Daniel Roberts Minstrel Sunburst, 2015 (No Longer Available)

The Daniel Roberts Minstrel is a rare sight and is based on a late 40’s Gibson LG-2, mid-sized steel string guitar. Extremely well built and in excellent condition, this example dates to mid-2015.

Like a 40’s LG-2, the Daniel Roberts Minstrel uses a Spruce top, here of reclaimed, century old Sitka. When the LG-2 replaced the L-00 in 1942, Sitka Spruce was being used in place of Adirondack, as that wood was marked for war production. The sides, back, body blocks and neck are Mahogany. The bridge and unbound fingerboard are Ebony. The fretwire used is Evo Gold, between standard and Stainless steel fret wire for hardness. Roberts uses hide glue extensively. This guitar does have an adjustable truss rod, with the adjuster tucked into the upper part of the neck block.

The finish is a lovely nitrocellulose lacquer sunburst on the top, with a light amber tint for the sides back and neck. For hardware, the tuners are a set of Golden Era tuners that look just like the original models (but probably work better). The pickguard is a single-layer fire-stripe, affixed to the finish, not to the top wood.

The construction and attention to detail are very high quality. The interior of the guitar is very clean and the braces are beautifully carved. It plays well, and its very good condition suggests that it may not have been played enough to fully develop its voice.

This Daniel Roberts Minstrel is sold with its original Guardian hard shell case.

Over the years, Daniel Roberts has been involved in woodworking from felling trees to millwork to building instruments. At least a third generation woodworker, he began building instruments in 1989 with the Flatiron Banjo and Mandolin company – run by Ren Ferguson – which was then purchased by Gibson, and folded into the Gibson Acoustic division in Bozeman, Montana. In 1991, he began working with the Santa Cruz Guitar Company, building archtops and designing new models, ultimately overseeing production. His connection with Santa Cruz lasted for 17 years, and during that time he developed skills with traditional Japanese tools, which tie into his use of hand tools for building instruments.