ARGUABLY THE BEST new guitar designs are created to fill a specific need. And when one of the country’s elite guitar makers conceives of a model to suit his own particular tonal desires — as Gene Baker did with the new b3 Cielo Deluxe hybrid acoustic-electric — chances are it’s going to be something special.
Building under his b3 brand and other banners that his guitars have worn in the past, Baker is far and away best known for alternative takes on classic solid-body electrics, an arena that his pedigree certainly reinforces. After being named a Master Builder at the Fender Custom Shop following a tenure building for Gibson, then moving on to head up the acclaimed Premier Builder’s Guild, Baker needs no introduction. But the Cielo Deluxe we’re
