If you could have any guitar you wanted, how would you describe it?  The question is tougher to answer than you would think.  Most of us are conditioned to 'buying off the rack'.  We do the best we can to find a style or a color or a fit that we can be happy with.  Similarly, most of us never take the opportunity to have anything made just for ourselves; cabinets or clothes for example.   The Nathan Brown Signature Skyline is truly a collaborative project that is resulting in a unique configuration of the Skyline that fits Nathan's specifications.  The semi-acoustic body will house a recessed mini humbucker, rather than a surface-mount or 'floating' jazz pickup.   We started the project by mailing a standard Skyline model out to Nathan.  This gave him a place to start, regarding the features he wanted built into the guitar.  Based upon comments about the standard model, I was able to make a plan drawing and templates for the neck carve.   Nathan's version of the Skyline will be a semi-acoustic, with a custom made Kent Armstrong mini humbucker.  Nate doesn't care for a lot of 'eye candy' on guitars, so he requested that appointments be kept minimal and that the quality of the instrument be allowed to speak for itself.  (I like his attitude about that....)
	Pretty small pile of wood for all that $money$...  And you might be interested to know this is material for two guitars, not one.
	Neck blanks being glued...
	Layout for cutting 2 necks...
	and here they are, just that quick...eh???
	Bookmatching and glue-up of tops and backs
	Still looks rough, but at least recognizable as guitar parts now.  Nate's top and back set is shown toward the back.  The front set is for my new 15" Harbor Master model.
	Nathan's guitar - it almost looks like a kit you could buy off the shelf.  Nothing could be further from the truth!
	Sides are first dimensioned for width and thickness.  Then they're steam-bent and left to cure in forms.
	A study of how Gibson configures the cavity for mini humbuckers on its Les Paul Deluxe.
	This is a Kent Armstrong mini humbucker that is specially made to Nate's specifications to produce a darker tone, but still maintain that early breakup, characteristic of minis.  After receiving the pickup, the pickup ring was removed and the pickup height adjustment 'wings' altered to allow recessed installation, as seen in the Gibson Les Paul Deluxe photo above.  Now that all the parts are on the bench, a routing template can be made and another design challenge has been overcome! ...Onward!
	After rough carving and contour sanding, the top and back plates begin to show their final shape.  Checking the carve by observing highlights and shadows is a big part of the process.  Notice that the cutaway is still a bit 'high'.  That will be reduced during tap-tuning.  The next process will be to cut F-holes and the pickup cavity through the top plate.  That will be followed by carving the insides while tap-tuning.  The plan is to leave the plate resonance slightly 'tighter' (less resonant) than the standard acoustic models.  It is expected that this tradeoff will help reduce unwanted feedback.
	Checking the fit of the centerblock.
	Checking the fit of the back, sides and centerblock.
	A 'through-sides' view. (body is top-side down)