For those new to these guitars, Glenn was the finish department foreman at Santa Cruz guitars, was in charge of French Polish restorations for renowned classical guitar maker Kenny Hill, and is currently Bill Tippin's only employee. In other words, Glenn knows a thing or two about building exceptional instruments.
Cambridge #46, in a Natural Antique Varnish finish, envisions John Lennon's Epiphone Casion in the period after John and George return from India and have their guitar's finish sanded off. While not truly sanded bare here - you still want, and need, a bit of finish to ensure the wood doesn't give off or take in excess moisture - the finish is incredibly thin and certainly captures the vibe of John's sanded guitar.
The Cambridge is a very lightweight, balanced instrument and the tones and playability are really inspiring. It sounds like an old, perfectly seasoned guitar with a gorgeous acoustic voice. Seriously, you could play it happily for extended periods of time before ever thinking of plugging it in.
Once plugged in, that same airy, open acoustic voice combines with the chime and output of a great goldfoil pickup, courtesy of a pair of Retrograde P90 pickups.
Woods, pickups, finish, specs....all that stuff aside, at the end of the day, the real question with any instrument comes down to - Do I want to play this? Does it inspire me? To use familiar language, does it have a vibe...mojo? The answer in this case is, unquestionably, yes.
- Laminate maple back/top
- Solid maple sides
- 14” lower bout, 2” body depth
- Mahogany neck
- Classic “C” shape, .840 - .920
- Granadillo fingerboard with recessed fret ends
- Retrograde P90s
- 24.9 scale length
- 1 11/16 nut width
- Three Bolt Neck Joint w/ Steel inserts
- Gotoh Vintage Kluson style tuners
- Gotoh large post Tune-o-matic bridge
- Aged Hardware
- Antique Varnish finish
- Hardshell case