Body core is mahogany, with top wing laminates of bocote and back
wing laminates of bloodwood. Other woods on the body include flamed
maple, and a reddish brown wood for some accents (mahogany?).
Jet black ebony fingerboard affixed to a exquisitely figured birdseye maple neck. Neck is bound with runners of the same reddish ochre colored accent laminates used on the body.
Pickups are both Kent Armstrong humbuckers. Two mini toggle switches; one is a three way pickup selector, and the other functions as a mute / on / high cut Jack is mounted on one of Carls
signature ‘football’ carved jack plates. Tuners are hipshots and the bridge is a gold plated tuneamatic style. Tailpiece is one
of Carls creation, built from two pieces of bocote and ebony affixed to a shaped brass plate and inlaid with two dots of mother of pearl.
This guitar has a Fender scale length (25.5″) but has a fretboard radius that I believe is closer to a Gibson (perhaps 12?).
Electronics are Ken Armstrong neck and bridge pickups with passive circuitry, three-way pick up selector(neck/neck + bridge/bridge), three-way mute, treble cut, normal,
Adjustable bridge with brass, ebony and bocote saddle, bone nut.
25 1/2″ scale, 1 3/4″ nut width, 2 1/16″ neck width 12th fret, 2 1/4″ neck width 24th fret, set up for 9-10 gauge strings
The previous owner sent the guitar to Carl to installed a bridge pickup and adjustable bridge.
Carl is pictured with Stuart, Lou Reed’s guitar tech.
-25 1/2 inch scale
-mahogany body with bocote trim
-curly maple neck with cocobolo stripes and a macassar ebony fingerboard, ebony vineers on headstock
-ebony heel block
-standard tune-o-matic bridge witha cocobolo, ebony, and brass tail stop
-mahogany input jack cover
-2 kent armstrong humbucking pick-ups
-volume, tone, and pick-up selector
-black sperzel tuning machines
Also pictured is serial number 5-11-07.
Here is a description from a recent seller:
This Carl Thompson solid-body guitar was made in 2007 and weighs just 6.50 lbs. Unique walnut body with a wide mahogany center strip. The edges of the body are mahogany and there are two zebrawood strip inserts on the widest part of the body. One-piece Flame Maple neck with mahogany edges. The neck has a nut width of just under 1 11/16 inches and a really fast thin profile. Ebony fretboard with 22 medium-jumbo frets and inlaid ‘Mother-of-Pearl’ side-position markers. Three-layer rosewood and ebony nut. Specific ebony veneer faced headstock with shaped logo in walnut with branded “Carl Thompson”, secured by three screws. Mahogany and ebony truss-rod cover secured by a single screw. Individual Sperzel USA 3+3 T/L black locking tuners. Back of headstock also veneered in ebony and serial number “52407” stamped in blind. Two Kent Armstrong Super Rocker High Output Humbucking pickups with rosewood pickup rings and outputs of 14.95k and 14.50k. Two controls (one volume, one blender/tone) plus a mini three-way pickup selector switch and a specific mahogany jack input, all on a shaped mahogany panel secured by four screws. The control knobs consist of a 0.79 inch diameter volume control and a 0.64 inch diameter blender/tone control, each one with knurled sides and a domed top with tiger-eye inserts. Ebonized Nashville style Tune-O-Matic bridge with metal saddles and three-layer metal, ebony and rosewood stop-tailpiece secured to body by two screws. This fine, hand-built guitar is in near mint (9.25) condition with just two very small and barely noticeable indentations on the top. Housed in the original “Gator” three-latch, rectangular black hardshell case with black leather ends and black plush lining (9.25).
Also pictured is serial number 5-11-07.
Chris Buono (website) ordered the guitar in February of 1999 on a recommendation from his teacher, Gerry Carboy, the proud owner of a 4-string bass he bought from Carl in 1977 (serial number 5-13-77) and still plays today.
Magnus Kunow now owns the guitar.
“Carl and I discussed a large-body shape, closer to a standard hollow body guitar size (16″-17″ across the”hips”) but, of course, in a solid body guitar. I don’t know if you can tell, but it’s a pretty big guitar; I am 6’2″, and as you can see in the photo of me playing, it covers a lot of my body). I asked for an ebony neck and a light shade of body wood, but that was about as specific as I got. I also opted for a slightly longer (26″) scale length and requested a slightly wider-than-average string spacing. The guitar top is quilted maple, and the body is Honduras mahogany interspersed with thin pieces of dyed poplar (several green and one orange just below the quilted maple).The fingerboard is ebony and the neck is maple, and the headstock is padauk. Sperzel locking tuners. The pickups are Kent Armstrongs. I can select either one or both, and both are humbuckers that can be split (by means of a toggle switch) to single-coil. Electronics are passive. The guitar basically sounds and plays like a dream, and Carl set it up with perfect intonation, as near as I can tell.”
Here is what Mandolin Web has to say about this guitar: “Carl Thompson December 1994 7-string electric guitar, #12994, exc, O’Gigbag. All natural woods, with active EMG pickup. This is a huge electric solid body, being 16 3/4” wide at the lower bout and all that space is carved and contoured wood — looking very much like a six- string bass — made of cocobola overlays with walnut on the back and mahogany on the front – a veritable Walk Through the Rainforest. The peghead is cocobola overlaid with a maple banner wood-burned (as in woodshop) with Carl Thompson’s name. The banner echoes the shape of the headstock itself. Seven strings are played like a six-string guitar but there is a “low B” string added which increases the bass range by a fourth. In this instance Carl has chosen to substitute a single Gotoh bass guitar tuner to go with the six Schaller gold plated guitar tuners. The pickup is unique in that a) it’s flush to the top and b) it’s mahogany covered. The fingerboard is double bound in two types of woods. There are three-in-line knobs in the lower treble bout for the single pickup, the access panel on the back is also in matching wood, the brass one piece non-intonated saddle is floating and a simple brass pinless tailpiece holds the balls of the strings. The neck shape (2 3/16″ at the nut) is extremely low profile and flat, which makes for great playability. There are two strap holders, offset on the body to assist with balance. This is a novel and impressive instrument by one of New York’s better known luthiers.”
Also pictured are Ken Hatfield and Billy Essex.
The guitar is now owned by a gentleman named Mark Shahzad, who recently received an 8-string bass from Carl. Mark purchased the guitar in Arizona but has recently moved to the Brooklyn area and brought the guitar back to the shop for Carl to clean it up. The control plates on the front of the guitar are not original and were later added by another owner. Note the unique Zebrawood triangle inlay on the back of the guitar and the rare body shape.
The guitar was originally sold on consignment through Stuyvesant Music and was spec’ed with a maple body and neck, 27 frets, rosewood fingerboard and single pickup.
This guitar was likely originally ordered by George Wadenius on December 4, 1975 and spec’ed with a maple neck, mahogany body and ebony fingerboard.
This guitar was originally spec’ed with a mahogany body, maple neck, two Schaller pickups, phase switch, and a ‘variable tension tailpiece’, and was sold on consignment through Gracin’s.
The black guitar is was built by Carl’s dad built in 1934.
