Kerouac
weird musical dildo
Patrick James Eggle Skyland 2004
The first time we heard this guitar played here in the 'Elkcave, it was pitted against a Martin HD-28. The guy that was making the comparison was a semi- professional guitarist and pretty good, so he knew his dreadnaughts. The bottom line is, this Eggle destroyed that Martin like it was walking a dog. I wouldn't have believed it myself had I not been there to witness the beatdown, so when we had the chance to offer this guitar on consignment, we jumped. Here, in the owner's own words in the story on this and the Linville we will soon list:
I first saw these guitars at the NAMM show in 2004 when Patrick was building them with his partner in North Carolina. I think they started putting those NC guitars out in late-2003 and stopped in early-2005 to move production to England. Back then, he was using all master grade woods and he could tell you where the wood in each guitar came from. For example, he explained at the time that one of his rosewood dreadnoughts came from the paneling salvaged from an old bank...that sort of thing. He even had pictures of his wood supply he'd share if asked.
Each one from the '04 run at the NC facility were hand made, generally to order, by Patrick and his partner. Everything from the bracing to cutting the woods to the fret work - you get the idea - all supervised or done by Patrick. I believe the maple guitar of mine you have came from NAMM, because I remember a guitar exactly like that one with the bear claw markings on the top and that wicked maple back and sides, but no one has any records to prove it and Patrick didn't remember which ones he brought to the show.
The shop I was with would have become an Eggle dealer on the spot; however, his pricing was a little strange for the time. He was charging dealerships 10%, if memory serves, off the set retail price. That left a few hundred dollars to make on an investment of several thousand dollars in an unknown acoustic maker. He also wouldn't agree to stop selling the guitars on his own. So, there wasn't enough meat on the bone and we were going to be in a place of competition with the manufacturer. So, we passed. I understand that most of his guitars were, by late-2004 and into 2005, being shipped back to the UK. He had a handful of small dealers in the US, but the guitars never caught on. Patrick went back to England in 2005, changed up the headstock, and makes guitars there. He also does the "Faith" brand of guitars. Those early ones represent a great amount of attention to detail and hands on creation by the luthier.
The dreadnought should have mahogany back and sides, brazilian veneer on the headstock, ebony fretboard, and I can't remember what kind of spruce for the top. All master grade woods. That model is now more expensive than the OM maple guitar I sent up to you. I got a replacement price of $10,700 and that's the value the insurance company has. What I did learn is that there isn't another one out there with these exact specs, per the Eggle collective memory. Same goes for the OM. That OM's top is clawed beautifully but not overly so and, to me, is very cool. It's a shame the back and sides are hidden from view because, wow, are they special. If they were on the front of a Les Paul...look out.
