W.J. Jones Syrena - 6-String Handcarved Electrique

In William Jeffrey Jones' words:
"The mythology and folklore of a wide array of cultures includes some form of aquatic, chimeric creature that is part human, the human portion usually that of a female. Similar to the siren in mythology, mermaids are often portrayed singing their lovely and sometimes deadly songs, enchanting men to their deaths upon the seas. The mermaid has become so interchangeable with the siren in a variety of cultures that the name for mermaid in many languages is a derivation of the word "sirena" or "syrena," as in the French, Spanish, Italian, and Polish languages."

"The legendary mermaid seemed the perfect motif for one of my carved instruments, allowing me to combine the fantastic with the female form. I've been planning this guitar for quite some time, having created the original concept drawing over a year ago. I wanted to develop a mermaid character that I could take a few creative liberties with - such as the tail - rather than just portray the typical mer-creature's tail. I wanted an image I could coax into an involved and complex rhythmic form, in a fashion not dissimilar to the way I approached her hair. I wanted to be able to feel the tail whipping through the water."

"The guitar body is constructed of two layers of aged and air-dried walnut, both of which are from a batch of walnut I have that was rescued from the Missouri River. The front of the guitar is a single piece of walnut with just the right amount of figure and a nice grain configuration that really enhances the form of the mermaid's tail and vice-versa. The back consists of a bookmatch, also with a nice grain configuration that seems to follow the form of my iO body design. I like to work with woods that exhibit or showcase the variation that nature provides and take a lot of time to arrange the stock just so, to suit both the shape of my instruments as well as whatever forms of embellishment I may choose to incorporate."

"The "heel" of most of my set-neck guitars is virtually non-existant. I spend a lot of time with the guitar in my hands in playing position while I'm working the shape over with a wood rasp to insure that the instrument is comfortable and the upper frets easily accessible. And while I frequently blend the neck into the body all around the neck joint, on this instrument, I also wanted to make the pickup and commercial bridge become more a part of the guitar body than if they were just bolted onto the top of the instrument. These are just a few examples of the extra touches that can turn a guitar with its various components into a more unified or harmonious instrument design."

"While this guitar may be more embellished or sculpted than most, it is crafted and set-up to be a high-end professional grade instrument with the action and playability you would expect from any of my guitars."

Specifications:

- Body: solidbody, carved walnut
- Neck: walnut/maple, soft V carve, angled 3x3 headstock, carved badge, dual-action trussrod
- Fretboard: cocobolo, 12" radius, Mother of Pearl sidemarkers, Evo gold fretwire
- Scale length: 25", 24 frets, zero fret
- Nut: graphite, 1.70" width
- Pickup: dual-blade humbucker
- Switching: volume control only
- Bridge: tune-o-matic
- Tuners: Sperzel locking
- Finish: Danish Oil

Price: $14,950