I guess the first question on some minds might be “why name a guitar?” For some, it’s an abhorrent concept, for others it’s necessary… I stand somewhere on the fence. For me a guitar has to be special, has to earn a name. But sometimes, that right is almost instant.
I recently picked up two new custom-order Suhr guitars. I’d ordered them a year ago, paid for them in instalments over six or seven months, and then waited since December to collect them (from my dealer friend in Hong Kong). One is fairly standard fair, an S-style Standard in green with a custom pickup selection, and chambered to keep the weight down. It’ll probably end up with a snake-related name, but It’s not there yet. But the other…
It’s no secret that the jam band scene has been a huge part of my musical inspiration for the last decade or more. So it’s only natural that the spectacular custom guitars played by Trey Anastasio, Jerry Garcia, Rick Mitarotonda and others caught my eye. So I decided to act on this inspiration.
My custom Suhr is awesome. It’s impossibly light (2.7kg, sub 6lb), matt-finished natural koa top on black basswood body, chambered, fixed bridge, gold hardware, H-H-S pickups with coil splits, single volume control, roasted maple neck and fretboard with clay dots. But this post isn’t specifically about the guitar…
So, how do you pick a name? Like with a child, I’m sure most people take a range of inspirations. How wide a range of inspirations vary depending on the guitar. Blue is, well, blue… Mikey was named in tribute to a passed-on friend who usually wore black. So where am I drawing from here?
The guitar is made from Hawaiian koa, so one thought was to give it a Hawaiian name, Kona or Leilani or something. Or perhaps start with the letter K? I then toyed with thoughts relating to the natural world, and maybe the concept of Imago Dei, which is a whole lot of my life philosophy, with it being natural finish but supplying divine inspiration.
Then there’s that my heart belongs to Estonia, so, while worlds away from Hawaii, I kinda want to pay tribute to that too. And that it’s beautifully sleek, like a powerful lightweight weapon (guitar as a weapon is a common metaphor), maybe like a javelin or spear. Plus many people connect the guitar with beautiful feminine imagery. So, many thoughts…
Doing some research, I found a lovely Estonian derivation of the Germanic name Gertrude, which means “strong spear”. It’s feminine but powerful, and conveniently starts with a K to tie in with the koa. It ties in with St. Gertrude the Great who was a 13th century nun and mystic writer, so that’s the spiritual link too. As a very superficial bonus, it’s also short enough to be displayed on my guitar wireless system!
And thus, I’m delighted to introduce you to Kertu
