The Hanson and Crawford "Style 3" is an electric guitar designed around our interests in tone, playability, and aesthetics. We have applied years of restoration and repair experience to our designs to head off many of the inherent guitar repair issues. The "Style 3" is unique and easily recognizable, however, it does not seem out of place when compared to the classic guitars of the 1950s. We design and hand build all of the pickups, in-house, with an ear toward the optimal balance of clarity and warmth. These pickups are inspired by years of experience rewinding and reverse engineering the classic models. We use local and domestic tone woods for the "Style 3" including ash, alder, spruce, maple, persimmon and holly, as well as rosewood in some cases.
The "Simmon Tree banjo is an open back, old-time 5-string banjo comprised of local persimmon wood, white holly, and maple. Like other ebony woods, the persimmon's density adds a tonal clarity that cuts through very well in a mix of instruments. However, it's inherent tonal quality is toward the darker end of the spectrum creating a beautiful tonal balance. Both fretted and fretless models are available with options for a slotted, or traditional paddle headstock. The aesthetic is unique, using white holly for the caps and overlay pieces, creating a beautifully striking appearance. Utilizing a slightly shorter scale length, the banjo is easily tuned to both open A and D, allowing for capo-free playing in the common keys, of course including G and C.