Designed in collaboration with Asian American artist Shun Ng, the Empress completely reimagines what an acoustic guitar could be, designed around responsiveness, immediacy, and ease of touch.

At the heart of the Empress is its unique dual soundhole design. By replacing the conventional single soundhole with two smaller openings, we have developed an instrument with an exceptionally fast transient response, giving every note an immediate sense of attack, clarity, and movement.

Highly responsive to the player’s touch, it reveals subtle changes in dynamics, articulation, and phrasing. Its response is quick and controlled, with a tight low end that maintains clarity rather than allowing excessive bloom or muddiness.

Its shorter scale length complements this responsiveness with a softer, more effortless playing feel, allowing the player to fret and bend with ease. The compact, thin body is highly ergonomic, while its cutaway provides comfortable access to the very highest frets.

The Empress also features our unique dual side ports, positioned at the upper and lower bouts. For the player, they create a more spacious stereo image and a greater sense of connection to the instrument. In the studio, the two ports provide unique microphone placement possibilities, giving engineers additional ways to capture the instrument’s character and create a wider stereo image.

Designed to be quick, focused, and articulate, the Empress sits naturally within a band and in a mix, maintaining definition without a muddy or overpowering low end.

It doesn’t simply respond to the player. She talks back.