Cedar Doubletop

A rare short scale cedar doubletop combining concert power with beautifully manageable proportions. Built by Steve Toon in 2025, it pairs a 640 mm scale with a standard 52mm nut, reducing left-hand stretches while preserving familiar classical string spacing. This guitar is responsive and richly sonorous, with strong basses, a full midrange and particularly substantial trebles.

Steve Toon has been making guitars for more than 25 years, working largely by hand from his Gloucestershire workshop. His doubletops use extremely thin layers of tonewood around a lightweight Nomex core, supported here by a five-brace system with closing and bridge bars. Double-laminated sides add rigidity while keeping the instrument’s weight under control.

His approach to doubletop construction has been developed partly through ideas shared by Paul Fischer and Gernot Wagner, adapting the concept through his own years of experimentation.

This guitar sits firmly within the cedar tradition: warm, full and romantic, with a supportive lower overtone structure and enough upper harmonic content to retain definition and colour.

The basses are strong, rounded and even, while the midrange has richness and substance. The trebles are especially impressive, remaining a plump, singing quality even in the lofty higher positions of the fretboard. Sustain is excellent, and closely spaced lines remain clean and well separated.

There is considerable concert volume available, but the response remains natural and forgiving. A beautiful sound comes easily, while changes of attack still produce a useful range of colour.

The traditional neck proportions and shorter scale make the guitar especially approachable. Stretches are noticeably less demanding, yet the regular 52mm nut avoids the cramped left hand feel sometimes associated with smaller instruments.

Built in 2025 and presented in excellent overall condition. There are a handful of light marks consistent with normal use, but nothing that detracts from the guitar’s appearance.

For the player who wants greater left hand comfort without moving away from traditional classical proportions, this is a particularly convincing instrument: a recent handmade British concert guitar with the volume and sustain for the stage, but an ease and warmth that make it equally rewarding to play at home.