Willer Custom Instruments

Willer Instruments were on display in April at the Newport Guitar Festival in Hollywood, Florida, a show featuring the work of premier luthiers from around the country and abroad.

A highlight of the Newport festival was the first official showing of the Dennis Merrill and Friends “Sonic Sitka Project”

Remote test equipment was set up backstage to capture acoustic frequency baselines for each participating instrument, including our custom Willer guitar and mandocello. This information will be collected and archived over the life of the instruments, making Sonic Sitka project participation an asset that will continue to increase their value in the years to come.

A series of great shots of the Willer Sonic Sitka guitar from a festival photo session:

A Quilted Mahogany Grand Concert guitar with ebony binding is number 14 of 111 in the Sonic Sitka instrument series.

The elegant head stock of this mahogany guitar is bound in ebony with abalone purfling. The“Willer” logo is inlayed in gold mother of pearl.

To Commemorate the Sonic Sitka project, there is a mother of pearl inlay at the fourteen fret. The signature Willer sound hole rosette appears on both of our Sonic Sitka instruments, a classic double ring with abalone inlay.

Elegant appointments make this guitar look as great as it sounds and plays.

No, this is not an eight string guitar! This mandocello got a lot of attention at the Newport Guitar Festival.

A mandocello is the cello (baritone) instrument of the mandolin family and is tuned in four courses of two. From low to high the courses are tuned to C-G-D-A.

The neck of a mandocello is more slender than that of a standard guitar. The neck on this instrument is 1-5/8 inches at the nut and 2 inches at the 14 fret, with 2 inch string spacing at the saddle.

The signature abalone rosette and clear pick guard work nicely together, enhancing the beauty of the Bearclaw figured Sitka top.

Willer mandocellos are built on our grand concert guitar body style. This body is curly maple bound in cocobolo for a striking contrast. This unique richly toned instrument may be purchased alone, as part of our Mandolin Sisters family, and/or with the matching curly maple guitar.

The headstock of the maple mandocello is an asymmetric design that matches the other members of our mandolin family bound in cocobolo with a single maple purfling . The inlayed “Willer” is shimmering mother of pearl.