Helena

B&G Private Build Helena guitars are hand-built using both traditional and modern techniques that deliver a vintage feel, look and sound…straight out of the case.

We’ve applied our old-school guitar-building techniques and merged them with modern luthiery applications to create a guitar that produces a classic sound while providing modern playability.

The body is made from one piece of Genuine Mahogany.

Traditional glues are used for the frets and fretboard. These types of glues crystallize like glass when dry, creating a substantially thinner layer between the different parts allowing for optimal string energy transfer…significantly better than modern synthetic glues.

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. We only use this specific truss rod design for improved tone transfer and sustain.

We use our Private Build pickup that has been developed and hand-wound in-house, to ensure that specific tone we wanted for our guitar. The Helena Bridge is packed with a P90 in the bridge position and is wound by hand with AWG42 lacquered enamel copper wire, powered by an in-house cast Alnico II magnet and covered by our handmade brass cover.

The Gotoh Bridge and Tuning Machines have been selected for their outstanding tone, functionality, and precision.

As guitar players, we always look for that perfect tone and balance in our instrument. With this “sweet spot” 25 ⅛” (63.82 cm) scale length, we’ve found the solution to the tonal limitations of ubiquitous guitars with 24 ¾” and 25 1/2” scale lengths. This unique scale length is designed to provide the player with unmatched versatility, unique tones, and character; The tones are articulated and sweet, round but not muddy, sharp but not harsh, with a wide frequency range. This makes the Helena a workhorse for fingerstyle playing, arpeggios, rhythm, and solos using a new pallet of sonic colors.

This wiring impacts the taper of the volume control lending to less treble bleed as the volume is reduced and produces a cleaner more open sound.

We apply a thin coat of nitrocellulose which allows the wood to breathe and resonate, reflecting the artist’s passion for playing. This finish will age/relic fairly quickly & naturally to ensure improved tone over time.