Washburn Completes the Blue Dolphin Guitar

Click image for closeup. Closeups of headstock & bridge

January 28, 1999 -- Washburn International is proud to announce the completion of the Blue Dolphin Guitar. No guitar ever built has matched the combination of incredible artistry, unsurpassed playability and tone of this instrument.

Yuriy Shishkov, the builder of this guitar is a unique person in his own right, having combined his old world talents with the creativity and freedom of expression that he finds in his new homeland. Yuriy was born and schooled in Russia and found himself drawn to the guitar as a classical player. Prior to the democratization of his homeland, the building of guitars became a dangerous underground activity since the KGB frowned on most music as a link to the West. Guitars were built on kitchen tables without the advantage of any modem tools, technology, or access to the most basic items that our American luthiers take for granted. Some Russian builders actually learn to build every item including tuners, bridges, cases, wire for frets, inlay, rosettes, marquetry and, of course, hand finishing. Woods often came from old vessels, houses, furniture, or crates. It is this will and incredible level of training and ingenuity that makes Yuriy a rare luthier by any standard.

The guitar, which Washburn coined "The Blue Dolphin," speaks volumes in its originality. Yuriy built the guitar in tribute to Jimmy D'Aquisto, the greatest luthier of the 20th century. While the dolphin on the Washburn guitar represents peace and freedom, the blue color is symbolic of D'Aquisto's trademark work: "The Blue Centura." Yuriy's Blue Dolphin was built with the following specifications: 18" body, 17/8" nut width and 25.5" inch scale.

However, the true artistry of the instrument cannot be measure in inches or exacting measurements. Yuriy envisioned an artwork with soudholes in the shape of Dolphins, a sunset inlay and a sailboat drifting off to sea. The Blue Dolphin is an instrument that has no equal.

Yuriy designed and hand built all of the wooden parts including the bridge, tailpiece and pickguard. He painstakingly cut and inlaid the headstock, fingerboard, and heel using exotic materials such as silver, gold, pearl, abalone, ebony, cocabola and antique ivory. AAAA grade curly maple and Sitka Spruce were used in conjunction with the lightest yet strongest bracing techniques to help create its sweet yet voluminous presence.

For more information, visit Washburn at http://www.washburn.com/