The Cathedral Grand Fingerstyle is my largest guitar and
is defined by power, tremendous sustain, an expressive dynamic range and uncanny comfort.
A wide and deep lower bout contributes to its bass
response, and the Acoustic Honeycomb and EO braced soundboard capture the sparkle and shimmer of the trebles. The optional bevel, arch-swept back and the avant-garde placement of the waist allow for unmatched comfort in a guitar of this size and voice.
An era is over—the era when a guitarist had to decide between a guitar that had great bass and a guitar that was responsive to a light and sophisticated touch. The Cathedral bridges that gap and establishes a new genre of instrument—a guitar with an expansive voice and extravagant bass that still encourages nuances of expression. The Cathedral, simply, was designed to revolutionize the Jumbo-style guitar.
The Cathedral was designed in 2001, and is prized by fingerstylists, players exploring alternate tunings, and folks who love their guitars with breathtaking bass. The challenge, of course, was to create an instrument that would feature a body large enough to generate such bass and power, but in a design that would still be comfortable to hold. The unique body shape of the Cathedral addresses this challenge.
The Ryan philosophy of body design has generally been to place the waist slightly higher on the body. This means the bridge is relatively further from the edges of the soundboard at the waist, and this in turn creates a top more supple and responsive where that bridge is located. The Cathedral showcases this philosophy and pushes it even further.
This location of the bridge relative to the waist optimizes the low-end response from the soundboard (though most of the bass of my guitars is generated by the geometric volume of the box). At the same time, this philosophy allows for the narrower waist that makes the Cathedral so comfortable to hold.

N e c k D i m e n s i o n s


Scale 25.70"


Standard Nut Width 1.75"


String Spacing @ bridge 2.25"


Neck Shape Low Profile


B o d y D i m e n s i o n s


Upper Bout 11.00"


Lower Bout 16.60"


Length of Box 20.75"


Depth at Head Block 3.80"


Depth at Tail Block 4.80"


Total Length 42.00"