Harvey Leach 25th Anniversary Polar Bear Guitar
$ 9,000.00
Leach 25th Anniversary Ltd Edition Ebony Guitar (used, 1997)
This guitar was the birthplace of Harvey's "Smoke and Mirrors" inlay technique
- Highly figured Gabon Ebony back & sides
- Italian Spruce top per the original owner
- This is #14 of 25 unique Limited Edition 25th anniversary guitars that Harv built in 1997
- This guitar has a Polar Bear theme with a spectacular headstock inlay of a polar bear atop of an iceberg with snow falling all around. There are snow capped mountain peaks in the distance.
- Also, the ebony fretboard is adorned with ascending Bear Paw prints.
- And, to top it off, the pick guard is inlayed with 2 Polar Bears walking on ice (beautiful mother-of-pearl & abalone).
- Even the heel cap is Mother of Pearl - and not surprisingly, so are the tuner buttons!
- The guitar also features a MOP/abalone rosette & top purfling.
- And let's not forget the MOP truss rod cover and that the headstock is bound and has MOP/abalone purfling.
- Ebony bridge with Ebony bridge pins
- 5 piece laminated neck
- The spruce top has fine finish crazing all over it, giving it a very cool vibe
- OHSC included
- What a great piece of history and part of Harvey's storied legacy!
Here's Harvey's background on the Smoke & Mirrors technique:
"The story behind the "Ice" which led to the idea for "Smoke and Mirrors" was because of the size limitations of natural shell. This was very early in the Abalam development. Chuck Eikson (the co-inventor ) is my neighbor, and he had given me some samples of Abalam as well as some sheets of the thin shell slices. The thicker sheets were not big enough for the inlay, so I thought, "I'll just glue a thin sheet over the black pickguard material!" The effect was spectacular as areas of the black showed through, giving it the contrast of real ice. This gave me the idea to use the effect on other things like windows, fog, water etc. The first use was on my Sept. 11th guitar to create fog and clouds. The second used was on the Martin Custom Cowboy to create.... smoke and a mirror. The name was coined by Dick Boak of Martin."
- Condition: Used, Excellent
- Frets to body: 14
- Scale Length: 25.4"
- Nut width: 1 13/16"
- Saddle spacing: 2 3/16"