❌SOLD❌Beardsell 9C Cutaway Nylon String Guitar, 2009

Here is an unusual guitar from one of the hotbeds of the Canadian music scene – a Beardsell 9C cutaway nylon string guitar, built during 2009 in Winnipeg, Manitoba. This model currently sells for over $8000 Canadian.

Allan Beardsell has been playing and repairing guitars for the last three decades and has been dedicated to building custom instruments for the last fifteen years. His shop, Beardsell Guitars, was long ago in Toronto but is now in Winnipeg, occupying the former Gar Gilles shop, once home of Garnet amplifiers which were well known to many Canadian musicians. 

This Beardsell 9C cutaway nylon string features a Sinker Redwood top paired with Brazilian Rosewood for the sides, radial-braced back, bridge, head plate and backstrap (a headplate for the back of the head). The body blocks and raised neck are Mahogany – the neck lift includes a small ‘shelf’ to guide the thumb. The small elliptical soundhole is surrounded with black/white marquetry, and a Laskin Armrest is stock on the lower bout. The bass side has not one but two sound ports, the lower one with a sliding cover.

The crowned Ebony fingerboard carries a very nice Eye of Horus inlay executed in Mother of Pearl, Abalone or Paua and various coloured woods. The Eye of Horus is an ancient symbol, dating to approximately 3000 BCE, drawn from Egyptian sources and represents regeneration, healing, and protection. The Eye of Horus is a left eye and represents the Moon. It is distinct from the (right eye) Eye of Ra, representing the sun. There are two other inlays, both the stylized Beardsell B, one on the headstock and one on the heel cap.

For hardware, the Beardsell 9C  headstock carries Gilbert tuners with individual plates and Snakewood buttons. The 52mm bone nut and saddle are compensated to aid in tuning and intonation.

The Beardsell 9C is an unusual guitar. It plays very well, sounds great, and is quite loud. Traditionally and since the development of steel strings, most nylon guitars have been decidedly oriented towards Classical and Flamenco styles. However, in the last few decades many players have discovered that nylon string instruments are very expressive and responsive. Latin Jazz and ‘Crossover’ players have adapted the design to include a crowned fingerboard.

This Beardsell 9C guitar is sold with its original tweed hardshell case.