Decades spent in Alaskan rivers, the rest of its life in your hands.

The Salvage Series pairs Sitka spruce reclaimed from decommissioned Alaskan salmon traps with old growth Mahogany back and sides. Tonewood with a past, voiced for what comes next. Built one at a time in Burlington, Vermont.

A luthier’s note from Dale Fairbanks

“The Fairbanks Salvage Series is truly unique: the old growth Mahogany back and sides are married to Sitka top plates that spent decades in Alaskan rivers as salmon traps. The result is tonewood that is pregnant with potential, ready to spawn songs at the slightest strum. Every time you sit with a Salvage series Fairbanks, you’ll feel like you’re swimming home.”

A Finite Series

The Salvage Series, in the specs shown here, is built only in 2026. Every guitar is individually numbered. When 2026 closes or the wood runs out, whichever comes first, this version of the series is finished.

The Sitka we build with is genuinely finite, pulled from a single source of decommissioned Alaskan salmon traps that will not be replenished. 

Alaskan State Archives, William R Norton Photographs, Willam R Norton, ASL-PCA-226

Rescued in the early 1990s from the fjords of Tenakee Springs and carefully barn-stored, this sinker wood has emerged as something extraordinary: lightweight, remarkably stable and possessing a tonal clarity that only saltwater curing can achieve.

Alaskan State Archives, Dora M Sweeney photographs, Dora M Sweeney, ASL-P421-284

The F-20 Salvage

The Specs

  • Top: Sinker Sitka Spruce

    Back & Sides: Old Mahogany

    Fingerboard & Bridge: Indian Rosewood

  • Ivoroid

  • Tortoise

  • Natural or Top Burst, gloss nitrocellulose.

  • 1-3/4” nut width

    2-7/32” bridge spacing

    25.5” scale length

Featuring salvaged Sitka and old growth Mahogany, voiced for fingerstyle and delicate playing. Clear top end, defined notes inside a chord, and a midrange that holds its place under a vocal without crowding it.

The F-60 Salvage

The Specs

  • We're a team of passionate thinkers and doers, dedicated to building with purpose and clarity. Collaboration and curiosity drive everything we do.

  • We believe in keeping things simple, smart, and human. Every project starts with listening and ends with something we're proud to share.

  • From startups to seasoned brands, we partner with people who care about doing things right—and doing them well.

  • Natural or Top Burst, gloss nitrocellulose.

  • 1-3/4” nut width

    2-7/32” bridge spacing

    25.5” scale length

The Sitka top arrives with the density and stiffness that only years in cold water can give it, paired with old growth Mahogany back and sides for warmth and a fast, present midrange. Bracing is hand voiced. No two F-60s sound exactly alike, and they are not meant to.

Two ways to meet the Salvage Series

Visit-Make an appointment with a Fairbanks dealer near you.

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Reserve-Build slots are limited, get in touch to reserve yours.