Luthier Profile: Mark Erlewine

If you grew up in the 1980s, chances are you instantly recognized the guitar pictured above. It is the so-ironically-small-it’s-cool humbucking monster Marty McFly plugs into an enormous amp at the start of Back To The Future. 

Contrary to what you might think, this was not a stage prop built for comic relief or the director’s subtle commentary on the excesses of 80’s hair metal. The guitar is a real, mass-produced instrument called the Chiquita, and it’s still being made today in Austin, TX by luthier Mark Erlewine. If you’re like me, you’ll be interested to know that you can live out your fantasy of recreating the scene by ordering one through the Erlewine Guitars website for around $500  (Note: building a 10 ft. amp for authenticity will cost considerably more).

The Man Behind The Icon

After apprenticing with his cousin Dan up in Michigan in the late 1960s, Mark Erlewine partnered with him to start their own guitar company in Ann Arbor in 1969. In 1972 his cousin began working for Herb David’s guitar store, which led Mark to buy the company. He moved the shop to Austin in 1974, where he sat in as a pedal steel player after work in the bars.

Mark Erlewine with his iconic Chiquita.

For the next 43 years, the list of people for whom Mark would build and repair instruments reads like a who’s who of the Austin (and larger) music scene:  Billy Gibbons (who actually helped design the Chiquita), Bob Dylan, Sting, Andy Summers, Mark Knopfler, Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Ray and Jimmy Vaughan, Eric Johnson, Albert King, Bo Diddley, Johnny Winter, Joe Walsh, Jimmy Buffet, John Fogerty, Paul McCartney, Billy Squier, Pat Metheny and of course, Willie Nelson.  It is actually Mark’s miracle-working that has kept Willie’s signature Martin N-20 (named Trigger) held together since he first got it in 1969.

Trigger has been a patient of Erlewine’s for years.

His Guitars

While much of the work Mark does is custom, he does produce two standard models: the Chiquita and the Lazer. You may have seen these pop up sometimes under the brand name Hondo (of the International Music Company). Mark leased the patent for both guitars to the Japanese manufacturer and distributor from 1980 until 1985. However, since they are both Erlewine’s designs, he is still able to produce them by hand out of his shop. These are the models you want as a collector, since the Hondo models were compromised with a mass-market production style. Given the Chiquita’s unique scale length, having a precision, well-built set up is especially important.

The Chiquita was originally designed in collaboration with Billy Gibbons in 1979 as a travel guitar. The marketing around it still touts it as “nearly a foot shorter than a Strat” and easy to take on planes. Only 28″ long and 4.5 lbs., it is made from a solid piece of Honduras maghogany. The fretboard is rosewood, with a 19″ scale length over 23 frets, which means you can’t just throw on .010s and use standard tuning. To get around this, you can tune up three half-steps so the top and bottom strings are a G, or you can use a heavier set of strings. Erlewine recommends .013, .017, .022, .036, .046, and .056. It has Schaller tuners at one end and a Schaller wrap-around bridge at the other. A single DiMarzio humbucker is connected a lone volume knob for an extremely simplified setup. New models can run $300-$500, with used ones often found for less.

Little guitar with a big cameo: Erlewine Chiquita

The Lazer was designed solely by Mark Erlewine as a more ergonomic and lightweight full scale guitar with 24 frets. It uses a patented fine tuning system known as the Wine-O-Matic bridge and employs neck-through construction for greater sustain. Pickups come in an array of options. Johnny Winter is known for playing one. Buying one new direct from Erlewine costs around $600 depending on the specs.

Erlewine’s Lazer guitar design.

The Erlewine Automatic is a highly customizable template Mark has developed, often using carved maple tops. Mark Knopfler used an Automatic for recording the intro to Dire Strait’s “Money For Nothing.”

One iteration of the Erlewine Automatic.

While not ultra-rare, finding authentic Erlewine guitars on the market isn’t exactly commonplace. When dealing with a seller, be sure to ask about the dates of manufacture and determine whether it was mass-produced as a Hondo or hand-crafted by Mark. This affects the value and quality considerably. At the end of the day, the hand-made versions are well-built, unconventional guitars that will travel well and make a great conversation piece when you take it out of the case. 

Crooked Still: The (Wider) World of Variable Scale Length Fretboards

Regardless of what you call them – splayed frets, variable scale length, non-parallel frets, fanned frets (this term is actually trademarked by Ralph Novak)  – guitars with slanted nuts, frets and bridges nearly always elicit a slight tilt of the head and raised brow. If you’ve seen the cover of John Mayer’s LP Room For Squares, you probably squinted and looked twice at his fanned fret Novax guitar in the background. This approach to stringed instruments is nothing new. Examples such as the late sixteenth-century bandora were documented as early as 1619 in Praetorius’ Syntagma Musicum. Understanding the technical reasons for this design will help you foster a new appreciation for the build of all stringed instruments. For budding luthiers, it may inspire you to experiment with some setups you never before considered.

