Froggy Bottom Model L Deluxe Acoustic Guitar with Honduran Mahogany

Case for Froggy Bottom Model L Deluxe Acoustic Guitar with Honduran Mahogany

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There is something wonderfully personal about a small guitar built with extraordinary care. Its proportions invite you closer, its lightness encourages another song, and its character can make even the simplest melody feel newly discovered. The Froggy Bottom Model L Deluxe in Honduran Mahogany embodies that intimacy beautifully, bringing together the warmth of an all mahogany instrument, the elegance of delicate shell appointments, and a design shaped by a lifetime of listening to musicians.

Froggy Bottom’s story began in 1970, when Michael Millard built his first guitar bearing the name in his apartment on New York’s Lower East Side. His understanding of wood had taken root years earlier among the craftsmen of New England boatyards, while his work with Michael Gurian provided an invaluable foundation in instrument making. In 1974, Millard devoted himself to Froggy Bottom full time, eventually establishing the company’s enduring connection to Vermont. Throughout that journey, the guiding principle remained deeply personal: build each instrument around the musical possibilities it could offer its player. That spirit lives in the thoughtful proportions and individual attention that define a Froggy Bottom guitar.

The Model L has a particularly charming origin. After Millard replaced the damaged top of an old Martin 1-17, the restored instrument’s musical potential inspired a new addition to the Froggy Bottom family. With a lower bout measuring just 13 inches, the Model L is the company’s smallest body, offering the close embrace of a traditional parlor guitar with a design celebrated for its balance and surprising presence. At only 3 pounds, 6 ounces, this example promises an especially inviting companion for long evenings of fingerpicking, songwriting, and quiet exploration.

Honduran mahogany makes a compelling partner for these compact proportions. Used for the top, back, and sides, it brings a beautiful visual continuity and the tonal qualities for which mahogany is so cherished: woody warmth, an expressive midrange, and a clear emphasis on the heart of each note. In a small body, those tendencies complement the focused bass and intimate presentation that draw players to parlor guitars. The appeal is in the balance of sweetness and definition, where alternating bass lines can anchor a melody and the inner voices of a chord have room to speak. For players drawn to country blues, delicate fingerstyle arrangements, and the unadorned beauty of a voice accompanied by guitar, this combination holds particular promise.

The Deluxe appointments give that earthy character a graceful touch of radiance. Guatemalan rosewood bindings and grafts frame the mahogany, while an abalone rosette and backstrip introduce luminous accents. Green abalone scalloped diamonds in Froggy Bottom’s #5 pattern adorn the Gabon ebony fingerboard, their intricate shapes offering a lovely contrast to its dark surface. Above, a bound, slotted headstock carries a rosewood veneer and the familiar abalone frog, a small emblem of the imagination and craftsmanship behind the instrument.

A 24.75 inch scale length contributes to an inviting feel, while the 1 3/4 inch nut and generous 2 5/16 inch bridge spacing provide welcome room for articulate fingerwork. The one inch Gabon ebony bar bridge reinforces the guitar’s traditional elegance, complemented by a bone nut and saddle. Ebony bridge pins and an endpin with paua abalone dots carry the decorative theme into the smallest details, while nickel Waverly #14063 tuning machines offer precise adjustment through their 21:1 ratio.

Accompanied by a TKL American Vintage case, with its imitation tortoise shell pickguard left uninstalled inside, this Model L Deluxe is a beautiful expression of what makes a fine small guitar so enduringly desirable. Warm wood, luminous shell, comfortable proportions, and a thoughtful musical heritage come together in an instrument that invites you to settle in, listen closely, and let the next song unfold.

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