GEAR REVIEW
BEARD DECO PHONIC SIDECAR ACOUSTIC GUITAR | Bruce Adolph
KEY FEATURES
• Vintage Meets Modern Guitar Design
• Innovative Aero Bracing
• Soft V-Shape Mahogany Neck
• Authentic Woody Tone
We appreciate guitar luthiers. They have a
special ability to hand make an instrument that
exemplifies quality. It is also amazing to me to
find out how many of the modern- day luthiers
are also believers. What is it about working with
wood that attracts them?
Paul Beard has been making high-end square
neck and round neck resonators for years.
Really well-made instruments in a very unique
niche community. I have gotten to know Paul
over the years and I always enjoy his company.
Lately Paul has been re-imagining the vintage
acoustic guitar with three different models
(body shapes) under his Beard Deco Phonic
label. The Southside, Highball, and Sidecar
are all designed to have their own voice while
sharing the same Depression Era aesthetic.
Utilizing unique construction and bracing
technology, these Maryland made instruments
feature a balanced, articulate presence that is
perfect for any acoustic playing style.
Beard will tell you that, “Aesthetically, Deco
Guitars are a shameless love letter to a time
gone by. Their classic colors and familiar
details strike a natural chord while the refined
body shapes add a subtle yet fresh stylistic
perspective”.
Another element that rings true with these
guitars is the soft, almost V-shaped necks and
aged tuners. They pay homage to the wellloved
vintage guitars that are so sought after.
Yet the Deco’s have some additional thought to
them that make them even more special than
at first glance. The thin flat-backed bodies are
more compact and approachable for a wider
number of players. The volume and projection
is outstanding and noticeably disproportionate
to a guitar of this size.
At the heart of every Deco acoustic guitar is
their innovative Aero Bracing. Why change
something from the past that was so common?
According to Paul, here is why, “Spruce is the
traditional material for acoustic guitar bracing. It
is used because it is very light and has a decent
amount of stiffness in proportion to its weight.
However, spruce presents some challenges
as well. It is extremely soft with inconsistent
density, which makes it difficult to work, and
it’s not actually a particularly stiff wood, which
means the braces need to be relatively large to
properly support the top. When designing the
bracing for Deco acoustic guitars, we knew
we had to think outside the box in order to
achieve our goals. We selected Mahogany as
our material of choice for top bracing. It has
very high stiffness and very even density, but,
is naturally slightly heavier than spruce. We
compensated for this difference in weight by
making the braces narrower and taller. Then
we took a cue from aircraft design and carved
out the inside of the braces to maintain stiffness
and reduce the weight even further. This type
of complex shaping would never be possible
94 July 2020
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