The crown was too heavy for the old man’s head. Lear resented the weight, the headache, exhaustion of it all, blue eyes bloodshot, his frail neck strained, wisps of white hair trembling.

He wanted to be done, yet the lust for power dominates long after physical appetites erode. Once experienced, desire to command and be obeyed is not easily relinquished.

Lear felt a certain responsibility, as well. He believed, as all fools do, his will should dictate distribution of wealth amongst men. So thus cleverly, he devised to bestow a kingdom’s treasures between his children — decided in proportion by the earnestness of their public professions of love for his magnanimity.

From each, according to their avarice, to each according to their guile.

I wanted to reflect emotions of Shakespeare’s King Lear at this moment of descent into madness. His armor and clothing cast off in a tremendous storm, freezing, covered in mud, raving to the heavens how he had been betrayed…when all along the destruction was of his own making.

Swamp ash, roasted flame maple, bone, carbon fiber. Layers of finish depth, patina of antiquity, raw metal of medieval armor. Driven by gleaming precision machined patented Intonation Cantilever™ stainless steel bridges, polished stainless steel frets, and the most versatile but subtle electronics I’ve yet installed.

Measured in terms of tonal sophistication, my builds will be judged as separated into pre-Lear vs. post-Lear epochs.