Opinion poll!

[sylnau]

The Provocateur is one of the most beautiful guitar I've seen.
I would really love it with different wood options (for a darker jazzy sound).
And a longer scale.

[UglyCasanova]

Well the Attache is discontinued. I have a few pickguards left in case I ever feel like using them up but I'm not sure I'll make more.
The folks that bought them really love them BUT by far the public reaction was a resounding "meh, what else ya got?!" So I think I'll focus on developing models that get more people excited.

Stupid people.

[Nelson Instruments]

The Provocateur is one of the most beautiful guitar I've seen.
I would really love it with different wood options (for a darker jazzy sound).
And a longer scale.

I keep the wood standard so I don't have to keep a bunch of different things on hand and so I'm not making a special trip to the lumber yard for every order.

One thing I've mention previously (a while ago and I don't even recall the thread) is that when we talk about "brighter" or "darker" in relation to woods I think the focus is on the wrong place.
In my opinion it's DENSITY that matters far more than species.
Take a 50s fender with a super light ash body and a later one with a super heavy ash body. They're both ash but the lighter one has that lighter, more airy, snappy sound.
When people ask for ebony fingerboards the sound qualities they seek are due to the extreme density of ebony.
All of that is to say that the body wood on the Provocateur is soft maple. Soft maple has an average density that is VERY close to mahogany.
The advantages to soft maple are 1) easier to finish due to not having to fill pores. 2) it doesn't have the interlocking grain that mahogany seems to have often which can be a pain to work with.

As a side note to offer mahogany going forward I'll have to add an upcharge for it. Not only is it twice the cost of soft maple but the overall quality has gone down. It is getting harder to find boards that don't have weird cracks and voids hidden within them.
It makes for a LOT of wasted wood when you can't use most of the board due to things that can't be seen until it is cut into.

But back to the Provocateur, if you want dark and jazzy I honestly think the guitar does it perfectly as is.

Again, if someone wants different wood it's fine, and on that guitar I could do a different scale length if needed. The reason I haven't published such options is that I have found that too many options causes a lot of indecision in people AND then I have to deal with "well you offer THOSE lengths but why not THIS one?"

An anecdote: a month or so back I had someone inquire about a Provocateur with a 23-1/2" scale length and three pickups and a few other things.
I told him that it would be possible BUT for all the extra work involved in those custom options that $1,550 guitar would end up being a $2,200 guitar.

That's the other reason that I don't offer tons of options. When you're dealing with guitrars/brands/builders that are totally custom and charge $4k then someone is prepared for that and if the extras bring it to $4,500 or $5k they expect it.
For my stuff it is a different crowd overall and folks don't quite get why they can't totally spec out the guitar with tons of special options without it costing more.

So I just keep the specs limited and if people have special requests they ask and I tell them if it can be done and they decide from there.

Sorry for the long reply. I realize I've never really explained that part of why I do things the way I do so I hope all of that made sense. :-)

[sylnau]

Thank you very much for that reply.
I wish I could try one of your guitar.
I really like how they look.

[Nelson Instruments]

I know that it isn't convenient since you can't just walk into your local guitar store and try one out BUT I do offer a money back guarantee so if you get the guitar and you don't like it you can return it for a full refund.
So obviously you have to front the money to try the guitar but the risk is minimal.
Obviously if you live outside the USA then the shipping can be a bit much.
I will mention though that in five years I've had one guitar returned. (An acoustic, he prefered pencil-thin necks and my necks are not tiny but he liked the sound and everything else).

If you ever want to take the plunge and check one out I think you'll be pleased with it!

[PeteeBee]

I'd love a budget model with the primo pickguard.

[Mudfuzz]

So I think I'll focus on developing models that get more people excited.

Speaking of which, you still thinking about a stand-up ABG some day?

[Nelson Instruments]

So I think I'll focus on developing models that get more people excited.

Speaking of which, you still thinking about a stand-up ABG some day?

The short answer is yes.
I'm not sure if it is an undertaking that I will dive into until I can get into a bigger shop though (and I suppose at the moment that is sort if an IF).
I have all the measurements and basic patterns to work off of and I do still think it is something bass players might get into....it would just require more space to make and store the tooling.
Before I get into those I have another model or two of electric guitar I might work in AND I am itching to get hollowbody electrics happening.

The upright bass is a little more of a pet project for me. Before I would really devote any actual time to it I'll need to have things stable and moving in a good direction.
Hopefully with the changes I'm making that will become a reality sooner than later!