English Ash & Bareclaw Lutz Spruce

Built to Be Remembered

The Maker's Choice VII began with an extraordinary piece of English Ash sourced from a tree planted in 1870 at Christmas Hills near Deloraine, Tasmania. Standing for more than 150 years on what is now known as the Red Berry Farm, this remarkable timber came to us through one of our trusted tonewood suppliers and was immediately set aside for something special.

Rare Tonewood Foundation

At the heart of this instrument is a beautifully figured English Ash back and sides set unlike anything currently available from our workshop. Paired with a striking Bearclaw Lutz Spruce soundboard from Aaron Fenech's private tonewood collection, the result is a guitar that balances clarity, warmth and projection with remarkable character.

Bearclaw spruce is highly sought after for both its visual appeal and tonal performance, and this particular set was chosen specifically for a Maker's Choice instrument where individuality was the priority from the very beginning.

The Voice of English Ash

English Ash delivers a responsive and articulate voice with excellent note separation and a lively, open character. It offers impressive clarity across the frequency range while retaining enough warmth and depth to remain musical and engaging in every playing style.

Combined with the dynamic response of Bearclaw Lutz Spruce, the result is a guitar that feels immediate under the fingers while remaining balanced and controlled when pushed harder.

Body Shape & Performance

Built in our Auditorium body shape, Maker's Choice VII offers exceptional versatility across fingerstyle, strumming and contemporary acoustic performance.

The comfortable body dimensions provide effortless playability while maintaining the projection and dynamic range required for recording, live performance and everyday playing.

Refined Aesthetic Detail

Every detail of this instrument has been carefully considered.

A segmented English Ash rosette and bound East Indian Rosewood soundhole frame the Bearclaw Lutz Spruce top, while waterfall figuring in the Ebony fingerboard creates a striking visual contrast against white Mother of Pearl inlays that continue through to the headstock.

The English Ash headplate features matching purfling appointments, tying together the visual identity of the instrument and highlighting the natural beauty of each timber selection.

Premium appointments include Gotoh 510 gold machine heads fitted with black swirl buttons, alongside bone nut, saddle and bridge pins throughout.