My Lacote five-piece back guitar design evolved from a desire to build a historically informed
early-19th-century Romantic guitar with a slightly higher level of visual refinement—without drifting into excessive
ornamentation. Inspired by René Lacôte’s era of light, responsive instruments, this approach preserves the elegance
and restraint of the period while allowing for thoughtful material and structural choices.
The defining feature of this design is the segmented five-piece back, paired with double bookmatched sides and a
central inlay. Visually, the result is balanced and understated. Structurally, it opens the door to a broader and
more sustainable selection of highly figured domestic woods.
A key advantage of the Lacote five-piece back guitar is material efficiency—particularly when working
with domestic curly maple. Rather than requiring an eight-inch-wide board for a traditional two-piece back, the
segmented layout allows me to produce a complete back and side set from a board as small as
2.5″ × 2.5″ × 30″.
This method reflects historical economy of materials while allowing me to select visually striking maple that might
otherwise be unsuitable for a conventional back.
As with all of my Romantic guitars, the backs and sides of these Lacote five-piece back guitars use a thin inner
layer of high-grade Sitka spruce paired with curly maple. This is a purposeful structural approach using solid,
musical tonewoods—done to increase stability while keeping the instrument lightly built, which is an essential
characteristic of early 19th-century guitars.
Necks are made from two-piece bookmatched curly maple. The headstock is joined using my own proprietary V-joint,
CNC-machined for precision and then hand-fit and finished to ensure strength, accuracy, and longevity.
I have built this Lacote five-piece back guitar with both Sitka spruce and Italian spruce tops.
Sitka spruce tends to produce a slightly more focused, nasal character that lends itself well to early music,
while Italian spruce generally offers a sweeter and more rounded tonal response. I am also open to building this
model using other spruce species or cedar, depending on the player’s tonal preferences.
Rosettes and purflings are executed in black-and-white dyed maple. Bindings, headstock plates, bridge, and
fingerboard are made from either Macassar or Gabon ebony.
Early versions of this model used a traditional V mortise-and-tenon joint. I have since transitioned to a
bolt-on neck joint. The primary motivation was serviceability. Because these guitars are ladder-braced, the
ability to adjust neck angle over time—without steam or heat—is critical.
An added benefit is flexibility during construction. The bolt-on design allows me to work on the body and neck
together or independently throughout the build process.
All of my Lacote five-piece back guitars are finished in French polish. While more delicate than
lacquer or polyurethane, French polish allows precise control over finish thickness, minimizing dampening and
preserving tonal response. It is also far easier to repair, making it well-suited to instruments intended for
long-term use.
To see how this construction approach fits into my broader Romantic guitar work, visit the
Romantic guitars overview.
For some historical context on 19th-century guitars and related instrument traditions, the
Early Romantic Guitars
website's instruments resources are a reliable reference.
| Specification | Details |
|---|---|
| Series | Lacote |
| Model | 5-piece back / curly maple |
| Size/Type | Early Romantic |
| Top Wood | Italian Alpine or Sitka spruce (customer’s choice) |
| Back & Sides | Curly maple with Sitka spruce lining |
| Binding | Macassar ebony |
| Purfling | Natural and black dyed maple |
| Bridge | Macassar ebony |
| Rosette | Half herringbone natural and black dyed maple |
| Finish | French polish |
| Neck/Fingerboard | Curly maple neck, Macassar ebony fingerboard |
| Headstock Plates | Macassar ebony (front & back) |
| Scale Length | Nominal 620 mm (actual 616 mm) |
| Number of Frets | 12 to body, 18 total |
| Fret Marker Inlays | None unless specified (side markers available on request) |
| Nut Width | 45.25 mm |
| String Spacing at Saddle | 48 mm |
| Nut/Saddle | Bone |
| Bracing/Build | Lacote ladder bracing |
| Body Width | 215 mm (upper bout), 276 mm (lower bout) |
| Body Depth | 75 mm (upper bout), 80 mm (lower bout), 85 mm (waist) |
| Overall Length | 885 mm |
| Tuning Machines | Pegheds planetary tuners |
| Strings | Aquila 55C Super Nylgut or strings of choice |
| Included Services | Progress updates with photos, full professional setup |
