For many of the current generation of bluegrass guitar pickers, their biggest influences can be directly traced to the school of Tony Rice. Brock Ealey, on the other hand, found his love for guitar rooted in the Clinch Mountain sound. Ealey, the guitarist for Tennessee-based band Clearview, has based his playing in the style pioneered by George Shuffler, and essential to more than half a century of mountain bluegrass – crosspicking. In fact, crosspicking is so key to Ealey’s sound that he has recently partnered with SAGA Musical Instruments to create his own Blueridge signature model guitar – the BR-240BE, also known as the Crosspick Deluxe.
Ealey is no newbie to Blueridge, having played several Blueridge guitars throughout his career, and serving as an endorsing artist for Blueridge since 2018. According to Ealey, David Gartland with SAGA first approached him in 2022 about creating his own signature model. Over the past few years, they have worked to brainstorm, and create Ealey’s vision for what would become the Crosspick Deluxe.
“Anyone that has been around me, or heard me performing with a flat-top guitar over the last ten years or so, would tell you I play so much lead guitar in the traditional mountain style of ‘crosspicking,’ much like George Shuffler, James Alan Shelton, Junior Blankenship, Ralph Stanley II, and other are known for,” Ealey says, explaining that Gartland used that knowledge to come up with the specific model name. “He came to me with the ‘Crosspick Deluxe’ idea. I absolutely loved the idea and vision he had for that. I was honored then, and always will be, to be recognized and highly regarded by many as a great crosspicking style guitarist in bluegrass music.”
Beyond that, Ealey says he was able to provide input on the specifications for the signature model. “I chose everything from tone woods to bracing, decorative features, top shading, color, etc.,” he says. Those features include an Adirondack spruce top, mahogany back and sides, pre-war style Adirondack bracing, an ebony fingerboard and bridge, bone bridge pins, and a bone nut and long vintage saddle.
The BR-240BE retails for $2,500, including shipping and a deluxe gig bag. They are available for order exclusively through Ealey and are made to order.
Those interested in more information, or in purchasing, can contact Ealey through Facebook or email.
