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The Turtle Mound Flutes line of Hybrid
Classical/Electric guitars was created through my personal need for a
nylon-stringed guitar to accompany a Native American style flute player on
stage. These guitars drew much attention and positive reaction at the various
festivals and other events at which they were shown. Inevitably though, in many
cases those who tried out our nylon string guitars have asked about a steel
string guitar with the same type of artwork. From that considerable interest we
have decided to provide a companion line of dreadnaught size steel string
acoustic/electric guitars. This page illustrates the products now available from
Turtle Mound Flutes to satisfy the
desire for steel string guitars.
Here is Johnny Kee playing the prototype TMF Steel-String Acoustic/Electric
Guitar
at the Juice N Java Cafe in Cocoa Beach, Florida on May 31, 2014.
At the same time we introduced our steel string guitars, we began offering a
second line of artwork. While our steel string acoustic guitars may be ordered
with any of the Nature-themed artwork themes available on our Hybrid
Classical/Electric guitars, we also offer artwork from our
Patriotic-themed designs. Or, if you have another theme you'd like to have on
your guitar (a group logo, image of a family member, for example), we're happy to take on custom work to
make your vision a reality.
Below find examples of Steel-String Acoustic/Electric guitars now being offered by Turtle Mound
Flutes.
These guitars illustrate our American heritage-themed artwork. Themes from our
animal-themed art, as illustrated on some of our nylon-string
guitars, are also available for a reduced charge.
Eagle &
Flag Guitar
The eagle (Awohali in Cherokee) is the majestic symbol of our
country, and also an important element of Native American culture. Most
indigenous peoples believe that birds are messengers, and the eagle is special
in that it can fly higher than any other bird, and is therefore the one who
carries our prayers to the Creator. The imagery on this guitar honors the eagle
in its importance as our national symbol of pride and our heritage, appearing in
front of an old faded American flag.
This guitar, as illustrated below, is currently available at the introductory price of $650.00. Price does not include shipping or Florida sales tax,
where applicable. Detailed specifications appear at the bottom of this page.
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| The body art on this guitar
depicts a majestic eagle, our national bird, in front of a faded
American flag . These images are "burned" into the spruce top of this
guitar and painted to bring them to life. The faded white stripes and
stars on the flag image that was used as a model for this artwork were
nearly identical to the natural color of the guitar's top, and are
therefore unpainted. |
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| The Eagle & Flag themed guitar is the
first design in our Patriotic Art line. The rosette is inlayed lacewood, fret markers are
pearl. |
A flamed koa headplate is laminated to the
headstock. The script "TMF" logo (for Turtle
Mound Flutes) is inlayed in
crushed turquoise. |
The back, sides, and neck are stained
ebony.
This view shows the beautiful grain of the back. |
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Some of the detail of the
pyrography on this
guitar can be seen in this view of the
dominant eagle
head. |
The Joyo pre-amp features a
4-band equalizer and
an integrated chromatic tuner. A volume control
and
a low battery indicator are also included. |
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The "plug panel" supports either
1/4" (unbalanced) or XLR (balanced) connection
to your amplifier.
It also contains the easily accessible 9V battery compartment.
The turquoise inlay over the body seam is visible in this shot. |
SSAE Model Specifications
| Model designation: |
SSAE-1 (Steel-String Acoustic/Electric model
1) |
| Body size: |
Dreadnaught |
| Body width: |
Lower bout 15 9/16";
Upper bout 11 11/16" |
| Overall length: |
~40 11/16" |
| Scale length: |
650 mm (~25.6") |
| Soundboard: |
Spruce |
| Rosette: |
3/16" Lacewood ring inlay (see below
options) |
| Headplate: |
Flamed Koa laminate (see below options) |
| Heelplate: |
Flamed Koa laminate (see below options) |
| Sides/back: |
Basswood (see below options) |
| Neck: |
Poplar (see below options) |
| Fingerboard: |
Rosewood (curved) |
| Markers: |
Mother-of-Pearl side;
Mother-of-Pearl fret markers |
| Strings: |
Steel. |
| String spacing (nut): |
1 3/8" |
| String spacing (saddle) |
2 3/16" |
| Pre-Amp: |
Joyo model JE-33 with 4-band equalizer &
integrated chromatic tuner |
| Pick-up: |
Piezo under-saddle |
| Output: |
Low-Z balanced XLR and High-Z unbalanced 1/4" (mono) |
| Options: |
Back, sides, neck: may be left
unstained, or stained ebony or red mahogany. Ask about other
stain colors. |
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Pick-Guard: Heavy strumming
flat-pickers may want to protect the face of their guitar by
adding a clear pick-guard. |
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3/16" wide rosette inlay:
Lacewood, Walnut, or Koa. |
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Headstock and heel laminates: Flamed
Koa, Koa, Padauk, Walnut, etc. Ask about specific woods that
interest you. |
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Joyo electronics modules: |
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Joyo JE-33 Pre-Amp with 4-band equalizer and built-in
chromatic tuner. |
Joyo output panel, with 1/4" (mono) unbalanced
and XLR balanced connectors. Also houses 9V battery. |
Joyo JE-33 Specifications:
(Bass) ±12dB at 80HZ
(Middle) ±12dB at 800HZ
(Treble) ±12dB at 3KHZ
(Presto) ±12dB at 15KHZ
Low Voltage (Battery) Indicator
A4 Frequency: 440HZ
Tuning Range: 1Eb-8C
Tolerance: ± 1%
Weight:70g
Dimension:95(L)×33(H)×51(W)mm
Power:9V 6F22 Battery |
Price & Availability
Turtle
Mound Flutes is now taking orders for the steel-string
acoustic/electric (SSAE-1) guitar with Nature-Themed art at the special introductory price of
$550
(plus shipping and FL sales tax if applicable). Designs currently available are "Awohali"
(eagle), "Tluhdatsi" (panther), and "Waya" (wolf).
In the works is a "Yona" (bear). If you would like a different animal theme, let me
know.
Optionally, the steel-string acoustic/electric (SSAE-1) guitar with
Patriot-Themed art goes for the special introductory price of $650
(plus shipping and FL sales tax if applicable).
Custom work is my pleasure. All designs available with natural or stained
sides, back, and neck. Fret & side markers are mother-of-pearl. All
guitars are custom made to the customer's design selections. Contact us at sales@turtlemoundflutes.com
to place your order and schedule construction of your guitar.
Also check out our Turtle Mound Flute
hybrid classical/electric guitars.
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In the interest of full disclosure, the
above described guitars are based on a commercially available kit. All
embellishments, such as the inlay wood ring rosette, headplate laminate,
body seam hiding inlay, etc.; the addition of electronics; and all
custom artwork are my contribution to the basic guitar. In addition, I
do the guitar setup, including properly aligning neck and body, setting
the action (string height), truing frets, etc. Starting with a kit
allows me to offer a quality custom guitar at a very reasonable price.
My long term goal includes offering guitars that I will "make from
scratch" while retaining this kit-based model as a less expensive
alternative in my line. |
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