delay for me, generally, is that its roundness can feel a bit under water at times.
Switching over to tape, that pillowy warmth evaporated, and in its place came a very clear replication of my tone—but with just a bit of the highs shaved off the top. With the settings at the medium-length mode listed above, I could see the empty, glass hall the pedal sent my sound bouncing down. I heard several pronounced pings of repeats before the signal fully faded out. On slapback settings (time at 8 o’clock, repeats at 11:30), rather than Elvis, I heard something more along the lines of a honky-tonk mic in a glass bottle. Still relatively crystalline, which actually was not my favorite. I like a bit more crinkle—so maybe analog is my bag....“That pillowy warmth evaporated, and in its place came a very clear, pristine replication of my tone—but with just a bit of the highs shaved off the top.”
Next up, digital. Here we have the brightest voice, and as expected, the most faithful repeats. They ping just a few times before shifting to a smooth, single undulating wave. When putting its slapback hat on, I found that the effect was a bit less alluring than I’d observed for the analog and tape voices. This is where the digital delay felt a little too sterile, with the cleanly preserved signal feeling a bit unnatural.
All in all, I dig the EchoBack for its replications of analog and tape voices, and ultimately, lean towards tape. While it’s nice having the digital delay there as an option, it feels a bit too clean when meddling with time of any given length. Nonetheless, this is surely a handy stomp for any acoustic player looking to venture into the land of live effects, or for those who are already there.
