Liggett Guitars Sumi 2059 Sunburst / Light Relic (NOS, 2023)

Ben Liggett's vision of the perfect LP-style guitar is made real in this gorgeous SUMI 2059.

With guitar playing and instrument building, there comes a time when you feel you’ve got enough experience under your belt to focus on your own thing. Questions like - What am I trying to say with my music, my instruments, etc…? What is my sound or style? - start to percolate, and if the pull is strong enough, you step off the cliff in pursuit of the answers. We say ‘step off the cliff’ because to follow your own path requires quite a bit of confidence. It’s “easy” to copy someone else’s style, but how do you tackle the self-doubt that arises when you’re following your own voice, which will inherently be unique and unlike anything that’s come before?

One such builder who has braved the 'unknown path' is Oklahoma-based, Ben Liggett. “After working several years as a machinist in the oil tool and aerospace industry, I was ready for a change. I received my introduction to guitar making while attending the Roberto-Venn School of Luthiery in Phoenix, Arizona. I moved back to Tulsa and became a full time luthier at Bishline Banjos, where I built custom instruments for eight years alongside its founder, Rob Bishline- a fellow Roberto-Venn graduate. I now have my own shop, Liggett Guitars, where I build my own line of custom electric guitars and specialize in custom inlay.”

This gorgeous SUMI 2059 is Ben's take on his perfect Les Paul. Drawing inspiration from Taku Sakashta and Jersey Girl Guitars - “They showed me that if you take the platform in your own direction, it can be a joy to play, which made me love single-cut guitars again.” - the SUMI indeed expresses Ben’s unique take on this style of guitar. Visual cues include a slender body waist, beautifully refined inlays, and a classic looking headstock silhouette, all of which create a sophisticated vibe.

Featuring a 25” scale length, birdseye sapele body & neck, flame maple top, Brazilian rosewood fingerboard & headstock overlay, jumbo frets, ivoroid inlays, and a set of "zebra"/exposed coil Throbak SLE-101 humbuckers, the SUMI feels amazing in-hand. Like our first SUMI, this guitar is a very alive, easy playing, solid feeling instrument, with incredible articulation and sustain. Weighing in at lbs oz - a perfect weight for a single-cut guitar in our world - the SUMI has some muscle behind it tonally while balancing really well.

If you're in the market for a single-cut style guitar, we can't recommend Ben enough. Keep an eye on him, we have a feeling he's destined for great things.