1992 Melbourne (Dana Davis) Old Ivory 000-Size Guitar

This crazy white (ok, ok, cream) box was made by luthier Dana Davis after just two years of building. It sounds amazingly-good for two years into building, even if the narrow headstock, wedge-shaped body (front to back), and very '90s finish treatment are on the quirky side. To my ears it sounds like a long-scale variant of a mid-'50s LG-2 vibe. It's direct, snappy, loud, punchy, projects like crazy, and responds really fast. It doesn't have the chunky warmth of an old Gibson, but it's got that airy/mids-delicious/woody sound down.

Dana's instruments are marketed under the Melbourne name and made down in Massachusetts. Current-generation stuff is more "modern boutique-y" in looks and taste, but the older work is a bit more freeform like this one.

This was just in for a glorified setup -- I leveled/dressed the frets (they were a bit askew from settling-in over time), recut the saddle slot a bit wider and made a new bone saddle so the height and compensation would be correct, installed a K&K Pure Mini pickup, and set it up. Of course it plays on-the-dot... the truss rod works, and the neck is straight, too.

The neck also feels very '50s Gibson -- a tighter radius on the board backed by a medium C-shaped profile.