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You are here: Home / Builds / The Monarch

The Monarch

The Monarch is a wonderful 14 fret guitar for anyone who appreciates great tone and a classic appearance. The Monarch body features a slimmer waist and curvier shoulders than a Dreadnought. It has a well-balanced tone and is a versatile instrument that would make an excellent choice for singer-songwriters, finger style players, or anyone who wants a great-sounding guitar that is a joy to play.

Quilted Maple with spalted Maple rosette and Cocobolo fretboard.

 

 

 

 

The Monarch features all solid wood construction with a select Sitka top, hand carved Sitka bracing, wood bindings, decorative purflings, a shell rosette, Ebony fretboard and bridge, and bone nut and saddle. A double action truss rod insures that your ideal setup can be dialed in. Every Monarch receives a flawless gloss lacquer finish.

Premium Rosewood with mitered Holly purflings

 

 

The monarch is fully voiced and tuned using a combination of ear tuning and software analysis, and the top and back are tuned to specific fundamental resonances that work together to get the most from the guitar’s top and back woods. Sitka Spruce braces are hand carved to specific profiles for each individual Monarch, ensuring superior tonal response.The tone is clear and balanced, and the body shape and size are very comfortable to play.

Spalted Maple panels on the back of this Rosewood Monarch make a unique and striking visual display.

The Monarch can be customized for you with a variety of upgrades. These include Abalone shell body purfling, highly figured back and side woods, custom inlay work, unique rosettes, gold tuners, and cutaways. Please contact me to discuss your design ideas and for pricing.

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Mahogany and Maple laminated neck on a Myrtle Monarch.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Standard Monarch Features:

  • all solid wood construction
  • figured Maple back and sides (other species available at the same cost)
  • Abalone shell rosette with B&W outer rings
  • five-piece Mahogany neck with dual action truss rod
  • bound Ebony fretboard with wood binding, B&W purfling
  • Ebony Dogwood-style bridge and pins with shell dots
  • solid wood binding with B&W purflings
  • Gotoh sealed chrome tuners
  • distinctive Dogwood peghead with hand-cut pearl logo
  • bone nut and compensated saddle
  • Ebony end pin and strap button
  • high gloss lacquer finish
  • hard shell case
  • Lifetime warranty to the original owner

The Monarch base price is $7000.00

Technical information

The Monarch is a 14 fret guitar with a 25.5 scale length. The bout is 15 3/4″ and the shoulder width is 11 1/2″. Body length is 2o 1/8″ and the overall length is 41 13/16″. Width at the nut is 1 3/4″ and the string spacing is 2 1/4″. Fretboard radius is 16″ and the neck is a comfortable oval shape. Alterations to some of these dimensions are available at no cost.

Upgrades include highly figured back and side woods of various species, Venetian cutaway, custom fretboard inlays, custom rosettes, shell body purflings, and unique binding and purfling combinations. Contact me to discuss your ideas for a custom build.

The Monarch guitar in the photo gallery below includes all the standard appointments plus the following upgrades: Premium Indian Rosewood back and sides, venetian cutaway, spalted Maple and Abalone radial rosette, spalted Maple back and end panels, and gold tuning machines. Other Monarchs can be seen on the Guitar Gallery page.

Scroll down to watch a video of the Monarch being played. Hearing is believing!


[Show as slideshow]
October Morning Front
October Morning Back
October Morning Front Detail

October Morning Back Detail
October Morning Cutaway
October Morning End Detail

October Morning Peghead

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Building a Monarch: Pearl Inlay

Shell inlays are a time-honored way of adding flair, beauty, and value to musical instruments. The two primary types of shell used in making guitar inlays are Mother of Pearl and Abalone. Each of these come in several color varieties. There are many … [Read More...]

My Building Philosophy

As a craftsman who has worked in wood for the better part of 40 years, I've developed a way of approaching fine woodworking that suits my style, pace, and dedication to excellence. I work by myself, alone with my tools and carefully selected woods. I … [Read More...]

Fine Handmade Guitars

  Hi, and welcome to Dogwood Guitars of Kansas City, MO. My goal is to provide you with the best sounding and playing guitar possible. Whether this means settingĀ up your current guitars to play their best, or working with you to build your … [Read More...]

1932 Martin 0-18 Parlor Guitar

It's not often that a luthier has the opportunity to work on a pre-war Martin. This little 1932 Parlor 0-18 came to the shop in very rough condition. It took a tumble down some stairs, resulting in a long crack in the treble side of the body and … [Read More...]

1977 Martin D-18 Restoration

Older Martins often need substantial work to restore them to excellent playability. Recently a 1977 Martin D-18 was brought to me for evaluation. The guitar needed a neck reset, fret work, bridge plate repair, and cracks in the top repaired. A new … [Read More...]

Customer Testimonials: Martin Fret Work

"I took my Martin D-28 to Dogwood guitars to get it worked on, It was in pretty bad shape when I bought it used. Someone had tried to install frets on their own and it was buzzing and the action was hard to play. I called Greg and he said to stop by … [Read More...]

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Technical Articles

Voicing and Tap Tuning of Acoustic Guitars

Voicing and tuning are important elements of great tone. A great guitar has great tone, great playability, and great appearance, in that order. Fancy wood, a high gloss finish, and lots of Abalone inlay are visually beautiful but have … [Read More...]

More Technical Articles

Viewpoint Articles

The Three Elements of a Great Guitar

Guitar players and collectors have so many choices available to them. New, used, factory brands, custom hand built...how do you narrow down the choices to the best option for you? In my opinion, any guitar should be measured by three … [Read More...]

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