Dake Traphagen, 2025

We have been waiting a long time to share this one.

This is the very first Dake Traphagen double top built specifically for our shop, and it absolutely lives up to the name on the label: “Raptor.” The guitar has that unmistakable Traphagen DNA, a grounded, Spanish-leaning core, but with the added projection and immediacy that a great double top can deliver.

What makes Dake’s approach so compelling is that he is not chasing “maximum loud at all costs.” He clearly understands the common double top pitfalls and builds around them. The result is a guitar that feels natural under the hands, with real authority and headroom, yet without the exaggerated nasal character that can show up in more extreme builds.

The label says 2025 (completed shortly after), and it is a custom build for GuitarCollection.com.

Key Features

• Top: Cedar double top (Nomex core)

• Tuners: Rubner El Sonido (beautifully made, extremely smooth)

Tonewoods and construction notes

• Top: Cedar double top

• Core: Nomex, with additional cedar used strategically in select areas (including around the bridge region and in the upper bout) to keep the guitar powerful without feeling overcooked

• Back and sides: Dark Indian rosewood

• Bridge: Indian rosewood

• Finish: Mirror-like polish with exceptional fit and finish

• Soundport: Large and very effective on this design

• Fingerboard: Raised fingerboard for easier upper-register access

• Saddle: Compensated for excellent intonation and tuning stability

Sound

This is a color machine.

A lot of double tops can live in the “dark and lush” zone, which is gorgeous, until you need clarity and separation. This one gives you both. You can lean into warmth and depth effortlessly, but you can also brighten the voice without having to fight for it.

The sustain is also on another level. Not just long notes, but notes that develop as they ring. The guitar does not pop and die. It blooms. Even up the fingerboard, it stays resonant in a way that is genuinely rare for an instrument with this much power.

If you are someone who cares about a truly expressive first string, this guitar is special. It has that singing, supercharged quality that makes melodic playing feel effortless.

Playability

Dake set this up exactly to our preferences, and it shows. The neck is a very comfortable rounded C shape, with big frets and a clean, confident feel throughout the fingerboard. It is fast, stable, and refined.

Availability and inquiries

Dake is building guitars for our shop, so if this one is spoken for, you are absolutely welcome to write to us about reserving the next one.

If you're interested in purchasing, please write to us at evan@guitarcollection.com

New. Immaculate finish and workmanship throughout.