This handcrafted A5 combines reclaimed and locally sourced tonewoods with fine appointments. The redwood top and cherry body yield a warm, articulate voice, while ebony fittings and abalone inlay add elegance and durability. Built with Dart’s trademark attention to detail, this mandolin balances responsiveness, projection, and visual artistry.

• Top: Reclaimed old-growth redwood (Mendocino County, Calif.)
• Back & Neck: Cherry (Anderson Valley, Mendocino County, Calif.)
• Sides: Old-growth Honduras mahogany
• Fingerboard, Finger-rest, Bridge: Indian ebony
• Binding, Peghead Overlay/Underlay: Honduras rosewood
• Tuners: Rubner with ebony buttons
• Inlay: Abalone diamond fingerboard inlay; abalone vine peghead inlay

David Dart maple & spruce archtop guitar (2024)

Hand-carved maple and spruce construction gives this 15” archtop a clear, balanced voice with excellent projection. Premium tonewoods and traditional appointments highlight both playability and understated elegance.

• Western maple back, sides, and neck (Oregon)
• Sitka spruce top (Ketchikan, Alaska)
• Honduras rosewood fingerboard, binding, finger rest, & peghead overlay /underlay
• Indian ebony tailpiece
• Boxwood bridge
• Waverly tuners
• Satin finish
• 15” lower bout
• 25-3⁄8” scale
• 1-3/4” nut width

This handcrafted tenor ukulele features a body, neck, and sides built entirely from Monterey cypress, a tonewood prized for its warm, open voice and light responsiveness. Paired with an Indian ebony fingerboard and heelcap, the instrument balances golden, resonant mids with a clear, articulate top end.

A comfortable 17” scale provides excellent projection and sustain while maintaining the effortless playability of a tenor. The satin finish allows the natural beauty of the cypress to shine while giving a smooth, organic feel in the hands.

Fitted with a bone nut and saddle for optimal tonal transfer, and Pegheds planetary geared tuners (4:1 ratio) for precise yet traditional-looking tuning, this ukulele is built for both reliability and refined performance.

The result is an instrument that blends understated elegance with expressive musicality—ideal for players seeking a responsive, lightweight tenor that sings with clarity and warmth.

• Monterey cypress top, back, sides, & neck
• Indian ebony fingerboard & heelcap
• Pegheds planetary geared 4:1 tuners
• 17” scale
• Satin finish
• Bone nut & saddle

Photo credit — Geoffrey Yenson (www.yensonguitars.com / Instagram @yensonguitars)

David’s kept this wood in his collection for decades. It comes from a tree in Angola, Africa, harvested by his grandfather in the 1920s. The top is master-grade Sitka spruce, which has been curing in David’s shop for over twenty years. This is only the second guitar made from this spectacular quilted wood; his son Eli has the other one — a 00-sized guitar with a pointed cutaway.

• Quilted old growth African hardwood back & sides
• Sitka spruce top (Ketchikan, Alaska)
• Ebony fingerboard, bridge, and peghead overlay
• Honduras mahogany neck
• Boxwood body, neck and peghead binding, back stripe, and heelcap
• Abalone body, neck, and peghead purfling
• Abalone soundhole & fingerboard diamonds inlay
• Peghead inlay features canine howling at the moon (mother of pearl, curly koa)
• Waverly tuners
• Satin finish

Photo credit — Geoffrey Yenson (www.yensonguitars.com / Instagram @yensonguitars)

Custom A-5 mandolin with magic mushroom & gnome inlay in abalone and mother-of-pearl, commissioned by our dear friend Michael.

• Spalted Western maple neck, back, and sides (Olympia, Washington)
• Sitka spruce top (Ketchikan, Alaska)
• Indian ebony fingerboard, finger rest, bridge, peghead overlay, and binding
• Custom bronze Dart tailpiece
• Rubner tuners

Photo credit — Geoffrey Yenson (www.yensonguitars.com / Instagram @yensonguitars)

After building carved top & back mandolin-family instruments for over fifty years, David built this custom archtop with a 15″ lower bout for our friend Dan, a talented musician and composer.

• Western maple back, sides, and neck (Oregon)
• Sitka spruce top (Ketchikan, Alaska)
• Indian ebony fingerboard, tailpiece, binding, finger rest, & peghead overlay Boxwood bridge
• Waverly tuners
• Abalone “vine” peghead inlay
• Satin finish
• 15” lower bout
• 25-3⁄8” scale
• 1-7⁄8” nut width

Photo credit — Geoffrey Yenson (www.yensonguitars.com / Instagram @yensonguitars)

Custom-ordered A-5 mandolin with abalone “butterflies” peghead & fingerboard inlay. The customer asked for a similar inlay motif to match a D-12 dreadnought guitar he’d ordered a few years prior.

• Figured black walnut neck, back, and sides (California)
• Curly redwood top (Mendocino County, California)
• Indian ebony fingerboard, finger rest, bridge, & peghead overlay Curly maple binding
• Custom bronze Dart tailpiece
• Rubner tuners
• Satin finish

Photo credit — Geoffrey Yenson (www.yensonguitars.com / Instagram @yensonguitars)

Custom David Dart baritone ukulele

• Curly Western maple top, back, sides, and neck (Oregon)
• Indian ebony fingerboard, binding, peghead overlay, & bridge
• Waverly tuners
• Satin finish
• Custom abalone “pelican” peghead inlay
• Hand-cut abalone soundhole & fingerboard diamond inlay

Photo credit — Geoffrey Yenson (www.yensonguitars.com / Instagram @yensonguitars)

Custom redwood & Honduras rosewood classical guitar

• Reclaimed old-growth redwood top
• Honduras rosewood sides, back, & peghead overlay Brazilian rosewood bridge
• Ebony fingerboard & binding
• Honduras mahogany neck
• Custom maple, boxwood, ebony, & rosewood rosette Sloane tuners
• French polished shellac finish

Photo credit — Geoffrey Yenson (www.yensonguitars.com / Instagram @yensonguitars)

David Dart mahogany & spruce acoustic baritone guitar

• Figured Honduras mahogany back, sides, and neck
• Sitka spruce top (Ketchikan, Alaska)
• Indian ebony fingerboard & bridge,
• Honduras rosewood binding, heelcap, & peghead overlay
• Waverly tuners
• Satin finish
• 28-1⁄2” scale
• 16 frets to the body

FOR SALE – contact David if you’re interested!