The Glide: A Shape Drawn for a Tall Friend
Every creative person, whether a writer, actor, musician, or luthier, eventually faces the same question: take a chance on something new, with all the risk that comes with it, or choose stability and safety? Both paths are valid, but the ones we remember tend to be the ones who took the chance. For Saul Koll, that chance came around 1990 or 1991, and it started with a practical problem rather than a design brief.
At the time, Saul was working the repair bench at World of Strings in Long Beach, California. He was building his first commissioned instruments there, seven- and eight-string jazz guitars for players who taught out of the shop, and heading out on van tours with his band in between. One of his bandmates stood somewhere around six foot four, and when he borrowed Saul's G&L ASAT, the guitar looked like a toy on him. Over what Saul remembers as probably "a few beers", his friend put it to him simply: you are a guitar maker, make me something for me (being 6' 5" myself, I can relate!).
(Saul Koll in his Portland, OR shop. Photo by Sam Gehrke.)
Saul's approach was wonderfully hands-on. He traced the outlines of the guitars he had around him, a Les Paul, a Telecaster, and an ES-335, and studied how their lines compared. He then pulled out what he liked from each and kept pushing curves around until an asymmetrical double cutaway emerged, with an enlarged upper bass horn that gives the body real presence and helps it balance beautifully on a strap or in your lap. As Saul later told Dave Hunter, "back then it was a weird shape."
He stuck with it anyway. Not long after, Saul moved north to Portland, Oregon, and the Glide came with him. More than thirty years later, it remains the platform for nearly everything in the Koll catalog, and we're thankful for it.
Why the shape keeps working
Because the Glide silhouette grew out of three of the most familiar outlines in electric guitar history, it manages something rare - it looks original while also looking like a classic you somehow missed. That split heritage is what makes it so versatile. The Duo Glide utilizes the shape as a flat-top; the Super Glide Almighty as a carved archtop; the Junior Glide strips it down to a mahogany body and set neck with a range of pickup options (think Les Paul Junior or Special); the Troubadour takes it into bolt-on territory with an alder or ash body and a 25.5" scale; the Super Cub blends it with the spirit of '60s American student guitars. The same outline can be dressed as a Les Paul, a Gretsch-style hollowbody, a Tele, or something entirely Saul's own, and it works beautifully every time - a true testament to Saul's extensive skills.
A shape that went out into the world and came home
Around 2009, Saul licensed the Glide Series to Premier Builders Guild, where b3 Guitars founder, Gene Baker, and his small team built them and brought the shape to dealers around the world. When PBG dissolved in 2016, the Glide returned to Saul's Portland shop, where every one is once again built under his direct care. Over the years, Glides have gone on the road with players like Lee Ranaldo (Sonic Youth), Isaac Brock (Modest Mouse), David Torn, and Peter Holmstrom (The Dandy Warhols).
We think the best way to understand the Glide is to hold one. If you're near Lexington, MA come by the shop and see how a shape sketched for a tall friend three decades ago still feels like it was drawn for you. If you're farther away, reach out and we'll tell you everything about the Kolls currently on our wall.
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