Why Haxton Guitars

Haxton guitars are the product of one mind and one pair of hands. At Haxton Guitars “Tone is King.”

To achieve a really powerful guitar requires many small tasks done right. Haxton designs incorporate the highest standards of the past and present.
These guitars are built to last. The builder’s years in the guitar repair field have illuminated the common structural faults.

Wood
High-quality woods are selected for construction. Most guitars are topped with European Spruce, with master grade Sitka and Engelmann available.

Glue
Hide glue is used throughout the body-building process. It is simply the best for musical instruments. Why? It is very thin and strong. Joints have to fit tight with no gaps. This allows the most efficient transfer of string energy into sound.

Bracing
Tops and backs are braced in the traditional way for steel-string guitars, with an X-brace and tone bars for the top and lateral braces for the back. Brace pieces are fitted with great care, individually tuned for maximum performance. Solid bent linings work best because of their rigidity. They provide more gluing surface than the traditional kerfed linings. As a result, the linings can be lighter and stronger at the same time.

Innovations in the Neck
The Haxton neck joint construction reinforces the area with the most stress from string tension. Improvements also have a positive effect on tone.

The solution achieves a unified neck by
• incorporating a fingerboard extension into the neck
• tying the entire neck together with carbon fiber bars
• using a double-acting truss rod
This neck is strong, lightweight and adjustable.

The “C” shaped neck block spreads the load of string tension from the top through the sides and back. This helps tone production by curtailing string energy loss through the neck.

Waterborne Lacquer Finish
The waterborne lacquer finish Haxton uses is an environmentally friendly alternative to toxic nitrocellulose lacquer.
Over 10 years ago, spurred by the desire to build guitars in as green an environment as possible, and encouraged by the experiments of John Greven and Michael Doolin, the builder incorporated waterborne lacquer into his process. Now these finishes have become the finish of choice for many builders.