“Anyone who has laid hands on one of his guitars—before, during, or after Fender—will understand that Ron Thorn crafts guitars to within an iota of perfection.” This sentiment rings true for the newly unveiled Florentine Empirial, a remarkable electric guitar that captivates with its beauty and craftsmanship.
When asked about his return to independent guitar making after a successful tenure at the Fender Custom Shop, Thorn’s enthusiasm is palpable. “I’m back to doing what I love!” he exclaims. “Building guitars completely from scratch, where I’ve made all the design choices, selected every board, chiseled every binding corner, and soldered every joint. I didn’t realize just how much I missed that until diving back into it revitalized my passion for guitar building.”
The Florentine Empirial showcases Thorn’s renewed passion, blending the essence of a 1959 Les Paul with the elegance of a golden-era D’Angelico New Yorker, all while incorporating elements reminiscent of a 1942 Epiphone Emperor and a 1960 Gibson Byrdland.
Thorn’s previous work at Fender spans three decades. He began as the sole supplier of custom inlay work for the Fender Custom Shop in the mid-’90s and quickly garnered recognition as a distinguished custom guitar maker. By 2018, he had ascended to the role of principal master builder and later director of the Custom Shop.
Those familiar with Thorn’s guitars know that he doesn’t just create instruments; he perfects them. Having played and owned several of his creations, I can attest to the impressive fusion of talent, passion, and innovation evident in his work.
Thorn’s craftsmanship seems to run in the family. With a grandfather and two uncles as finish carpenters, and a father who was an armorer for the Royal Canadian Navy with a master-grade woodworking shop, it’s clear that woodworking is in Thorn’s blood. In 1979, the family relocated to Burbank, California, where Thorn’s passion for crafting wood and metal aligned with the vibrant California music scene during the peak of Eddie Van Halen’s fame. This convergence has culminated in stunning instruments like the Florentine Empirial, 45 years later.
Key features of this model include a 14.5-inch wide, 2.25-inch thick semi-hollow body made from mahogany, complemented by a solid arched flame-maple top and a mahogany neck with a complex glued-in dovetail joint. Custom options include a solid spruce top and korina body and neck. The guitar is designed with a 24.65-inch scale length, a 10-degree headstock angle, a 12-inch fingerboard radius, and a nut width of 1.687 inches.
This particular example boasts a fingerboard made from Brazilian rosewood, featuring elaborate multi-ply binding and white-and-gold mother-of-pearl inlays, mirroring the headstock’s design. Additional Brazilian rosewood elements include custom deco knobs, pickup bezels, headstock facing, a trapeze tailpiece, and a truss-rod cover with a hand-cut sterling silver “Thorn” inlay, all meticulously crafted by Thorn himself. The top features a faded cherry sunburst finish in thin nitrocellulose lacquer, hand-aged to evoke the era of its inspiration.
Thorn credits his New York trip as the source of inspiration for the design. “The vibe, the people… the pizzas. It was all incredible. But what really struck me was the architecture,” he recalls. “The heavy use of art deco had me enthralled. I was taking pictures of doorways and window details, lamps, and even an elevator’s floor-indicator frame. Deco was everywhere—sometimes subtle, sometimes very apparent, such as in the Chrysler and Empire State buildings—but always beautiful.”
Alongside the stunning aesthetic, the Florentine Empirial houses impressive features often hidden from view. Thorn highlights the significant neck-to-body contact made possible by his dovetail joint, the innovative internal bracket supporting the pickguard through the f-hole, a mid-50s-style single-action truss rod, a tag board under the bridge pickup for easy swaps, and a metal-reinforced jack plate.
The guitar comes equipped with a set of four-conductor Ron Ellis Signature humbuckers made to the PAF formula, integrated with a wiring harness that includes Bourns pots, NOS Soviet-era paper-in-oil .033µF tone capacitors, and a six-position Free-Way switch disguised as a traditional three-way toggle for coil-splitting options. Completing the hardware set are a Faber ABR-1 bridge and Grover Imperial tuners.
In play, the Florentine Empirial excels. The impeccably dressed frets, a flawlessly shaped ’59 “C” neck carve, and a back ribcage comfort contour enhance the playing experience.
Whether plugged into a tweed Deluxe-style 1×12 combo, a 65amps London head and 2×12 cab, or various presets on the Fractal FM9, this elegant guitar rocks with impressive vigor, revealing a nuanced dynamics, articulation, and controllable playability that many humbucker-equipped guitars lack.
On cleaner settings, the guitar showcases its subtler tones, characterized by ringing, blooming upper-harmonic overtones and a buoyant richness that maintains clarity. The Ellis pickups further enhance this experience, offering shimmering single-coil tones via the six-position switch, significantly expanding the instrument’s versatility.
Thorn echoes this sentiment: “Of all the guitars I’ve built in my career, I feel the semi-hollows have always stood out as being extra-special sounding to me. The wider spectral tonal range, the ability to react to the varying dynamics of playing, and the sheer versatility of musical styles have always felt like the characteristics of a really fine instrument.”
In the case of the Florentine Empirial, “really fine” may be an understatement, but such modesty is typical of this luthier. The remarkable achievement represented by this guitar speaks volumes about Thorn’s exceptional craftsmanship.
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