Larry Carlton - I5L LH Naturel

When you first pick it up, the Sire Larry Carlton I5L LH strikes you with its lightness: the open-pored swamp ash body, less dense than alder, delivers an airy acoustic response in which pick attacks come through clearly and harmonics unfold without compression. The three LC Lipstick Tube pickups - cylindrical metal tubes inherited from American instruments of the 1950s - pick up this signal with a soft, crystalline grain, devoid of the aggressiveness of standard single coils. This is not a high-gain pickup: it's a nuance sensor, calibrated for clean playing, clear arpeggios and accessible blues.

The hard maple neck, screwed to the body with a 4-screw steel plate, transmits vibratory energy without an organic filter - the maple sounds direct, dry, with a punchy attack that cuts through the open strings. The 304.8mm radius Edgeless™ hard maple fingerboard extends this tonal density under the fingers, its rounded edges eliminating any lateral friction on the wrist. The 22 2.7 mm Medium Jumbo frets and 43 mm bone saddle trace a playing territory calibrated for open fingerings and down-the-neck positions. Rounded rectangular black/abalone block markings and LC Vintage chrome tuning machines anchor the instrument's 50th birthday aesthetic.

The Tune-O-Matic bridge with string-thru body maximises string-to-body contact: the angle of attack of the strings on the bridge is increased, sustain is lengthened and the bass becomes more defined. The 5-position selector with its unique volume and tone control - wooden knobs - and the absence of a pickguard give this instrument its uncluttered, direct character, with no superfluous ornamentation. The natural satin finish lets the ash breathe under the palm.