LUTHIER”AJ builds all his guitars himself, without any emplyees. He has built almost the same amount of guitars as the Selmer factory made Model Jazz during the whole of their existence! Think about the knowledge he has gained! ,-He knows those guitars. He plays them on stage, He truly stands out from all gypsyguitarbuilders of today, period…. in my opinion!!…- Per-Erik Jansson - a guitar afficianado ” WHY IT SOUNDS DIFFERENT The top woods on the XO guitar are like old aged tonewoods, thanks to the modified heat treatment process called Thermotimber, of which you can read more elsewhere on this site. If you've seen any vintage Selmers, you must have noticed, how the old nitrocellulose finish has shrunk and there's hardly any varnish left. In order to reduce vibrating mass, the coating of Model XO is also very thin. It's made of shellac – like violins – and topped with a very slight amount of matt nitrocellulose. Top plates are sanded uneven to maximise the vibrating area and strengthen the neck joint region. It takes experience and great skill to tune the soundbox to it fullest potential. Finally, the extremely stable carbon-fiber reinforced neck ensures that all the energy from the vibrating strings go straight to the soundbox, as apposed to being absorbed by a flexible neck.. "AJ certainly succeeded in making this instrument sound "old" as it has the clarity and dryness that one rarely hears in new instruments. Not often do I hear a new guitar that produces the strong, clear fundamentals that this one does. If you're looking for an instrument with definition and punch than this is it. Michael Horowitz" BACK & SIDES: Laminated brazilian rosewood BODY SIZE: 410 mm at lower bout BRIDGE: Brazilian rosewood FINGERBOARD: Ebony FINISH: Distressed relic finish, Shellac + matt nitrocellulose FRETS: Jescar (18% N/S Hard Height 1,40mm Width 2.290 mm) HARDWARE: AJL-tuners, relic finish on hardware INLAYS: Galalith-dots on fingerboard NECK: Three piece European walnut with original headstock joint, reinforced with two unidirectional carbon fiber rods NECK DIMENSIONS: 45 mm at the 0-fret, 57 mm at the 14 th fret OR 48 - 60 on short scale D-hole guitars PICKGUARD: transparent SCALE LENGTH: 670 mm on oval-hole long scale, short scale available too TOP: Solid European spruce TRUSS-ROD: Two-way adjustable, two unidirectional carbonfiber plates