Golden Era Lutherie
B&G Private Build guitars are hand-built using the traditional techniques from the ‘Golden Era' of electric lutherie, delivering a vintage feel, look, and sound, straight out of the case.
THE STEP SISTER, REDWOOD
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One of the latest models in the Step Sister family is the Redwood Top. The key elements of the already-classic Step Sister design are preserved entirely, from the chambered body to the one-piece genuine mahogany neck, and a 22-fret pau ferro fingerboard that joins the body at the 16th fret with a sleek-designed heel, to allow comfortable access to the upper frets. The body is carved from one piece of African mahogany, and topped with a solid maple board. The top is then routed, to host a book-matched 2mm redwood overlay, embedded into the maple top. The redwood overlay is cut to leave just enough maple around the outer edges, for a ‘natural binding’ visual effect. |
The solid headstock similarly carries a matching redwood overlay, bound with a maple strip, that extends as a fingerboard binding all along the neck. The added touch of the redwood top brings a special appearance to the guitar, as the redwood grain and figuring is so different in every wood blank, that no two tops may look the same. Sonically, the redwood, native from Northern California, has a warm yet dry and direct imprint, brighter and bolder than cedar, but with a softer attack than maple. |
The electric tone is rich, and opens on the upper range and the harmonics, for a well-balanced, versatile sound. The nickel plated, lacquered B&G hardware, and the hi-gloss, transparent nitro finish, contribute to the natural beauty of the Step Sister Redwood. |
HIGHLIGHTS
Traditional Glues
Glue is one of the critical elements in the building of a guitar. Traditional hide glue for the neck joint, fish glue for the frets, and urea formaldehyde for the top, all crystalize like glass when dry, creating a substantially thinner layer between the different parts, which allows for optimal string energy transfer -- significantly better than modern synthetic glues.
ONE-WAY TRUSS-ROD
Single, one-way truss rods are lighter, and require a smaller channel in the neck. This building technique also demands neck woods that are perfectly aged, plus accurate installation of the truss rod. Private Build B&G Guitars only use this specific truss rod design, for improved tone transfer and sustain.
Nitrocellulose Finish
The vintage recipe for creating the best looking, thinnest and most resonant finish, remains the best. Nothing compares to a perfectly sprayed and buffed traditional nitrocellulose lacquer. It is the only finish that ages together with the wood, becoming thinner with time, merging into the wood molecules, and allowing them to vibrate freely.
B&G Pickups
Private Build pickups are developed and hand-wound in-house, to ensure that specific nuance of vintage tone we wanted for our guitars. P90s, Kikbuckers, or Humbuckers, either potted or unpotted, based on AlNiCo magnets and 42AWG Lacquered enamel copper wire, are voiced to perfection. The brass cover is also integral to the tone equation, resulting in the unparalleled, airy, warm and organic tone of a B&G Guitar.
Brass Bridge
Brass is a beautiful metal for guitar hardware. It brilliantly transfers the entire frequency spectrum, without sounding too ‘metallic'. This is the reason why B&G manufactures the bridge by milling a solid block of brass -- yet another B&G exclusive feature.
Brass Tailpiece
The B&G solid brass tailpiece, either nickel-plated or lacquered, is built to resonate, delivering a world of overtones and harmonics, like natural reverb. Importantly, each tailpiece is individually hand cast. A piece of jewelry conceived to look just as good as it sounds.
Rule of 18
The vintage-sized frets are precisely installed on the fingerboard, using the historic "Rule of 18" (24 ¾" scale), to ensure the comfortable playability that only a vintage instrument can deliver.
Lead Time
Quite simply, every B&G Private Build instrument takes time. The guitar will need weeks to evolve from the assembly of different wooden pieces, to a unique, vibrant, resonant entity. B&G instruments are built to last more than a lifetime --- the 3 to 4 months needed to complete each one becomes insignificant in the guitar's history.
Enhanced Access
The Step Sister is all about playability. While keeping the classic 24 ¾" scale length, the neck joins the body at the 16th fret, and the fingerboard grows to 22 frets. Available in the Cutaway version only, it enables easy and comfortable access to the upper frets for the most advanced rock, jazz, fusion and blues playing styles.
Fast Heel
The neck joint significantly impacts upon access to the upper registers. The Step Sister sports a neck heel that affords, at the same time, the maximum transfer function of string vibration, plus the virtual disappearance of those vibrations under the hands of the player. This allows for the most comfortable reach up to the 22nd fret
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