In 2004 we ordered a guitar for Maureen from a friend. His name is Vince Pawless and he builds guitars. He has the distinction of building in mesquite woods. This appealed to us because mesquite is identified with the heartiness of the Llano Estecado and the entire state of Texas. It turns out by working with Vince on this project that he told us that mesquite is a member of the rosewood family and in it’s own right a very fine ‘ tone wood.’ We made a trip to Gainesville where Vince’s shop is. He had some planed mesquite wood there and he allowed us to select our own. We looked for character and burl patterns. He suggested that sapwood makes for an interesting detail, so we picked out some pieces for the back and sides and found some interesting burl that was cut into a side. the photographs below were taken by Vince as he progressed through the project. He would post them on his website and we would mull over some of the design and color and he was very gracious in accepting our feedback on his creative process. Vince is a luthier. A maker of lutes.