What are wrong with good old parallel frets? 

By using different gauges of strings and asking them all to vibrate at significantly different frequencies within a setup where all strings have exactly the same scale length (the length of string that actually vibrates), a sort of dilution occurs. The bass loses some of its power, and the treble sacrifices some sweetness. With standard tuning, it necessitates different amounts of tension from string to string. Considering that the Western tuning system of equal temperament is already inherently flawed (ever notice how the B string never seems to be completely in tune relative to its neighbors?), you can’t avoid the fact that the guitar design most of us grew up with is an imperfect compromise. To most players who never felt or heard any different, this doesn’t register as anything warranting an overhaul. After all, fixed scale lengths across the board with parallel frets were good enough for Page, Hendrix, Beck, Clapton…and virtually every other major league player out there (with Charlie Hunter being a notable exception) . So what’s the big deal?

The (theoretical) advantages of variable scale length fretboards

Instead of using varying tension as a way to change the pitch of the strings, the other side of the coin is to shorten or lengthen the amount of string that vibrates (along with varying the gauge of the string). This is the way pianos and harps have been designed for centuries. Lower-frequencied strings are longer and thicker, while higher-frequencied strings are shorter and thinner. What results is consistent tension across all strings, improved intonation and zero compromise in bass power and treble sweetness. The lower 3-4 frets have similar tonal accuracy in relation to the higher frets, something normally only achieved with the mathematical wizardry of Buzz Feiten’s tempered tuning. Lower notes have a more satisfying resonance and higher notes have increased fullness and less twang. Physics is on the side of variable scale length. E.A. Edgren realized this in 1900, doubtless after many others in history, but he was the first to acquire a patent for the design. Ralph Novak, who trademarked the fanned fret design in 1989, admits he simply wanted to bend notes on the higher strings without reaching the end of the fret. With all these advantages, you might be wondering at this point: why aren’t all guitars built this way?

Passing a threshold

In reality, the differences in tension and gauge aren’t significant enough across the six strings of a conventional guitar in standard tuning for mass-market makers to change what has worked for decades. Customer expectations are another issue. Most people look at fanned frets and assume they’d have to relearn how to play. All it takes is five minutes noodling around on one to realize this is not the case. Nonetheless, the perception people have and cost of manufacturing changes are enough to keep us from ever seeing a mass-produced variable scale length Strat or Les Paul. Where this design truly excels is with guitars of seven or more strings, and basses with five or more strings, especially when alternate tunings are employed that further spread the pitches for each open string (i.e. CGDGAD). It makes even more sense when you have strings of vastly different gauges, such as 8-string bass/guitar hybrids. There are almost too many custom luthiers and boutique manufacturers offering these designs to mention, but the shortlist includes Dingwall, Greenfield, Novax, Conklin, Siggery, and Bartolex.

Variable scale length should not be confused with the nuanced adjustment of fret intervals used in the True Temperament system. This is merely to account for inherent flaws in string-to-string intonation. It does nothing to level out string tension across wildly different string gauges since the scale length is still uniform.

Some examples

From jazz to classical, variable scale length guitars have been used to expand the sound palette by many notable musicians.

A beautiful Dingwall 5-string bass with a 37.5″ scale for the B string and 33.5″ scale for the G string.

Paul Galbraith’s 8-string “Brahms” guitar designed by luthier David Rubio

The 8-string Novax used by Charlie Hunter. Note the significantly heavier gauge of the lower three bass strings. Without fanned frets, playability would be drastically reduced.

8-string acoustic from luthier Jeff Traugott. Slanting a traditional bridge really shows the variance in string length.

What if I love the guitar I have but want to try it with variable scale length? 

Any time you attempt an alteration as big as changing the nut, fretboard and bridge completely, I strongly recommend you take a deep breath, consider how much you love your guitar, and if you still feel compelled to do it, consult an expert. If you are bold and experienced enough to try it on your own, Novax sells bolt-on variable scale length necks that can be retrofitted to a Tele or a Strat (NOTE: You will also have to buy and setup individual bridge saddles). It may be a rewarding learning experience to try with an old beater guitar. But be warned – you’ll be spending the next few years explaining to everyone why your guitar is crooked.

Click here for fanned fret guitars for sale on Reverb…