Local guitar-builder Alder & Main was born just a few blocks down the road from our shop in Telluride, Colorado. In their condo's parking garage, husband-and-wife duo Jamie and Christianna Catchpole began experimenting with fine woods and exploring their own intriguing designs. Now relocated to a proper wood shop in nearby Norwood, Colorado, Alder & Main have honed their craft. Using the finest materials and components available, each Alder & Main guitar is built by hand with the utmost care, right here in the San Juan Mountains of Southern Colorado.
In the guitar industry, many of us are looking for the lightest weight guitar they can find. The "Dirty Dove" started as Alder & Main's attempt to make the lightest guitar they could, and the result weighs in at 5 lbs 10.9 oz. It starts with Alder & Main's "Leslie" body—a comfortable, smallish-size semi-hollow design with a single cutaway and a precisely-cut Alder leaf that serves as a sound port/f-hole on the bass side. Constructed of resonant, lightweight Mahogany, the Dirty Dove is contoured for comfort, and it feels balanced on your lap and on a strap.
For electronics, the Dirty Dove is simple and straightforward: a single Lollar Melody Maker P90 with CTS 500k pots for volume and tone. Sometimes, simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. We love the details, too—the pots are countersunk into the top, the pointed edge on the aged Schroeder bridge matches the point of the body, and the white finish is relic-ed and aged. 24-3/4" scale with a mahogany Warmoth neck that rips. The nut width is 1.650" nut width, and the neck profile is the '59 Roundback with 6015 Narrow Tall nickel frets.
The Alder & Main Dirty Dove includes a Gator hardshell case.