I was transfixed, so I had no choice but to take this beautiful parlor guitar—I believe it had an Adirondack spruce top and koa back and sides—for a test drive. Ten minutes turned to twenty, then thirty, and then I started feeling guilty. This wasn’t working, was it? So, with much pain in my heart, I put my new favorite guitar back in its case. I spent almost an hour writing a six hundred-word essay about what a magical experience I had exploring its fretboard. Anything less seemed like an insult to the artistry of the build. It may have been overkill, but surely I wouldn’t have to do that for every Froggy Bottom guitar. They couldn’t all be that good, could they?
I am happy to report that I was completely wrong. Over the last two years, I’ve had the privilege of playing dozens of Froggy Bottoms (there are certainly perks to being their biggest dealer!), and each and every one of them was just as jaw-dropping as that first serial. They all practically demanded that I block out an hour or two of my day to get lost in their fretboards and catalog their myriad inspiring sonic characteristics.
I’ve come to realize that I do this because writing about Froggy Bottom guitars is like writing about a piece of art. I wouldn’t write a review of an album after only listening to it once, and I wouldn’t write an essay about a gallery opening without spending time pondering each painting. To capture the essence of what makes each serial special, I have to dig deep into my writer’s toolbox and use much more evocative language. They force me to step beyond the usual tropes of guitar writing because they continually transcend my notions of what an acoustic guitar can be. After all this time, they still put me at a loss for words, and they frequently make me sputter in disbelief just as I did when I played my first Froggy.
At least, that’s how I justify spending an hour or more writing about each and every Froggy Bottom you see on this page. I hope you enjoy reading my attempts to capture what makes each individual serial special, as they are all profoundly inspiring creative tools. Most of all, I hope that you take one of these guitars for a spin so that you can experience the magic of a Froggy Bottom for yourself. The whole Wildwood team is proud to present our selection of Froggy Bottoms, and we know that you will be amazed by their capacity to cultivate sheer musical joy.
