Up for sale, a brand new Pledger Guitars Slope Shoulder D dreadnought acoustic guitar, complete with hardshell case. Built by hand with finesse, care, and intention, Pledger Guitars is a one-man shop, where Clayton Pledger crafts instruments in Portland, Oregon, each unique in its design and tonal properties. As Clayton Pledger describes his journey with luthiery:
"Building instruments came from my love of music, enjoyment in working with wood, and the desire to create something beautiful and useful in the world. In my little shop I build around six, one-of-a-kind guitars a year. I look at building each guitar as a slow meditation, one that involves a lot of sweet talking, listening and responding to my materials, and many hours to complete. During the process, the guitar and I develop a strong bond that will last for my lifetime; I will always be there for it."
This Slope Shoulder D takes full advantage of one of the acoustic guitar's most celebrated and time-tested shapes, pairing solid Honduran mahogany back, sides, and neck with a Sitka spruce top and scalloped spruce X bracing. With 14 frets clear of the body, a solid ebony fingerboard, and a full 25.4" scale, all of the ingredients are present for ideal response and power. Immediate and snappy with great treble articulation, this Slope Shoulder D is a vibrant strummer with good volume and a tight low end. The guitar offers just a hint of mahogany’s smooth growl when you dig in hard, with a distinctive clarity and string-to-string balance not always afforded that particular tonewood, but very notable on this example. Sweet and clear for fingerpicking too, this Pledger is a versatile, stunningly-crafted instrument.
The Honduran mahogany neck has a nicely rounded C profile carve with just enough shoulder and a gentle increase in overall depth as you travel up the fretboard, measuring .860" deep at the 1st fret and .935" at the 9th. The bound ebony fingerboard features slender Evo gold fretwire which is a copper alloy, in terms of hardness providing a perfect middle ground between nickel silver and stainless steel. Understated side dots ensure accurate fretboard navigation. The hand-carved bone nut measures a full 1 3/4" in width, and the headstock features a diamond volute, ebony headstock veneer with the Pledger "P" inlaid in pearl, and premium Waverly tuning machines that turn smoothly and provide optimal stability with a distinctive vintage-style appearance.
The ebony bridge features a compensated saddle for ideal intonation, and the top is accented by multi-ply binding, an abalone rosette, and small teardrop tortoise pickguard. String spacing measures 2 1/4" E to E at the saddle.
The guitar comes complete with its factory paperwork and deluxe hardshell case with a Martin-style appearance and green crushed velvet interior.