2015 Nick Gregory Cutaway Carved-Top Archtop Electrified Guitar (Part 2)

I worked on this guitar back in 2019 a little and wrote it up back then, so I'll borrow from my original post on it a bit an then extrapolate. So, here's what I wrote before...

"Nick Gregory is a small-shop builder up here in Vermont. He's a friend of a friend and we met just the other day. He's passionate about his work, that's for sure. This guitar's back, sides, and neck are cut from a walnut tree he felled himself. The other work I've seen of his (an amoeboid electric, for instance) are much like this one -- organic-looking, curvy, and with a lot of odd and interesting features that betray an overactive mind (a good thing) and a focus towards making the instrument accessible and very playable (also a good thing).

He built this one back in 2015 and it's a little rough around the edges here and there, but I gather it was a bit prototypical when he made it. There's a lot of complicated joints that this guitar needed solutions for, for sure! It's held-up well, though, and the super-stable (and comfortable) neck is thankfully trouble-free. That's the first thing I look for in a small-shop guitar -- can the maker build a good, stable neck? If not, then I don't see the point in being in business building guitars in the modern age -- and believe me, I've seen enough extra-boutique guitars with finicky necks to let you know that there's folks that know and folks that don't.

The top and back are fully-carved and they're set over thin-depth (2 3/8") sides. The top is x-braced, carved spruce while the back and sides are walnut. I almost wish that Mr. Gregory had left this guitar fully-acoustic, too, because its natural acoustic voice is impressive as heck. This thing would go toe-to-toe with any good mid-'30s Gibson or Epiphone carved-top in the 16" body range and at the same time it has better fret access and a smaller profile in the lap. That's some good work, sir. But -- ya know -- having a pickup to jack-in doesn't hurt, either.

It has a 24 5/8" scale and a medium-C neck with 10-12" radius on the fretboard, so to me it feels like "Gibson home base" for the left hand. I like it. There are even little "aircraft carrier" carved-detail edges where the neck runs over the body."

Now, back to our current 2024! Back in 2019 my buddy Rick bought this guitar from Nick and has been using it off and on for gigs ever since. It's gained some wear and tear, lost the original tailpiece (the brass hanger for it broke and the bits went flying), and has survived the rigors of heavy-handed Vermont gigging for years, now, without much complaint. It arrived back here just as playable as it left the last time and only needed a tiny bit of adjustments.

Repairs included: previously -- a fret level/dress, restring with Chromes in 52w-12 gauges, and some setup-side work.

• Weight: 5 lbs 5 oz
• Scale length: 24 5/8"
• Nut width: 1 11/16"
• Neck shape: medium C
• Board radius: 10"
• Body width: 15 1/2"
• Body depth: 2 1/2"
• Body wood: solid carved spruce top, solid walnut back/sides
• Bridge: ebony
• Fretboard: rosewood or similar
• Neck wood: walnut
• Pickups: Alnico-magnet mini-humbucker (Johnny Smith-style)
• Action height at 12th fret: 1/16” overall (fast, spot-on)
• String gauges: 52w-12 Chromes (I think)
• Truss rod: adjustable
• Neck relief: straight
• Fret style: medium-wider

Condition notes: it shows some small nicks, dings, and scratches here and there throughout the finish. The center seam under the tailpiece opened-up a little in winter dryness and now has a cleat and some fill in it to keep it secure. There's a little finish blem around that area, too. The tailpiece is a replacement and its "arms" are bent a little to keep it off the top as the top has a pretty extreme carve in its center area. The frets are in good order but show a tiny amount of wear (not enough to level/dress out again).

It comes with: sorry, no case.

Consignor tag: RR