CRAVEN 0-26T TENOR GUITAR

A Dramatic Reworking of the O-Body Tenor

The Craven 0-26T was never intended to be another pretty O-body tenor guitar.

It was designed to answer a question that keeps coming up from tenor players, beginners and seasoned professionals alike: How do I get more warmth, more punch, more volume, and more definition out of a tenor guitar?

The answer was not simply another set of strings or another setup.

The answer started with the instrument itself.

The 0-26T represents a year of research, listening, experimenting and pushing the traditional O-body design in a different direction. The result is a tenor guitar built around three major ingredients: torrefied Sitka spruce, straight-grain yellow walnut, and an oversized 100mm soundhole.

Put those elements together and the character changes dramatically.

BUILT FOR ATTACK

The torrefied Sitka spruce top is designed to deliver an immediate, dry and highly responsive voice. When the pick hits the string, the response is fast. Notes jump forward instead of hanging around waiting for the top to wake up.

The result is a punchy attack with the broken-in character players often associate with older instruments.

The straight-grain yellow walnut back and sides complement that response by emphasizing clarity and note separation. Rather than producing a thick wash of overlapping overtones, the design is intended to keep individual notes clearly defined.

You strum a chord and hear the chord.

Not mud. Not mush. Not a wall of indistinct overtones.

THE WALNUT DIFFERENCE

The choice of straight-grain yellow walnut is central to the 0-26T concept.

Its tonal character brings warmth and woody mids while helping keep the upper register smooth. Instead of chasing an overly bright or metallic voice, the walnut helps balance the naturally quick response of the torrefied Sitka.

The target is a voice that is warm without being dull, bright without being harsh, and powerful without becoming boomy.

That makes the 0-26T particularly interesting for players who want a tenor guitar that can sound vintage while still responding like a modern instrument.

THE 100MM SOUNDHOLE

Then comes the feature you cannot ignore.

The 0-26T uses a 100mm oversized soundhole.

This is not just a visual statement. It is part of the acoustic design.

The larger opening changes the relationship between the body’s air volume and the instrument’s response, helping produce a more immediate, open and forward voice. Combined with the walnut body and torrefied top, the goal is a tenor that projects aggressively without simply becoming louder and muddier.

The low end stays tight.

The mids remain present.

The treble stays smooth.

And the sound pushes forward.

That directional projection is especially useful when playing alongside fiddles, mandolins, guitars, vocals or other acoustic instruments where a tenor guitar can easily disappear.

THE 0-26T SONIC PROFILE

Bass: Tight, lean and controlled rather than boomy.

Mids: Warm, woody and prominent.

Treble: Smooth, rounded and clear without an aggressive edge.

Attack: Fast, immediate and punchy.

Note separation: Highly articulate, with individual strings remaining distinct.

Sustain: Clean and moderate, with notes arriving quickly and decaying naturally.

The overall character sits somewhere between vintage tenor-guitar bark and the open responsiveness of a modern custom instrument.

DESIGNED FOR MORE THAN ONE TUNING

The 0-26T was not designed around the assumption that every tenor player wants traditional CGDA tuning.

In fact, alternative tunings are one of the reasons for the redesign.

GDAE — CELTIC / OCTAVE MANDOLIN

GDAE gives the tenor guitar a deeper, darker and more haunting voice. But dropping a traditional small-bodied tenor into a low G can create problems with definition and control.

The 0-26T approaches that problem differently.

The torrefied Sitka top provides fast response to the heavier strings, while the walnut body and oversized soundhole are intended to keep the lower register controlled and articulate.

The goal is a deep, driving GDAE voice without sacrificing clarity.

DGBE — CHICAGO / BARITONE UKULELE

DGBE gives the tenor player a familiar guitar-like chord structure while eliminating the piercing high A associated with traditional CGDA tuning.

That makes it particularly attractive for chord players, jazz players and anyone looking for a warmer tenor voice.

The challenge is keeping closely spaced chord notes from blending together.

This is where the 0-26T’s emphasis on note separation becomes important.

The intended result is a warm, sweet and articulate chordal voice where the individual strings remain clearly identifiable instead of collapsing into a muddy mass of sound.

