Music therapy charity Nordoff and Robbins has partnered with Mark Knopfler and is giving away a signed and extremely limited Boswell 0-14MK/TR-LTD acoustic guitar.
The guitar, a small body, all-mahogany build, is one of only two dozen of its kind built by the American luthier. Knopfler’s own model features heavily on his new album, One Deep River, having effortlessly won several gear shootouts.
“I always try a number of acoustics, and on this particular album the acoustic that burst through was actually the latest one, this Boswell 0-14,” the Dire Straits guitarist told Guitar Player earlier this year.
“[It’s] a little 14-fret parlor guitar made out of mahogany by Arthur Boswell, who used to work as Rudy Pensa’s repairman in New York City. He graduated from being a repairman to being a builder and set up a workshop in Bend, Oregon.
“Rudy said to me, ‘Marcus, I have this guitar. You have to have one.’ So this little mahogany arrived, and of course, I put it to work on the album and it won the audition for a whole pile of songs – at least four or five straightaway.”
The instrument charmed its way onto the tracks Ahead of the Game, Tunnel 13, Sweeter Than the Rain, Before My Train Comes, and This One’s Not Going to End Well. Knopfler adds that “there were more” too.
Knopfler was first introduced to Butch Boswell's guitars late in 2020 by his friend and fellow luthier, Rudy Pensa. Knopfler was quickly taken by an all-mahogany “0” sized guitar gifted to him, and has since added an OM model to his vast collection of studio guitars.
That led to discussions about a signature model, which combined all the things Knopfler loved about his two Boswell models.
The 0-14 guitar, the result of their collaboration, is made from Honduran mahogany, with a Brazilian Rosewood, 20-fret fingerboard. It also features Adirondack spruce top bracing and old-growth Sitka spruce with a ladder-style pattern.
Its specs are rounded out by a drop-in intonated bone saddle with Ivoroid bridge pins, and Waverly, polished nickel tuners.
This particular charity guitar features a bridge inlay at the 12th fret, which nods to the One Deep River cover.
Intriguingly, the partnership came at the right time, as the guitarist has begun to phase out the pick from his playing style.
The short-run of guitars has long since sold out, and Knopfler says his “travels with me everywhere now.”
Each guitar was numbered, with the MK0 build specially reserved for the charity giveaway.
The money raised, via raffle tickets at £5 each or three for £10, will help the UK-based charity fund vital music therapy services, which take place in schools, hospitals, and care homes across the UK.
Tickets to the prize draw can be bought here.
Head to Nordoff and Robbins to learn more about its work.
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