David Pace, 2014

Every so often a guitar comes through that was very clearly built for one person, with nothing trimmed back to hit a price or fill a shop floor. This 2014 David J. Pace was a private commission, and the choices show it: German spruce with dramatic bearclaw figure, a set of cocobolo rosewood the maker described at the time as some of the best tonewood he had worked with, Graf tuners with mother of pearl buttons, a radiused fingerboard, an armrest, and French polish throughout.

What draws the eye first is the wood pairing. The bearclaw in the top is bold without being busy, and the cocobolo has the kind of shimmer running through the grain that you rarely see in this species. Twelve years on, the soundboard has taken on a warm amber cast that the original photographs never captured, and the cocobolo has darkened and deepened. This is a guitar that has aged the way you hope a good spruce instrument will.

It also has an unusual bit of recent history. Before coming to us, the guitar spent time back in David's own hands, where he used it to demonstrate his work to prospective clients. That tells you most of what you need to know about how he feels about this particular instrument.

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Specifications

Luthier: David J. Pace

Top: German Spruce, bearclaw figure

Action: 2.8mm treble, 3.5mm bass

Tuners: Graf with mother of pearl buttons

Appointments: Armrest, solid hardwood linings, lower bout buttresses

Strings: D'Addario XTC45FF with normal tension nylon first string
https://ddar.io/guitar-collection

Condition: Very good, crack free, honest signs of twelve years of play

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Sound & Playability

This is a solid German spruce guitar rather than a double top, and it has the qualities that keep players coming back to that construction: a voice that has matured and settled rather than arriving fully formed, with real body underneath the sound.

The basses are robust and full, with weight behind them and no muddiness, while the trebles are clear and sparkling and hold their character well up the neck. Balance across all six strings is one of this guitar's real strengths, and sustain is consistent and generous throughout the range. Projection is strong without the instrument ever feeling forced.

Playability is where this one separates itself from most guitars of its era. The 640mm scale takes real strain out of the left hand without costing the instrument any authority, and the fingerboard carries a subtle 30 inch radius, which sounds like a small thing on paper and feels like a significant one under the hand, particularly in barre chords and extended positions. The raised fingerboard makes the upper register genuinely accessible, and the armrest takes the edge off the treble bout for the right forearm.

The action sits at a comfortable 2.8mm on the treble side and 3.5mm on the bass, and it has not moved since the guitar was completed in 2014. Twelve years without the geometry shifting says a great deal about how this instrument was built.

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Construction & Design

The top is solid German spruce with pronounced bearclaw figure, paired with cocobolo rosewood back and sides. The entire instrument is finished in French polish, built up over many coats of shellac, which is a large part of why the guitar has aged as gracefully as it has.

Structurally, Pace builds with solid hardwood linings and buttresses in the lower bout, a stability-minded approach that shows its value in an instrument like this one: after more than a decade of playing, the geometry has simply held.

The Graf tuners with mother of pearl buttons deserve their own mention. Graf machines are genuinely rare, and there is a reason players seek them out. They turn with a smoothness and precision that almost nothing else on the market matches, making fine tuning effortless in a way you notice every single time you sit down with the guitar.

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About the Luthier

David J. Pace builds in Baltimore, Maryland, and has quietly become one of the most respected concert guitar makers working in the United States.

He built his first guitar in his late teens, largely out of frustration at not being able to get his hands on a good instrument. A career in audio engineering followed, and then a trip to Spain and time spent around the workshop of Amalio Burguet pulled him back toward building. Mentored by Ross Gutmeier, he started his first serious instrument in 2002, working out of a small apartment.

His early work drew on Torres, Fleta, and Bouchet, and by 2010 he had arrived at a voice of his own, incorporating thoughtful modern details alongside traditional Spanish construction. He builds both traditional solid top and double top instruments, always French polished, and his guitars are known for an evenness across registers and a three dimensional quality to the sound. His work has been reviewed in Classical Guitar magazine and his instruments are played by professionals and conservatory students alike.

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This guitar is in very good condition and shows the honest evidence of twelve years of being played and enjoyed. There are small scratches here and there on the top, and frequent nail impressions on the back of the neck. The soundboard has oxidized to a warm amber tone, which we consider a feature rather than a flaw.

The instrument is crack free. The action has not moved since it was completed in 2014, and it comes with a BAM case.

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