Marc Culbertson knows wood in all formats (New custom guitar pics inside!)

[dsigman]

I have had the pleasure to get to know Marc Culbertson over the last few months while he finished off a custom guitar for me and I have to say the guy knows his stuff. I started to get to know him because I had a Pawar guitar that I felt needed a tune up and I was looking for someone to do it that I knew would do good work. Marc took that guitar and made it play amazing. The guitar rings more clearly and has the tones I always thought it should have.

While I was there that day I told him about a guitar idea I have had cooking and he happened to have an unfinished project guitar there that he offered to let me buy into. I felt the body style was a bit odd but, I liked the concept. Marc made some adjustments to the body style of the guitar and I picked up the guitar 2 weeks ago. This guitar has exceeded my expectations by miles. Marc is a perfectionist. He winds his own pickups and he knew exactly what he was going for when he wound these to complement my guitar. He tried 3-4 different kinds of pots on the guitar before he found some he liked. Marc knows wood better than anyone I have ever met(he should really after years at Gilmer) and he has a great stockpile of some amazing tonewoods.

Alright I will quit babbling: TTIWWOP right? I guess I can't link from Picasa so you can check them out here:
http://picasaweb.google.com/dsigman/CCG#

24.75" neck
Macasser Ebony Fretboard and Headstock overlay
Black Limba Neck and body
Adjustable stoptail
Culbertson custom wound pickups
VVTT controls and a three way switch
Insane fretwork

This guitar has some impressive touch sensitivity and clarity that I have never experienced in a guitar before and I have played a lot of guitars from a lot of the best builders out there.

Alright I will quit, check it out and let me know your thoughts.

[fretnot]

I have a LP and SG from Marc...killer stuff. Congrats D!

[Shane S]

Very cool. I just spoke with Marc a couple of weeks ago in my search for a 1-piece white limba body. He was very informative and seemed to really know his wood. Congrats on your new guit-fiddle.

[Balance]

Very very nice. I like the looks, and I imagine it only gets better when you start playing it.

[EVO]

Sweet guitar! Marc is a great guy! I buy a lot of my wood from him and like you said, he knows his stuff.

[David Myka]

Nice guitar David! It's good to see Marc selling some guitars. I need to get a set of his humbuckers one of these days. I hear so many good things about them.

~David

[dharmafool]

It was Marc who recommended several years ago that I check out TGP, as I hadn't yet heard of it. I had a couple discussions with him about guitar building, and of course about tonewood, then I purchased some wood from him. Those boards still sit in a corner waiting for me. I'm real glad to see he's building stuff again. I would love to order a guitar from him.

[amc]

That is a beautiful guitar.......

[TDJMB]

That's a beauty. The emphasis is on the wood rather than some shiny paint job. What finish did he use?

[dc_jcm800]

Beutiful instrument!
Love the shape and overall clean look.


The upper bouts kind of remind me of an old Guild s300d I had a long time ago.

[Pa'ani]

Looks very cool! Nice wood...

[dotlikeimpact]

Wow, that's a really cool shape.

[dsigman]

I believe it is a oil based finish that was rubbed on. It makes the guitar feel more like wood and less like plastic and this thing resonates and sustains for days. It is silly.

[snagdabiskit]

Great looking axe! I just finished wrapping up a wood purchase for the body stock with Marc & Gilmer. I'm going to have the same type of finish, it's nice to feel wood under your hand rather than lacquer & glass.

He's great to do business with and absolutely willing to work with you on what you're looking to create. I just picked up some killer black limba body blanks & neck blank for an explorer project and feel more confident -- scratch that, informed, about designing this guitar than any purchase of a manufactured guitar in the past.

Although I'm putting active pups in this one, I was shocked by the reasonable prices he is offering on his custom wound pickups. To me, a much better deal than the price one would pay for other 'custom wound' pickups (e.g. Bxxx Knxckle)-- same types of quality materials and considerable insight regarding what you're looking for or trying to replace. I've got some JB's 59's and Jazz pups sitting around waiting for another project, but I'm seriously leaning towards having him wind me some instead--after all, there's a reason I pulled them out of their respective guitars in the first place.

[Saul Koll]

Marc's wood experience is unmatched. He has supplied every guitar maker, company, factory that I've ever heard of, so you can imagine the quantity of stuff he goes through everyday. I'll often find him in the back of an 18 wheeler, unloading a mysterious batch from Africa or South America. And he is there selecting the absolute best to be sold to the instrument making community, the rest for furniture or architectural stuff.
I have numerous suppliers for guitar woods, and still I think I get about 70% of my stuff from him. He knows my kids and when they were toddlers would give them little exotic wood scraps and tagua nuts to play with while we did business.
I've known and done business with Marc for almost a couple decades. I am always impressed with his guitars. They are without exception incredibly lively tone machines.
His is a rare gift.
I look forward to my next visit!