"...My good friends at StoryWood Music in Raleigh NC, approached me about wanting to design a custom guitar from the ground up - just for me. They were very patient as I described wanting a hybrid of sorts. An acoustic guitar that played like a Les Paul Junior. A solid body electric guitar, but with the feel and fretboard of an acoustic guitar. I also wanted to pick out components and design features that were all completely original and in certain cases, probably never paired up before. I asked them to make it solid, yet lightweight. I asked for a balance between great looks and functionality. We discussed just about every aspect of the instrument before beginning production. And they delivered wonderfully!
Storywood Music has created a guitar that opens up a whole new world of tonal possibilities. The 4 R-4 or also called 'The Junior".
I'm super excited to play this new instrument and honored that they included me in their story..."
- Bill West
4R-4 The Junior
The StoryWood 4R-4 is the only set-neck model in our lineup, and our Jr-inspired flat-top design includes modern elements in keeping with the needs of modern players. With a very slightly enlarged body, we’ve added an all-access neck joint and finished it off with a 14 degree angled headstock with much straighter string pull over the nut. We currently have a limited stock of reclaimed and very old mahogany taken from the Vaughan Furniture factory in Galax, VA that will work exceptionally well with this design.
The 4R-4 comes standard with a single P-90 in the bridge position, with volume and tone controls and a 3-way switch that adds both straight-to-output jack and cocked-wah tones. We’ve chosen the Resomax Sonic 1 wraparound bridge from Graphtech as standard.
Pictured above is a variant of the 4R-4 with the Graphtech piezo system installed, providing electric and acoustic tones. This guitar has a chambered Duke Ellington School of the Arts reclaimed cypress body, and a top and neck made from salvaged Port Orford Cedar, chosen to enhance the acoustic nature of this instrument. This specific guitar was built with a focus on the acoustic side, with the neck joining the body in a way that provides a wider strumming and picking area. The neck joins the body closer to the 20th fret on standard models.
4R-4 Standard Specs:
- Body - Reclaimed mahogany, heart pine or similar singlecut Jr.-style with bookmatched figured top and easy-access neck heel
- Neck - Reclaimed mahogany, maple or Port Orford Cedar with reclaimed tropical wood fingerboard, 22 frets (Jescar), 12" radius, 24.75" scale
- Bridge - Graphtech Resomax wraparound bridge
- Pickups - Single P90 bridge pickup
- Tuning Machines - Hipshot open gear
- Controls - 3-way toggle to select standard/cocked wah/straight to output, Volume & Tone with electrosocket output jack
Options include:
Figured fingerboard – Options here include a variety of figured dark tropical woods, when available.
Bound fingerboard – Fingerboards can be bound with a choice of white or black traditional binding or contrasting reclaimed wood.
Semi-hollow construction - The 4R-4 can be built with body chambering for weight reduction.
Graphtech Ghost piezo system – The piezo option is configured with the GraphTech Resomax wraparound bridge with Ghost piezo saddles and the Ghost pre-amp system.
Laser engraved artwork
ITS ALL IN THE DETAILS
StoryWood guitars are designed with magnetic control cavity covers, using tiny neodymium magnets, instead of screws.
Standard cavity covers match the body wood.
The Easy-Access neck heel is also shown here, allowing greater access to upper frets.
ASYMMETRIC HEADSTOCK
The 4R-4 headstock shape is slightly asymmetric in design (just for fun) and creates a straighter string path across the nut to the tuning keys.
This reduces opportunity for string binding at the nut during bends, which can create tuning problems.
BOUND FINGERBOARDS
For a visual step up, consider a bound fingerboard. This can be done in white or black traditional binding or using contrasting reclaimed wood.
Pictured here, this neck is a mixture of water-recovered Panamanian Rock Walnut for the fingerboard, salvaged Port Orford Cedar for the core neck, and traditional white binding.
As a custom request, dots were eliminated from the face of the neck.
Visit StoryWood for more inspiration towards your next guitar!