Crump B-III Irish Bouzouki with Pickup and Dragon Inlay

The B-III is the largest body in Crump's teardrop-shaped bouzouki line, built deeper than the smaller models in the same series for more sustain and a fuller low end. A built-in pickup, wired to an endpin jack, means it is ready for a stage or a session without any extra rigging.

The top is spruce, with an oval soundhole and a black pickguard. The back and sides are a dark, richly figured rosewood with a bookmatched center seam, and the fingerboard carries an abalone and mother-of-pearl dragon that climbs the length of the neck. Gotoh tuners and a script "P" headstock inlay complete the build. The label inside, visible through the soundhole, is signed and dated by Phil Crump himself: model B-III, serial RS14208, built in December 2014.

Rarely played since it was built and kept in a humidified environment, the instrument shows no significant wear from regular playing. It comes in a sturdy and well-fitting TKL Performer case.

About the Maker

Phil Crump has been building instruments in Arcata, California, since the mid-1970s, when he learned repair work at a local music shop under Mark Platin. His first octave mandolin, built in 1987, led him toward the mandolin family full time, and he went on to design the original Irish bouzouki that became his B-I model for Michael Holmes of the band Dervish. The B-III followed soon after as a deeper-bodied version of the same shape. Crump has said he is gradually moving away from custom orders in favor of building instruments outright from special woods he has set aside, which makes a fully custom piece like this one, with its own inlay work, an increasingly unusual find.