Guitar Appointments

The photos below show some details of appointments enhancing the appearance of an Olson guitar, available as options when you order.


The new peghead back veneer and purfling. Also visible here are Jim's new custom tuners, with the "O" logo embossed on the back of each tuner.


This is Jim's new soundhole rosette. It features Brazilian rosewood inserts with the grain lines oriented to point toward the center, like spokes on a wheel.


A closeup of the new rosette on a cedar-top guitar...	...and on a spruce-top guitar.


As an option Jim can provide abalone and purfling trim around the fingerboard edge on the guitar top. It must be carefully merged with the soundhole rosette. This photo shows a top with the fingerboard trim in place (the fingerboard will cover the lower rectangle and extend off the bottom of the photo).


Part of the process of installing the fingerboard trim. Here the top and rosette have been carefully cut to receive the trim.	Here the trim is being fit into place.


Here's a particularly fancy example of custom fingerboard inlay combined with fingerboard trim, abalone binding, and the new soundhole rosette.


One of Jim's most-requested appointments is dove-shaped fretmarkers, either oriented down the fretboard (as on Phil Keaggy's SJ) or up (as on James Taylor's). This closeup shows a dove made with some especially colorful abalone, trimmed with a thin band of mother-of-pearl.	Jim's latest take on the dove inlay has a wooden center outlined in mother-of-pearl. The Fadal and laser make possible the extremely precise fit.


Colorful wood outlined with a light trim is a theme in Jim's latest appointments. Here you see the style applied to his signature headstock inlay...	...and here a closeup of the tip of the cutaway on a spruce-topped instrument shows binding made of rosewood bordered by black-white-black trim.


This customized headstock shows off customized inlay, abalone edge trim, and a signature "O" made of abalone trimmed with light pearloid.


Jim also offers custom engravings that he executes with the Fadal and the laser.