a few hours getting their instrument set up and touring the shop as they travel through the Baltimore / Washington DC area.
Paul’ s passion to innovate has continued since his first guitar was delivered and Beard Guitars has grown to build instruments played all over the world. He and the legendary bluegrass innovator Mike Auldridge became close friends and many Beard designs were the result of their collaborations.
Paul spinning cones.
In order to maintain consistent quality, Beard Guitars makes all of their guitar hardware components such as coverplates, tailpieces, and sound screens.
The spider bridges are cast in the USA from the original # 14 molds and every resonator cone is hand spun by Paul Beard.
Paul and Jerry Douglas at the Ramshead
With 14 squareneck and roundneck models already available, Beard guitars is launching three new lines, Copper Mountain™ composite back resonators, Belle Beard™ Passive resonator, and the Resoluxe™ solidbody electric resonator series for 2017.
For more information, visit their webiste www. BeardGuitars. com.
Paul’ s quest for continual improvement led him first to refine the traditional soundwell, an interior drum like cylinder that supports the top and back of the guitar and houses the resonator, with enlarged vents to allow for better bass response and overall volume. This is known as the open soundwell and was incorporated in the First Beard R-Model, derived from Mike Auldridge’ s pre-war Regal.
Soon a completely new design, The Beard E-Model featuring a deeper body with a wider waist( resembling a small Dreadnaught) utilizing the open body was developed, featuring a traditional response with a more robust low end and the first Beard E-Model was built.
According to Paul the next logical step was to design an instrument with a completely open body and bass reflex baffle that is now standard on Mike Auldridge, Jerry Douglas Signature models, and the A Odyssey Roundneck series.
Nov � Dec 2016 CollectibleGuitar. com
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