TOONE & TOWNSEND

T2 'Buckskin' | Live Performance Notes

T2 'Buckskin' 6-string headless guitar was conceived as a test platform for TOONE & TOWNSEND hardware, a chance to evaluate performance within a very traditional body design.

The tuning system integrates perfectly, even including multi-scale (fanned-fret) scale lengths. The 25" treble E string sweetens the mix but keeps the twang.

We have Al Shaffer's first impressions of T2. But, how does the guitar perform in a live context, especially when run through vintage kit?

"I was able to take T2 out to the country where she could really roar through both a Pete Cage modded/blackfaced early '70's Princeton (20+ watts) with a 12" Weber Alnico Blue Dog installed and a Retro Channel RR1 into a G12H30 in a single 1X12 cab.

"(I would have preferred 2X12 with the RR1, but just didn't feel like hauling the other cab).

"The guitar is capable of pretty much anything from very sweet jazz chords, classic rock, blues, and country.

"Great harmonics and Roy Buchanan squeal from the Fralins with all sorts of overtones floating above in the ether.

"It can sound very rude when you want it to and I really like that.

"It stayed in tune very well.

"I had the Soloway Gosling and the Grosh HollowTron there so it was in some pretty tough company...and all three guitars got equal time, and I think that is a huge compliment to all three builders.

"Thanks to Rick, Jim, and Don, not to mention Pete and Lance."

— Al Shaffer

Imagine what would Leo Fender have done if he had access to this headless technology when he built the first Telecaster. Or...is this a long-lost prototype from 1948?

Hardware as shown includes aged black finish, in keeping with an instrument that has seen sixty+ years of hard use. Despite the appearance, all mechanicals (frets & hardware) are pristine spec new and precise.

7-String Headless Guitar Hardware

TOONE & TOWNSEND tuning hardware fully controls string vibration and intonation. The integrated system anchors both ends of the string in precision components machined from anodized aircraft grade aluminum, bearing bronze, stainless steel, and titanium.

As photographed here, strings pass through the bridge to the body mounted tuner. This provides warm, woody, acoustic vibration, saturated with the tone wood characteristics of the body. Sustain is enhanced and solid, due to the mass of the tuner.

"Sketch is one of the most well built, well conceived instruments I've ever owned or played."

Tosin Abasi
Animals As Leaders

Interlocking tuning knobs feature neoprene O-rings provide non-slip grip, even under sweat inducing stage lights and performance conditions.

The nut provides fully adjustable intonation and string height control. Any string gauge, scale length, or string material (nylon, bronze, steel). Installation is simple.

Intonation can be dialed in by the musician for specific preferences, from piano-like clarity to traditional guitar dissonance. 7-string version pictured here anchors ball end strings.

This patent pending system is available for licensing. For more information about this 7-string guitar by luthier Rick Toone:

• Fretboard — Math behind this multi-scale fretboard
• 7-String Headless Multi-Scale Guitar — Build photos in progress
• Sketch | 7-String Headless Guitar — Photos of completed guitar

Headless Guitar Tuners Begin Production

Incredibly strong and lightweight, TOONE & TOWNSEND headless guitar tuners begin as a solid block of aircraft grade aluminum. CAD controlled CNC machines will sculpt each block to precise tolerances. Chips are collected and recycled. There is no waste.

If you are used to listening to the sound of your guitar's vibrations through inexpensive cast or stamped bridge hardware, the clarity and inherent musicality of machined hardware will really surprise you.

Everything matters. Each metal contributes to the final tonality of these pieces of machinist art.

Townsend machinist KC holds a partially milled 6-string guitar tuner beside an unformed aircraft aluminum blank. The result is a contoured 3-D mount like the CNC test calibration example below, still warm from machining (11.10.2010).