Warm. Sweet. Expensive sounding.

35 MM NUT WIDTH

The 0-26T uses a 35mm nut, approximately 1.38 inches wide.

That additional space matters.

It gives the fretting hand more room for complex chords, fast Celtic flatpicking and alternative tunings, while also making the instrument more comfortable for players who find traditional tenor-guitar necks cramped.

It is a small measurement with a big effect on playability.

THE LOOK MATTERS TOO

The tonal concept carries through to the appearance.

The honey and amber character of the straight-grain yellow walnut works naturally with the golden tones of torrefied Sitka spruce.

A hand-applied translucent toner can bring the walnut visually closer to the aged appearance of the torrefied top while allowing the natural grain to remain visible.

The straight annual growth lines become part of the visual statement rather than simply sitting in the background.

Under a high-gloss finish, the surface can shift dramatically with the light, moving from bright and golden to deeper and more muted as the viewing angle changes.

The result is an instrument that looks like it has already lived a life.

THE POINT OF THE 0-26T

The Craven 0-26T is not about throwing expensive materials onto a traditional body and calling it an upgrade.

Every major element has a purpose.

Torrefied Sitka provides the immediate response.

Straight-grain yellow walnut brings warmth, balance and definition.

The 100mm soundhole contributes to the open, forward-projecting character.

The 35mm nut gives the player more room to work.

And the entire package was developed with alternative tunings in mind.

The result is a tenor guitar designed to be punchy, warm, articulate, responsive and loud enough to make its presence known.

For the GDAE player, the target is deep, haunting and driving.

For the DGBE player, the target is warm, sweet and sophisticated.

For the player simply asking for more from a tenor guitar, the answer is built into the instrument itself.

NOT JUST ANOTHER O-BODY TENOR

The classic 0-18T established the O-body tenor as an important part of tenor-guitar history. The Craven 0-26T takes that basic concept and asks a different question:

What happens when you stop treating the traditional design as the final answer?

That question drove the redesign for an entire year.

Research. Listening. Experimentation. Wood selection. Structural decisions. String considerations. Tuning considerations. And plenty of risk.

Because strings and setup matter, but they are not the whole story.

They are the icing.

The instrument itself is the cake.

The Craven 0-26T is Craven Tenor Guitars of Canada’s answer to the question players keep asking:

“How do I get more warmth out of my tenor guitar?”

The answer is not simply another string set.

Start with the guitar.

In sum, the Shari Ulrich Songbird O‑body by Craven Tenor Guitars of Canada is a distinguished tenor guitar—refined in tone, meticulous in construction, and warmly engaging to play. It invites confident performance and thoughtful musicianship in equal measure.

FEATURES INCLUDE:
~ Craven Original Sound Body Neck Width ( 35mm tapering to 38mm)
~ 23 inch Scale
~ Precision Tuner Machine Heads
~ Mahogany Neck
~ Bone Nut and Bridge
~ Bone Bridge Pins
~ Hand Selected Torrified Solid Sitka Top
~ Hand Selected Solid Yellow Walnut Sides and Back
~ Rosewood Fingerboard with Minimalist Fret markings at 5, 7 and 10
~ Vintage Cream Biding on Headstock and Neck with Fret Markings on Neck
~ Full Size 100m Sound hole for advanced Voicing
~ Abalone Rosette with Herringbone Purfling
~ X bracing engineered for precession Tenor Guitar fitment.
~  Spine stripe on the Yellow Walnut Back
~ Vintage Cream binding top and bottom
~ Hand applied Lacquer Finish
~ Premium Quality Hardshell Case
~Standard GDAE Tuning

~ Optional Tunings Available
~ Optional Double Big Pre Amp Sound hole Pick Up Available- as  Accessory (you install)  or Professionally Permanently installed.

Heirloom Quality, Built for the Player Who Knows the Difference

Every Craven Tenor Guitar is still hand-built in limited runs, by artisans with decades of combined experience — now paired with a soundboard that sounds like it’s already lived a full life of music. This isn’t mass production. This is a guitar meant to be handed down, not traded in.

Experience the Craven difference. Play one, and hear fifty years of aging — today.