When you come across a boutique acoustic guitar builder this unique you pay attention to them.  when you hang out together for four days straight at a bluegrass festival as a fellow vendor and get to play their guitars everyday….you fall in love with them.

 

Bent Twig Guitars are handmade in Libby, Montana by Dave Boulware and Brady Turk.

 

A lifelong love of wood, and woodworking was passed along to Dave from his father (who is a woodcarver and furniture and cabinet builder). Dave was in home construction for years and has led worship in his home church on an acoustic guitar  for the past ten years. Brady has had a lifetime passion for woodworking as well. He is a graduate of Montana State University with a degree in art. 

 

This two-man operation has been building quality acoustic guitars full time for the last two years now and their end product shows it.  these high-end acoustics are a bit of rustic beauty! They have very different ascetics with a special satin finish and exotic tone woods.  You can get them with regular high gloss finishes too but the satin finish is outstanding.

 

Lets cover the basics…..they use a standard Martin X type bracing ( each guitar has scalloped braces) and each top i voice taped by hand.  They meticulously shave the thickness of each top to get the most resonance out of it.

 

They use a variety of fretboard woods (rosewood, ebony and even a jaw dropping bird’s eye maple. Bent Twig offers you a choice of tone woods for the top, back and sides (Cocobolo, Walnut, Koa, Ziricote, Spruce, Brazilian or Indian Rosewood, Mahogany etc..)

 

The nut width is a comfortable 1&3/4” and you get to choose a round or diamond shaped volute on the back of the neck. Each guitar comes with open back Waverly tuners and you select your bindings/perflings. Can it get any more custom than this? Yes, it can. Being from Montana, they use Elk or moose antler for the heal cap and end graft (those horn shed naturally). Plus bone bleached or unbleached end pins on radius plus a bone nut and saddle. To top it off you choose your dot inlays…either copper, mother of pearl or abalone. 

 

But how does it sound? Well, the resonance of this guitar matches the outward good looks!! I watched person after person be impressed with these guitars day after day at the bluegrass festival. When I played the Bent Twigs, I could jump on them and they respond big and bold; then I would take it down and they sound as sweet as can be.

 

I have dubbed these wonderful acoustics “vintage glamour”. Then name Bent Twig comes from a Bent Twig Lane in the Libby, Montana area. The body shapes available are dreadnought, small jumbo, medium jumbo, and parlor. They make about two guitars a month, so your special order gets a lot of attention. They even give each buyer a unique book with photos of your actual guitar’s build process from start to finish. Class act!  

 

Starting at $6,200 with Ameritage hardcase with humidifier and de-humidifier. Price can vary depending on your personal wood selections.

 

 

by Bruce Adolph