Inspired by the The Great Guitar Build Off, an experienced builder challenged himself to turn a live-edge piece of cherry wood into a masterfully unique, grizzled beauty.
Kent Meloy
Hometown: Cincinnati, Ohio
Guitar: Live-edge Cherry Swamp Monster, nicknamed “Keith Richards”
For the past five or six years, I’ve been slowly building my guitar-building chops starting with a couple kits and then moving into my own scratch-built designs under the name Tunguska Guitars. Lately I’ve been intrigued by some of the builds I’ve seen featured on The Great Guitar Build Off run by Britain’s Crimson Guitars, and I’ve tried to start thinking outside of the norm.
My brother-in-law has a bunch of 2" slabs of cherry wood that have been drying in a shed behind his house for a couple years. When we were down for a visit, he took me up to collect a few. This particular live-edge piece wormed its way into my heart, and I grabbed it, knowing it was probably useless for a guitar.
But once I got home, I kept thinking about how to solve the problems. The entire bridge/tailpiece area was completely unsuitable, and one thing I knew I did not want to do is fill it with resin. This thing needed to stay as raw, beat-up, and un-shiny as possible. There was barely enough wood to get a body and neck out of it, but I managed to get both.
I decided the only way to solve the bridge issue was to fabricate something myself (if you can call it that), so I picked up a 3/8" steel rod and used a blowtorch to heat it up and make the necessary bends in the bridge, far enough apart that it literally “bridged” the canyon of disintegrating wood. I put threads on the mounting ends so I could install nuts on the top and bottom as a basic height adjustment. The 2-piece tailpiece was less drastic, but also did the trick by boring deep into the good wood for support.
I decided the pickup mount would emulate an acoustic, boring all the way through the body and countersinking a steel ring for decoration with pickup mounting holes on the backside instead of the top, and I wanted a single volume control to hover in the upper horn’s decorative hole. This took a while and involved a short, threaded rod, three nuts, and a little bit of J-B Weld to get one of the nuts on the mini-pot.
Once I got far enough into the process, I was calling it “The Nameless One,” but my friends started calling it “Keith Richards”–a grizzled, beat-up, true rock ’n’ roll survivor. I came to be completely okay with that assessment: It just feels perfect!
The pickup is a hand-distressed StewMac Golden Age Parsons Street humbucker. The fretboard is ziricote and the relic’d tuning machines and control knob came from GFS.
The thing sounds amazing—it’s very open and organic. Cranking up the distortion just a bit gives it a lovely swamp-’70s vibe. It completely surpassed my expectations, and I’m sure it’s Keith’s fault.
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The Martin D-11E Rock the Vote acoustic-electric guitar is a special edition instrument crafted to inspire people to participate in our democracy. This collaboration between Martin Guitar, David Crosby’s estate, Rock the Vote, and artist Robert Goetzl tells a powerful story. “David was a patriot,” says Executive Chairman Chris Martin IV. “He believed deeply in this great experiment of ours, and his passion for voting is something we wanted to honor and continue.”
The vision for the original D-16E Rock the Vote guitar launched back in 2020 was born from a conversation between Chris and David Crosby, partnering with Rock the Vote to encourage people to register and participate in federal, state, and local elections. That conversation led to blending Robert’s compelling artwork with Martin's renowned craftsmanship. Robert shares, “David threw out this quote, that ‘democracy works if you work it,’ and that became a guiding theme for the artwork.”
A reissue of that original guitar, the all-new D-11E Rock the Vote model includes new features like an LR Baggs M80 soundhole pickup paired exclusively with Luxe by Martin® Kovar™ strings. Kovar is a unique alloy of two ferromagnetic metals, nickel, and cobalt, not found in conventional phosphor bronze strings. When paired with the adjustable M80 humbucking coil, these strings are guaranteed to deliver an exceptional acoustic-electric experience. It’s the ideal pairing for players seeking warm, authentic, amplified tones in any performance setting.
The D-11E Rock the Vote acoustic-electric is crafted with premium materials, including American sycamore satin back and sides and a spruce gloss top showcasing Robert’s custom artwork. Its Dreadnought size and unique 000 depth offer players a powerful, projective sound with strong bass and a comfortable feel. It also features a satin select hardwood neck, ebony bridge and fingerboard, silver binding, and includes a softshell case made of hemp.
This guitar not only commemorates David Crosby’s legacy, but through this collaboration, Martin Guitar is proud to support Rock the Vote with a $5,000 donation. Rock the Vote is a non-partisan, non-profit organization dedicated to building the political power of young people, and over the past 30 years it has helped register over 14 million voters. According to the organization, “In 2024, Millennials and Generation Z will comprise 44% of American voters. Young voters are new voters and as new voters they face unique obstacles to voting... Our efforts focus on research-driven programs and innovative solutions to right the system and ensure each youth generation is represented in our democracy.”
"We are thrilled to partner with Martin Guitar to harness the power of music in inspiring young musicians and their fans to engage in our democracy," said Carolyn DeWitt, President and Executive Director of Rock the Vote. "Music has always been a catalyst for change, uplifting critical issues and driving people to action. As we face the defining challenges of 2024, it's essential that young voices are heard and their passion is transformed into meaningful participation at the polls," adds Carolyn DeWitt, President & Executive Director of Rock The Vote.
With only 47 of these guitars made, honoring the election of the 47th U.S. president, each one represents a commitment to encouraging civic participation through the universal language of music. “I believe it’s our responsibility as citizens to participate in our democracy,” says Chris.
For more information, please visit martinguitar.com.
