MANGO GREEN 700C COMSTOCK 6-STRING RESTORATION

Originally a Jetglo factory-built Maple Comstock, this guitar had fallen on some hard times. It had a badly-split top and the neck needed a reset. Studio California made a new top to latest specification—a 20” spherical radius with heavier bracing using clear pine and maple. Our original plan was to refinish it in its original Jetglo, with the headstock modified to a rare baroque“Fishtail” shape. Because of this, much sanding and filling became necessary, as the original sides and back had developed waves and low spots. Twenty-four man-hours alone were spent making the entire body as flawlessly straight as humanly possible. A new padauk fretboard was fitted, along with a padauk bridge, also to a custom design that mimics the footprint of the classic Rickenbacker acoustic bridge, but in simpler form. The bridge pins are special Ovangkol with “tiger eye” mother-of-pearl inserts, and the bridge saddle is black water buffalo horn. A handmade synthetic ivory nut was also fitted.

Just before the painting process began, it was sold to a customer who requested a favorite color—a vintage VW shade called “Mango Green, which dates to 1960. We finished it off with Kluson, style “butterbean” tuners with square enclosed backs, in nickel-plate instead of our usual gold. This instrument also features Ivory plastic, featuring a pickguard in a special custom shape, with a slight “kick” at the end to better fit the lines of the headstock. The “flash” at the bottom was done in flamed natural Maple. The resulting finished project represents a one-of-a-kind jumbo acoustic that is as striking as it would have been in Jetglo.