Dagmar Custom Guitars is one of the newest, exclusively unique and most innovative guitar designs since the inception of the guitar itself.
In a brilliant fusion of form and function, luthier Pete Swanson has focused all of his passion to create a guitar design with exceptional tonal characteristics, better ergonomics, and massive aesthetic appeal. They are the curviest archtops on the planet and even though they are state of the art innovations they evoke a serious vintage vibe with magnetic appeal. They scream PLAY ME!
Each guitar is made using a string of math equations to calculate all of the continuously changing and transitioning radiuses that make up the shape of the guitar’s rim. Swanson does not use forms or steam bending but instead mixes precise mechanical machining with hand sculpting to make every guitar a true one off piece of art, proving that math can be sexy.
The Dagmar design echoes the corner stone of Roman architecture. Each mathematically derived and precision-machined segment making up the body is comparable to a “keystone” used in a Roman arch. The result is a rim with much greater strength than those of a conventional guitar. This allows the sides to bear the brunt of the lateral force exerted by the string tension, leaving the top and back to vibrate more freely. Swanson feels the guitar’s break in period is greatly reduced. Each guitar made sounds open and free right from the virgin stringing.
The addition of a carbon fiber lining of the sides gives them even more strength, and allowing the wood to be thinner. This reduces the weight of the guitar without compromising it’s structural integrity. The lighter the guitar the better the tone.
Swanson says that when the guitars rim is placed over your head and you talk into it that your voice becomes crystal clear and amplified within your own ears. This phenomenon suggests that the air pressure and sound waves within the guitar become more focused creating an amphitheater affect. The result is a more resonant, sensitive and responsive instrument.
Other design features complement the innovations. The bolt on carbon fiber reinforced necks cantilever freely over the top, thus allowing the top to vibrate unimpeded by it. Similarly, the tailpiece is attached to the sides only and does not touch the top plate at all.
Unlike traditional guitars, the neck and tail blocks are concealed within the curve of the sides. Therefore, the neck and tail blocks are not used as glue surfaces for the top and back sound plates thus avoiding the usual “dead spots” where vibration of the top and back are damped. The design also obviates the need for kerfing, which some luthiers believe, dampens the vibration of the top and back. Luthiers sometimes add solid wood to cap their kerfing (capped kerfing) for better energy transfer. Swanson rabits a glue surface right into the guitars rim. The sound plates press into these recesses and the whole guitar, once glued together, becomes a monocoque – stiffer, stronger and much more stable.
The rounded sides of the guitar dramatically benefit the player’s comfort. The guitars are comfortable even upside down and backwards. There are no 90-degree corners anywhere where your body meets the guitar. Your guitar will quickly becomes a kindred companion.
The fit and finish on these incredible guitars is near flawless, finishing out with a hand applied, environmentally friendly, water based varnish. The finish is left thin for the maximum acoustic gain and is painstakingly wet sanded and hand buffed to a gorgeous mirror like shine.
Dagmar Custom Guitars arresting aesthetics, tonal attributes, exclusively unique innovations and originality make each guitar The Epitome of Cool.
Swanson will be happy to discuss what it is you want in a guitar and is open to the notion that anything is possible. “Dream it and we’ll build it!”
Due to the complexity of the art, production is limited to just five guitars per year.
