2019 Hook Sinker Redwood Hooklet – £1399

NEW ARRIVAL  Hook Guitars are currently only built to order in Bangor, Northern Ireland, and the waiting list is getting longer. Every guitar is built by hand, to every individual customer’s specifications, using some of the finest materials available. This example is the small body model called the Hooklet, which is slightly smaller than a 00 body size. What drew me to the guitar is the Sinker Redwood top, which is a highly prized tone wood, and also very beautiful looking. The soundboards are sliced from huge old-growth redwood logs reclaimed from the depths of Northern California rivers, where they’ve lain in many cases for more than a century. It has a fairly bold response, with warm overtones. The guitar is paired with Rosewood back and sides adding clarity and attack to the overall tone, making it deceptively powerful for it’s size. Finished off with an Ebony fingerboard and bridge, Gotoh tuners, and beautiful Abalone inlays, the guitar looks really striking. It’s probably at it’s best being fingerpicked, with great single note presence, and a full sustain. But it has the power to handle strumming surprisingly well, with a warmth and richness that allows the guitar to handle all playing styles. The guitar is in very good condition, with one tight back crack which runs next to the centre seam.