BCKingston: Fusion

7520 Cavendish Road ~ Hunter River R.R#2 ~ Prince Edward Island ~ CANADA ~ C0A 1N0
(902) 963-2837 ~ brian@bckingston.com

“I've played Brian's thinlines and I love them. They sound great and are fun to play. There aren't too many folks out there willing to put in the time to make these guitars sing."

- Tom Ribbecke

(Used with permission.)
(Tom is among the worlds' premiere archtops luthiers and his thinlines are the finest on the planet.)

Fusion

Ted McCarty ran Gibson Guitars from 1950 - 1966; a golden era even in that companies long and proud history. Many would argue that the highlight of his tenure was the introduction of the "335" thinline in 1958. These semi-acoustic guitars have a solid maple block thru the center of the guitar designed to emphasize solid-body type sustain and to minimize feedback. The hollow "tone chambers" provided a depth of tonal colors not possible with solid bodies.

The Fusion is my take on this venerable guitar. To find more tone I've replaced the plywood top, back and sides of the "335" with solid select tone woods. The Fusions mahogany neck, sides, kerfing, centerblock and fully carved back form a homogenous unit that really warms the tone and feeds the sustain. When the bite of the fully carved premium quilted or European curly maple top is coupled with the clarity, articulation and punch of the custom order Lindy Fralin humbuckers and added to the equation; the result is that the Fusion is capable of almost pure acoustic sounds right up thru those big, fat, creamy Duane Allman sounds.

"....I play a lot of Jazz and Smooth Jazz.Your guitar is the perfect instrument for me.I used to take three different guitars on a gig,but now,I only play the Kingston Fusion and it works for everything."

Prof. Dr. Stefan Alkier

(Used with permission)
(Johann Wolfgang Goethe Universitat,Frankfurt,Germany)

A 2-way adjustable truss rod is flanked on each side by carbon fiber rods that extend from the peghead all the way past the neck joint to the 21st fret. This increases neck stiffness and sustain while adding little extra weight and eliminating the possibility of "deadspots". The plastic bindings of the "335" have been replaced with bindings/purflings of solid ebony and curly maple, and I believe this also adds to the tone and sustain.

The face mounted input jack has been replaced by a flushmount jack installed in the side on the treble side, lowerbout. Unprecedented access to the switch and all electronics is afforded by a small oval access hole in the back.

The 3 versions I offer of the Fusion are:

1) "Quilt" - Premium sunburst quilted maple top with mahogany back, sides, centerblock and neck.

2) "Flame" - Premium sunburst European curly maple top with mahogany back, sides, centerblock and neck.

3) "Spruce" - Premium Sitka spruce top with premium European curly maple back and sides. Center block is mahogany and a mahogany neck.

Fusion - Standard Specifications:

Body Measurements -

length - 18 3/4"
lowerbout - 16 1/8"
upperbout - 11 1/2"
waist - 9 1/4"
sides - 1 3/4"

Neck Measurements -

fret scale - 24.562"
number of frets - 22
fretboard cutoff - 23rd fret
fretboard radius - 12"
nut - 1 11/16" standard; 1 21/32" and 1 5/8" also availible
19th fret - 2 1/8" or 2 5/32"
string separation at bridge - 2 1/32"

Tops - fully hand carved solid select Sitka spruce, or European curly maple, or big leaf quilted maple

Backs - fully hand carved solid select mahogany; or European curly maple

Sides - to match backs

Necks - select mahogany

Fretboards, headcap face, pickguard - solid ebony

Center Solid Block - mahogany standard, or maple

Bindings/Purflings: solid ebony and curly maple combinations - all fabricated in shop

5 piece - around tops
3 piece - around backs
2 piece - around fretboard, f-holes, peghead and pickguard

Position markers - MOP triangle sequence on fretboard with 2mm MOP side position dots

Neck particulars - 2-way LMI adjustable truss rod with .200x.25" carbon fiber rods on each side from peghead to 21st fret

Pickups - custom Lindy Fralin humbuckers standard; Rick Norman (Dr. Vintage) '59 Dot Neck set optional

Frets - jumbo; .110" wide x .050" high

Nut - unbleached cowbone

Bridge - Faber Tone Lock tunamatic with solid brass saddles on posts only, threaded halfway into center block.

Tailpiece - Faber Tone Lock or TonePros; with aluminum bar.

Switch - 3 way Gibson style toggle switch

Controls - 2 volumes, 2 tones

Pots - CTS

Caps - Vintage Army surplus OIP (Oil in Paper)

Jack - flushmount, located in side on treble side lowerbout

Finishes -

Quilt Fusion - sunburst top with just darker than natural mahogany sides, back and neck
Flame Fusion - sunburst top with just darker than natural mahogany sides, back and neck
Spruce Fusion - blonde standard, total burst optional

Tuning Machines - TonePros Kluson's with keystones

Case - 5-ply Cedar Creek standard; recommended option - Hoffee deluxe carbon fiber flight case with choice of color (inside and outside)

Options -

Bigsby setup with Bigsby tremolo tailpiece and Tone Lock tunamatic with graphite saddles, delrin nut, and Sperzel locking tuners
Total sunburst on Spruce Fusion
5-way lever switch with master volume and master tone
Custom spec. pickup strengths
Gold hardware and tuners