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SFC-1, yep...#1.
Reu convinced me to design and build a single cut. After many revisions, we agreed on the final Single Florentine Cut that I introduced a couple years ago. Thank you for the inspiration my friend, here's your new SFC:







Thorn Artisan Master SFC-1
Single Florentine Cut

Body: 1-pc. Honduran Mahogany
Neck & Fretboard: Dark old-growth Brazilian Rosewood
Pickups: Tom Holmes
Bridge: Vintage ABR-1
Stop Tail: TonePros
Gold alloy fretwire
Binding: Ebony
Knobs and Rings: Ebony
Inlays: 14K Gold Rings + 12th fret Firesun
Logo: 14K Gold
Color: 23K Gold Leaf

I believe this is the first Thorn with THC pickups and it is a perfect match. The neck position has a smooth deep LP tone with enough clarity to be a great rhythm position. Plenty of chunk. The bridge position actually has a lot more bite than I expected from this wood combo. Tons of singing sustain and the harmonics simply jump.
My favorite is the middle position though. With the 2 Tone controls you can dial in just the right amount of snarl and warmth. Very full and rich sounding but what I like most is it's extremely "musical", both clean and overdriven. I like the THC pickups.

This is my first excursion into Gold Leafing. I did some research on the process and spoke to Master Builder Todd Krause about the ones he did for Clapton. I purchased the sizing (adhesive) and a couple booklets of leaf and dove right in.
Each sheet is about 4" square and the most delicate thing you've ever seen. Just lightly touching it turns it into flakes that literally float away. I made a custom bracket that supported the body off the work bench and would allow it to spin a full 360 deg. so that my hands would never have to come in contact once I got started. I brushed on the sizing and started laying down the sheets. So far so good. I left it over night and came back in the morning to brush off all the loose flakes...it looked like crap.
The leafing is so thin that you could see every single brush stroke when I brushed on the sizing. In addition, each edge of each sheet would catch the light and you could see a straight line hi-light. Uhg.
Stripped it. Bought more leafing. Round 2:
This time I applied the sizing with a super soft make up brush using a dabbing motion as to not create strokes. I then took the entire booklet of sheets and tore off the edges in a random shape to get rid of the straight lines. Now were talking.
I'm much happier with the end results this go-around. It's a "loose" technique that doesn't really allow for complete perfection, I tried and had fun. So, here's to Reu digging it

Thank you for everything!
Ron