Description
Excellent / #13-012014
Bearclaw Sitka / E.I. Rosewood
Unique Soundhole
Multi Wood Bindings
Fossil Ivory Nut & Saddle
This 2014 Mitchell Paulson 16″ Grand Auditorium guitar is a very full, very smooth sounding guitar. Handbuilt here in Missoula by Mitchell Paulson, a local guitar builder. Mitchell is quite known to us and has been bringing guitars into our store for around 10-12 years. He always has very high grade woods and uses them for tone and for artistic effect.
East Indian Rosewood back, sides with 2-pc Mahogany neck. Very beautiful “Bearclaw” Sitka Spruce top. Back of peghead has a Rosewood overlay. Volute on back of neck.
This Paulsen guitar has one unique feature to point out: The soundhole, itself, has the inner lip artistically sculpted so that it isn’t a perfect circle; the inside lip has been sanded in a wavy fashion to give the soundhole a more organic look and feel, I’m not sure if I have ever seen anything like it! Flamed Maple heel cap matches the flamed Maple body bindings by having multiple accent lines.
The Rosewood peghead overlay has Paulsen’s MP logo at top. Gold Gotoh tuners with Ebony(?) buttons. Wooden truss rod cover just above the Ivory Nut. The fingerboard appears to be undyed Ebony and has pearl diamond inlays. Black outer bindings around the f.b. The frets are long life EVO frets. Light side dots along the bass side of the f.b. As a signature move, Mitchell has grafted black Ebony at the end of f.b. to contrast with the other woods in the area. This area is the wood past the last fret and is quite attractive.
The body is as big and as deep as a dreadnaut but doesn’t seem like it, due to the narrower waist and sloped shoulders. The top and back edges of the body are bound with Flamed Maple outer bindings with multiple accent lines. These accent lines are seen around the top edge, the sides, the heel cap and the end wedge.
The top is gorgeous! The grain is very nice but the “Bear Claw” figure in the top is incredible. Hard to overstate the beauty of the Spruce Top!!!
The soundhole is unique and very cool. Michell Paulson has created a subtle “Flower” appearance of the inner circle of the soundhole! He used an inner ring of Rosewood with Maple binding the inside diameter. Then he sculpted the inner Maple in a wavy fashion to make look very organic – like it grew there instead of being fit there. Its better to look closely at the photos to see it.
The handmade bridge is Gabon Ebony with pearl diamonds inlaid in the wings. Fossilized Ivory saddle, Ebony bridge pins with ‘Paris eye’ inlays.
Big bold sound. Comes with good hard case.
