When was the sturgill guitar invented?

Answer 1

Sturgill Guitars were made by David Sturgill and his two sons, in Piney Creek NC. They began in the early 70's and continued into the 90's. Their company was called "Skyland Musical Instruments". I owned #6, which was a C100X with experimental bracing. The top cracked after about a year or so and Dave patched it up. I have a friend who has a low number Sturgill and it cracked just like mine. I gave mine to a friend to put a new top on it and he kept it for 27 years and sent it back to me. The top was still flat after being in his grandfather's attic all that time. It was REALLY dried out by then, but I just strung it up and it has a great sound.

Sturgill Guitars had an S on the peghead. Their fretboards were about 1/8 wider than a Martin. They had solid tops and laminated side and back. They were really critized about using laminated wood at that time.

Dave Sturgill also worked at Gower Guitars and maybe Grammer guitars in the late 60s early 70's.

I understand they made something over a thousand instruments

Added by Phil Proteau

11/29/2010

I own a Sturgill C-210, number 240, Nov 1974

It has the laminated back and sides, solid Red Cedar soundboard, and mahogany neck. It was my brother's guitar since the mid '80, and the soundboard was cracked while or before he got it. The experimental bracing was only one factor in the crack development, aided in no small part by an excessive negative neck angle. The neck angle was such that the saddle had to be approximately 1/2" to 5/8" inch showing above the bridge just to keep the strings higher than the frets. Such a tall saddle applies a great deal of stress to the soundboard due to it's mechanical advantage (like putting a long pipe on a short wrench handle to turn it easier).

In addition to this badly set neck, the neck itself was made from a billet with a knot swirl below the 9th fret, but it has fortunately remained straight.

The experimental bracing was the use of a lower transversal graft (flat and wide length of wood oriented perpendicular to the soundboard grain) instead of typical lower bout braces (tall and narrow). I believe the sound hole braces were also flat grafts. I removed the neck, cut off the sound board, fixed the cracks, rebraced it will Martin style X bracing, corrected the neck angle, and reassembled. It is essentially the same guitar as it was, only it is now structurally sound. It has great sound and with a good neck angle and proper set up, it plays and sounds as good and any Martin I have ever tried.

I cant imagine that there are many, or any, of these still out there, since most of them probably have developed cracked sound boards by now. Please contact me if you have one and it is functioning (or not).

philproteau (at) gmail dot com

Added by Ray Gallerani

12/15/2010

I have a Spartan model S-210 #136 that I bought at the Hatchet Creek Bluegrass Festival in Gainesville, FL. in 1975. It was affectionately called the Doc Watson model, since he used one for studio recording. Mine has seen a lot of travel and play, but still fingers and sounds great. My 2 yr. old knocked it over and broke the head off the neck just above the nut. I glued in back using a superglue for wood with no problems since (that 2yr. old is now 26). I do have some cracking in the finish common to old varnish and lost one of the mother of pearl dots on the fifth fret, but I just call that character (though not as much as Willie Nelsons gut-string).

I have performed a few times but am not a professional. I play purely for pleasure, and this guitar has been a dear friend for much of my life. I have played some other great guitars over the years (including a 1947 Martin), but none have sounded better or fingered as easily.