Mermer Guitars Morning Star

This is a stunning steel-string acoustic guitar, handmade by Rich Mermer in Florida. It's a small-body 12-fret with standard scale; back and sides are speactacular flame koa, top is Western cedar with wood binding and florentine cutaway. Mahogany neck, ebony bridge and fingerboard. The two most striking features are Rich's signature turquoise inlay, and the offset soundhole position.

The fingerboard is black and unadorned, except for a turquoise rectangle at the 12th fret (there are position dots on the top of the neck). The headstock face is black with a turquoise "M" logo, and has black mini Schaller tuners with white abalone-looking turn buttons. The soundhole has a turquoise inlaid rosette, and the bridge pins have small turquoise dots.

The look of this guitar is very understated and classic, yet kind of radical at the same time due to the offset soundhole. When I take this thing out of the case, it attracts guitar geeks like moths to a yellow porch light.

The tone of this guitar is just amazing. It has the clarity and definition of a fine classical, with the brightness and rich bass of a steel string. The cedar-koa combination produces a soft, warm, rich tone, not super-bright but very well-balanced. The bass is clearly defined without being overpowering.

I can't say enough about how great this guitar sounds. I use it for fingerstyle solo pieces, in standard and open tunings. It has sustain for days, making it especially effective for slower, more rubato arrangements. The full, warm sound never fails to draw compliments from "civilians" and guitar geeks alike. Many people have told me that this is one of the best-sounding acoustic guitars they have ever heard. Several players have offered to buy it.

I bought the guitar without a pickup, and added a B-Band dual source system later on (UST under-saddle and internal mic). The B-Band is a perfect match for this guitar. I never use the mic, because it sounds great with just the transducer.

The sample tune "Blind Willie" on my web site (http://www.robtowns.com/music/) was recorded on this guitar.

This is a handmade guitar from a highly-skilled builder. The fit, finish and attention to detail are exactly what you would expect from a high-end boutique instrument: they're excellent.

This guitar was not cheap compared to a run-of-the-mill factory acoustic, but IMHO Rich's prices are *very* reasonable for hand-crafted instruments. For a little more than the cost of a factory Taylor or Martin, you could be playing a hand-crafted acoustic that's made to your specs. Why settle?

I've had this guitar for several years, and it has proved to be solid and stable. I live in the Cleveland, Ohio area, where we have extreme swings of temperature and humidity over the course of the year. I take the normal precautions (keep it in the case, use a dampit in the winter, don't leave it in the car) but no special care beyond that. There are no signs of splitting, cracking, loose braces, etc. even though it's a very lightly-braced, thin-top instrument.

Obviously a guitar like this is designed for fingerstyle, not for aggressive rhythm playing or sitting in the sun all day at an outdoor festival. But hey, you don't tow a boat with a Porsche 911, do you? I have no concerns about its durability and I use it without backup all the time.

After I'd had the guitar for about two years, I started to feel like the original neck was a little too narrow for my big fat fingers. Rich made a new neck to my specs for a very reasonable price. Now it's perfect. You could look at this thing all day with a magnifying glass and never suspect that the neck has been changed.

Mermer Guitars have a lifetime warranty. I've never had to use it. Knowing Rich, though, I have no doubt that he would stand behind this guitar 100%. He really wants his customers to be happy campers.

I've been playing guitar for almost 35 years, and I've owned a lot of instruments: Taylor, Martin, Guild, Fender, Gibson, Godin, Ibanez, etc. Some I've kept, some I've sold. This one is a keeper.

If it were lost or stolen, I'd definitely get another guitar from Rich.