2010s Fletcher JD25 Size 5 Tenor Guitar

Overview: Jamie Dougan is the maker of Fletcher instruments and he started in Ithaca but now resides in Brooktondale, New York. He's been making nice-quality, '20s-style tenor guitars for at least the last 15 years and I've experienced three of them so far. His build quality gets nicer every time and this one is a solidly-built, great-feeling tenor guitar. 

Tone: It's got a punchy, woody, clean sound that projects nicely. Mr. Dougan voices these for GDAE tuning and so that's what I've got it strung for. It will also do CGDA just fine.

Feel: The neck is very similar to old '20s instruments of a similar style -- with a soft V rear shape and a flat fretboard. The satin finish is beautifully executed and it has a Martin-like firmness of build that makes it feel very reassuring under the fingers.

Interesting features: These guys have a "Martin Size 5" body which is a little larger than a baritone ukulele. In the early '20s Regal debuted a very similar tenor guitar design (the first commercially successful tenor guitar) and various makers from the time followed the Regal trend and made their own variations on this tailpieced, small-body theme. Mr. Dougan interpreted a Stewart-branded version of the style to come up with his own Fletcher design which you see here. The build quality is a lot higher than the original it apes, however, and has more of an old '20s or '30s Martin-level of craftsmanship. The tailpiece load lets the top have very light bracing and as a result, the instrument is loud and punchy for its size. It doesn't do the "super sweet and mellow" thing a pin-bridge Martin tenor of the same era would do, but that's OK because what this does beautifully is sit in its own sonic space in a band or jam.

Repairs included: I restrung it and set it up.

• Weight: 2 lbs 2 oz
• Scale length: 21"
• Nut width: 1 1/4"
• Neck shape: medium soft V
• Board radius: flat
• Body width: 11"
• Body depth: 3 1/4"
• Top wood: solid spruce
• Back & sides wood: solid mahogany
• Bracing type: ladder
• Bridge: floating ebony
• Fretboard: ebony
• Neck wood: mahogany
• Action height at 12th fret: 1/16" overall (fast, spot-on)
• String gauges: 42w, 32w, 20w, 12
• Truss rod: unsure (non-adjustable?)
• Neck relief: straight
• Fret style: medium/narrow

Condition notes: Aside from the very lightest of usewear, it looks essentially new. The frets didn't need a level/dress as they're full height with only the very tiniest of use. There may be the tiniest scuff or scratch that I'm not seeing, but it looks more or less like an instrument that has been hanging-out in a music shop for the last year or so.

It comes with: Sorry, no case.

Consignor tag: SK