Ricky Skaggs and famed Maine luthier Dana Bourgeois have teamed up to offer a very limited edition of a Skaggs-signed dreadnought guitar.

How limited? Try only 10.

It’s a natural team-up with Skaggs playing and singing the praises of Bourgeois guitars for a decade. Skaggs even gave iconic flatpicker Doc Watson a Bourgeois guitar for his 80th birthday.

According to information on the collaborators’ Web sites, the instrument “captures the essence and quality of pre-war craftsmanship in a unique and elegant design. We believe it is a guitar for you, for your children and someday for your children’s children. And, of course, as a limited edition signed by one of the great musicians of our time, a valuable addition to any guitar player’s collection.”

The instruments are utilizing certified fossil mammoth ivory for the bridge.

“I have fallen in love with the clear and immediate tone that is unique to ivory (think of an ivory bridge as functioning like a big saddle),” Bourgeois said.

Ricky Skaggs & his Bourgeois "Ricky Skaggs Limited Edition" model.

Closeup of the certified fossil mammoth ivory bridge on the Bourgeois Ricky Skaggs Limited Edition model.

The nickel Waverly tuners are engraved with Ricky's initials.

Bourgeois is also touting the quality of the Adirondack spruce top.

“Because we are in Maine, we have a chance to get a first-hand look at some of the finest spruce woods from the United States and Canada,” he said on the guitar company’s Web site.

“We get a lot of our Adirondack spruce from one of the biggest wood dealers in the business,” he added. “They paid us a fine compliment the last time they visited our shop, saying that our structural standards for Adirondack spruce were higher than any of their other customers. Structural standards refers to our requirements for cut, stiffness, grain orientation and structural integrity. When it comes to Adirondack we do favor tone and structure over appearance (but of course, our tops aren’t bad to look at either.)

The guitars in the limited edition will be signed and numbered by both Skaggs and Bourgeois.

Some of the specifications include:

• Bourgeois Dreadnought body style
• Premium red “Adirondack” spruce top
• Premium Brazilian back and sides
• Hide glue construction of bridge, braces, fingerboard, tail block, neck block and even the headstock veneer
• Traditional headstock with Bourgeois logo and presentation inlay over a Brazilian Veneer
• Bone nut
• 25.5″ scale length.
• Triple-bound Ivoroid body binding with Style 42 Abalone purfling
• Triple-bound Ivoroid and black/White purflings on neck, head, back and sides
• Unique Abalone fingerboard inlay designed by Dana Bourgeois
• Bourgeois double-action truss rod
• Certified mammoth ivory dnd graft with fancy border
• Certified mammoth ivory heel cap with abalone inlay
• Nickel Waverly Tuners engraved with a Floral Design and the initials R.S. designed by Waverly specifically for this limited edition
• Ebony Bridge pins and end pin inlaid with Mammoth ivory dot encircled with real silver.

Additional information about the guitars and the dealers that will have them can be found at http://www.pantheonguitars.com The Web site also includes an extensive collection of close-up photos of the guitar’s features.