Huss & Dalton guitars are based on two distinct blueprints. On all of their Standard Series models, they build a 25-foot radius into the guitar's soundboard. They create the radius by sanding an arch into the braces, and also preparing the guitar's sides with a matching radius to accept the soundboard. A positive by-product of the radiused soundboard design - other than its increased load-bearing capacity - is a boost in the mid-range, giving their guitars more perceptibly balanced tone than that of strictly traditional designs. Their Traditional Series guitars feature the same 25-foot-radiused braces, but the sides are left flat for a more traditional instrument build and tonal character, emphasising the lower frequencies a bit more.
All Huss & Dalton guitars are braced with hand-split Appalachian red spruce, which has a greater strength-to-weight ratio than other woods more commonly used for braces. The bridge plates on all their guitars are made from Honduras rosewood, selected for its superior tonal properties, durability, and resistance to string-ball wear. They use AAA-grade top woods, which are tested individually to determine their load-bearing properties, and are thickness-sanded to achieve the best balance of strength and flexibility.
Their guitars all have bone nuts installed, as well as fully compensated 1/8" bone saddles. They compensate the scale of every string to make the guitars' intonation as close to perfect as possible. Every hand-crafted guitar neck is quarter-sawn Honduras mahogany, maple, walnut, or Spanish cedar, and all are fitted with a steel-reinforced, adjustable truss rod. Each neck is hand carved for a sleek, comfortable feel and ease of play. On request, they can custom-shape and size the neck of your guitar to fit your hand and your personal requirements.
The radiused fingerboards on Huss & Dalton guitars are made of ebony, a beautiful, dense, tropical hardwood that is resistant to wear, and no fingerboard leaves the bench without binding. Boards that need to have an unbound look are bound in Ebony, which is nearly invisible against the same wood. Binding the fingerboards means that you don't see - or feel - the fret ends. Also, since finish tends to chip away from unbound boards, binding them preserves the integrity of the finish at the fingerboard's edges.
In addition to any technical improvements to the design of their instruments, they have made aesthetic improvements, as well. Most of the instruments they build feature solid wood bindings and are tastefully appointed with shell inlays. All of their guitars feature the finest quarter-sawn woods available, and are priced with a hard-shell, tweed case.
All Huss and Dalton Guitars are shipped with D'addario brand strings. Most larger body guitars ship with mediums, (EXP 17) while smaller bodies ship with lights (EXP 16). All H&D guitars can be strung with light or medium strings except the OO and OO-SP models, which are braced for light gauge or lighter only. They also usually recommend that guitars with cedar tops be strung with light gauge strings. All banjos can be strung with light or medium.
All Huss and Dalton Instruments have an adjustable truss rod. Some models adjust from the peghead, while traditional series models and slotted peg heads adjust from inside the body. They set the relief at about .011 inch as the spec setup. To measure relief, put a capo on the strings at the first fret. With your left hand, push down the 3rd string at the 12th fret position. Now slide a .011 feeler gauge under the 3rd string at the 7th fret. You should feel a slight resistance, without the feeler gauge pushing the string up at all. If the rod needs adjustment, remove the truss rod cover on Standard H&D instruments, insert the Allen wrench provided and turn clockwise to tighten, counter-clockwise to loosen the rod. You may want the neck a bit flatter than .011, and that's okay, but you will want some relief in the neck, and the neck should NEVER be back-bowed.
Upon opening these guitars, each one has very light marks in the pickguard region, presumably from where they test and set the guitar up initially. Perhaps it would be good if they used a protective film on the pickguard but they are the type of marks that appear after the first few plays and are not particularly noticeable in any realistic way. However, we wanted to point this out.
Their concert-bodied guitars feature a more modern approach to the Luthier's craft. Their bracing lends them a lush, modern tone with plenty of sustain, while also providing the exceptional balance that is demanded by the modern finger style player. The elegant aesthetics enhance the overall impression of modernity expressed in these instruments.
The Huss & Dalton CM-nc (with the non-cutaway option) is a step down from a dreadnought in size. Let's face it - some guitarists just can't abide the looks of a cutaway, nor do they need the extra reach. This version of the CM is a dead ringer for a OOO with a 14-fret neck, offering a comfortable body size with a 25.4" scale length for a powerful guitar with perhaps a shade more resonance than the cutaway version. This guitar offers a strong, balanced tonal response in a comfortable package.
Please see the embedded video clip of the amazing Molly Tuttle playing one of her Huss & Dalton guitars to witness the calibre of some the players using these beautiful instruments.
- 1-3/4 width at nut
- 2-7/32 spacing at saddle
- 25.4 inch scale length
- 25 foot radius top
- East Indian rosewood back and sides
- Mahogany neck
- IR peg head veneer
- Ebony bridge and fingerboard
- Ebony bridge pins and end pin
- Abalone logo peg head inlay
- Scalloped red spruce bracing
- Bone nut and compensated saddle
- Zipper back strip
- Clear pick guard
- Bolt on neck
- Tweed hard-shell case with logo
- DAddario EXP 16 light strings
- Length 20 inches
- Width 15-1/4 inches
- Depth 4-5/8 inches
- 4-3/16" sound hole
- Engelmann spruce top
- Gold Gotoh mini-tuners w/H&D logo
- B/W/B purflings
- Figured maple body and fingerboard bindings
- Abalone rosette
- Abalone scroll 12th fret inlay
