Details
The Avante Gryphon is one of our favorite guitars, and not just because it has a well chosen name. This small instrument has a unique tone with a natural chorus effect that recalls mandolin, bouzouki or the high strings of a 12-string guitar. Designed by Joe Veillette, the Gryphon has a short 18 1/8th-inch scale length and twelve strings that are tuned in six unison pairs.
The Gryphon is designed for D tuning, basically the equivalent of capoing at the 10th fret of a guitar in standard tuning. When played with a flatpick, it’s easy to play mandolin-style parts and when fingerpicked it has a lovely, chiming bell-like sonority. You can put a capo on the second fret, which puts it a full octave above standard tuning, making it perfect for doubling or layering parts in the studio or in jam sessions.
The Avante Gryphon has a solid spruce top and solid mahogany back and sides. The fretboard and bridge are rosewood and the neck is mahogany. It’s fitted with a piezo pickup with volume and tone controls that are adjustable through the soundhole. The nut measures 1 15/16” , a comfortable width for playing the doubled strings. The Gryphon is light-weight and it’s well balanced in your lap or on a strap. Includes a hardshell case.
Specs
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Back sides
Mahogany
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Bridge
Rosewood
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Cutaway
Yes
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Electronics
Yes
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Fingerboard
Rosewood
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Neck material
Mahogany
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Nut width
1 15/16"
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Pickup type
Piezo Pickup/preamp
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Scale length
18 1/8"
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Top material
Spruce
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Total frets
21
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Tuners
Hipshot
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Case type
Hardshell
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Serial number
2166
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SKU
VEIAG12NAT-2166
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UPC
170167