Description
2026 Ken Whisler #53 Spruce Maple 650mm
Features
| Model | 2026 Ken Whisler #53 Spruce Maple 650mm |
| Condition | New |
| Scale | 650 mm |
| Finish | French Polish |
| Tuners | Gilbert Machines with Ebony buttons w/MOP dots |
| Case | CrossRock CRW620CBR Hardshell Classical Guitar Case |
Tone Woods
| Top | Carpathian Spruce – gorgeous |
| Sides/Back | Flamed Maple – another truly gorgeous set of woods! |
| Neck | Spanish Cedar |
| Bridge | Honduran rosewood |
| Fingerboard | African Ebony – Canted |
| Rosette | Solid ring spalted maple flanked with veneers of ebony, maple, koa |
| Bindings | Flame maple with ebony and koa purflings |
Measurements
| Nut Width | 52mm |
| String Spacing | 44mm-51mm-59mm |
| Overall length | 38 1/4″ |
| Body length | 19″ |
| Upper bout width | 11 1/8″ |
| Waist width | 9 1/2″ |
| Lower bout width | 14 1/2″ |
| Body depths | 3 9/16″ & 3 13/16″ (neck to tail) |
| Guitar Weight | 3lbs & 9oz. |
| Action | 4.1mm & 3mm low E to high E 12th fret unfretted |
| CITES | Not required- please read link to left |
2026 Ken Whisler #53 Spruce Maple 650mm
Comments
Just arrived, this guitar is superb! Pretty, full bodied voice, easy to play. Setup is low enough for most players.
Intimate voice perfect for a small room recital but clearly capable of more. The power and directness out of this guitar was rather impressive.
Excellent work by the master luthier. Ken’s work has always been intriguing and accessible price-wise and this one is no different.
Ken works out of his workshop in Parkville, Missouri.
When Paul Jacobson retired, I bought out his remaining stock of tonewoods. Paul also gifted me some of his jigs. Prior to this, I slotted and shaped my headstocks by hand. Paul gave me his homemade jig for slotting the headstock and drilling the tuner holes. Paul refused to give me his template for his headstock shape; he was adamant that my headstock shape be mine,
yet he showed me his template and spoke at great length how he had it made and how he used it. When shaping, drilling, and slotting a headstock by hand, I had to set aside
an entire day for the process…..and it looked “human”. Some days it looked more human than others. After utilizing Paul’s jig and methods, I can do it in about an hour. Paul’s headstocks had a cove route on the perimeter of the face plate. The bushings to align the tuner holes were spaced to allow for this. To space the tuner holes as I had in times past would have necessitated altering Paul’s jig. Rather than do that, and out of respect for Paul and in gratitude for his very generous gift, I decided to incorporate a cove route on the face of my own headstocks.
Also one may notice the bridge saddle has no slope from bass to treble. Fingerboards on classical guitars traditionally are sloped on the bass side towards the bridge, and the saddle would have to be higher on the bass side to achieve ideal action at the 12th fret. Paul advised that I do the same, in reverse towards the nut, on the treble side. It’s a subtle change that I believe
yields huge results. 1st, it leans the plane of the strings -into- the trajectory of the motion of the right hand. 2nd, when strumming with the thumb, it takes less effort to bring out the trebles.3rd, when Doug Niedt was teaching us about tone production in my college days, he taught us to push the string towards the soundboard when plucking. This makes that motion almost
automatic. Finally, it raises the trebles 1-2 millimeters higher off the soundboard at the bridge than is the norm….which translates into (hopefully) less right hand dings in the soundboard.
The action is currently at 3.7 mm bass to 2.5 mm treble at the 12th fret. I initially strung the guitar with D’Addario Pro Arte Normal tension (J45). I swapped the strings for hard tension (J46) today, and oddly neither the feel or the tone changed, but the headroom increased dramatically with just that additional 5 lbs. of tension. I normally prefer normal tension strings, but if the
guitar itself tells me it wants hard tension, I listen. When Christopher Parkening let me play the ex Segovia Ramirez he was touring with at the time, the first thing I noticed was how the trebles felt on the right hand fingertips. There was a soft, rubbery feel that made tone production near effortless. It’s a quality I’ve strived for in my own work, and it’s my opinion this guitar has that in spades.
This guitar is finished entirely with French polish.
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Media
Listening with high quality headphones or audio equipment is highly recommended including EQ manipulation, if possible. We record everything flat with just a touch of Reverb to relieve dryness. My goal is to record the guitar as realistically as is possible. I speak in the recordings, my thoughts about the guitar (and possibly other things?). My speaking also serves to give you my first impressions and to also give you a balance of the engineering (or lack thereof) versus the sound of the guitar. I simply do not have time to engineer much of anything. Thanks. Rich
MP3 Audio – Coming Soon! – plenty of power, an excellent voice, balanced, with blooming basses and singing trebles, all in a low setup, pretty bodied guitar. Excellent guitar by Ken.
My Solo Book of sheet music is available here if you’re interested.
https://savageclassical.com/product/richard-f-sayage-solo-guitar-works-volume-1/
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Shipping
Premium HSC is included in your purchase price.
Insured FedEx Ground, UPS Ground or UPS/USPS Priority/Express Shipping is NOT included to the 50 US
Your listed Price does NOT include Shipping to the 50US
Please note that as a Global Statement for my site, for Tuning machines, Accessories, and most guitars, that Shipping is NOT Free any longer. Costs have gone up dramatically. Regardless of what or where you might read on the site, shipping is not free any longer. Choose the least expensive method, if available, or Expedited if you want them quicker. My apologies. Rich
Please DO NOT Choose USPS Media Mail to ship a guitar or a Hard Shell Case – this shipping method is designed for Media, Books, CDS, DVDs, etc.
Please choose UPS 2nd Day Air or Ground Delivery or any Expedited Method. The more expensive a guitar, the more likely you should choose a 1 or 2 day method. It’s pure common sense, especially when it is too hot or too cold outside.
I have added numerous options for you to choose the cost and method, including USPS Priority and Express, as well as FedEx/UPS options (simply indicate your preference in the Notes window at Check Out). Thank you!
Very Important: International Clients, including Canada…Please note that we will NOT accept PayPal or any CC as payment. All transactions must be finalized with Bank Wire Transfers for any amount over $1000 USD. Please see our discussion found here and scroll down to Customs – Duty and International Shipping . Thank you!
Anywhere else is subject to the most recent quote from USPS
Please write to me for a detailed quote for International Shipping.
Very Important: International Clients, including Canada…Please note that we will NOT accept PayPal or any CC as payment. All transactions must be finalized with Bank Wire Transfers for any amount over $1000 USD. Please see our discussion found here and scroll down to Customs – Duty and International Shipping . Thank you!
Packaging is professionally done within its hard-shell case.
It is always preferred that you come to the Studio to play it and pick it up. -Rich
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Warranty
This classical guitar carries a 1 Year Warranty directly from the Luthier
Please read my Return Policy
Please inquire using email or phone (Contact Me)
Email me directly if you need more info: rich at savageclassical dot com
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