‹ Back

Private Build

Koa Back & Sides / Spruce Top

US $5499

Price includes a premium case and worldwide shipping

View ordering info

BUILD YOURS

GALLERY

THE CALETTA, KOA Back & Sides / SPRUCE Top

Sitka spruce top and Hawaiian koa back and sides make up for a magnificent looking and sounding Caletta. This highly figured tonewood can be comparable to the best mahogany, but because of the denser, inter-cellular structure of the timber, it adds a new dimension.

Koa is more powerful, with a top end that is less rounded and more sparkling, and with an increased projection on the entire spectrum. The Caletta Spruce/Koa is a fast responding guitar, remarkably loud and detailed.

A fascinating combination for fingerstyle players, because of the extreme touch sensitivity and articulation, and at the same time, rich enough in harmonics and strong basses to allow the pick players to cut through any ensemble....

Finish

Natural

Tobacco Burst

Honey Burst

VINTAGE AMBER

HIGHLIGHTS

Sitka Spruce

The most classic soundboard wood is Sitka Spruce, and for good reason. The pronounced dynamic range ensures a fast, responsive instrument. The bass provides the necessary power to deliver strong fundamentals, and the treble comes through lucid and pure. The tops we use have been air-dried for 20+ years.

Caletta Size

The Caletta unique body design strikes a perfect balance between sweetness and power. The 14 5/8” lower bout allows the fundamental notes to develop full-bodied and punchy, while the narrow waist and the smaller shoulders emphasize the crispness of the upper range and the development of harmonics.

Hand Voicing

The soundboard is pre-voiced before the final assembly of the guitar. Then, once strung and tested, the inner side and the bracing are further fine-tuned to create perfect, desired tonal balance, underpinning the individual sound character of the guitar. Each guitar, every guitar, one at the time.

Traditional X Brace

Fully respecting the Caletta's vintage heritage, the soundboard is braced in an X-pattern, fine-tuned and customized in the dimensions, weights and scalloping pattern of each brace.

Nitrocellulose Finish

The vintage recipe for achieving the best looking, thinnest and most resonant finish, is still the best technique. Nothing compares to an adequately sprayed and buffed, traditional nitrocellulose lacquer, the only finish that ages together with the wood, merges into its molecules, and allows them to vibrate freely. We finish the Caletta in the same manner as the classics of the 50s -- with a very thin nitrocellulose layer that merges into the wood grain.

Alpine Spruce Braces

An excellent wood for braces, it combines light weight and stiffness, to achieve remarkable volume and projection, with excellent headroom and minimal compression.

Hot Hide Glue

We mix and use our own hot hide glue recipe, to achieve the strongest chemical bond with the minimal thickness of the glue layer itself. Hot hide glue is not easy to work with, or economically convenient, but it guarantees that the different woods will virtually integrate into each other, contributing to the resonant qualities of the finished guitar.

Deep Tenon, Void-Free Neck Joint

Another of the original design features of the Caletta, our proprietary neck joint ensures optimal stability of the neck onto the body, thanks to a gluing surface that is about quadruple that of the surface in a traditional dovetail joint.

Locked Neck Angle

The substantial, yet lightweight block with its back ‘tongue’ further reinforces the neck joint, and locks the neck angle into a stable, long-lasting position.

Upper Bout Braces

Two upper transverse braces support the last portion of the fretboard over the top, and guard against any possible top deformation in the delicate upper bout area.

Light Build

The goal to build the lightest guitar possible, without compromising on the integral strength of the design, is achieved with a set of solid back and side sheets, only 2mm in thickness. The neck and kerfing are carved from Spanish Cedar to further reduce weight.

Ultrathin Pickguard

We selected an ultrathin pickguard, durable enough to protect the top finish, but also light and inconspicuous enough not to hinder the top’s movements.

Premium Casing

A virtually indestructible, custom-built Ameritage case will protect the Caletta against (almost) all odds.

VIDEOS

PHOTOS

BUY YOUR GUITAR

Find a dealer in your area or order online directly from B&G

FIND A DEALER ORDER NOW

ordering info