General Interest Guitar Archives - Page 3 of 4

Canadian Lutherie Video Series with Jordan McConnell

General Interest Guitar, Handbuilt Guitars, Music, Musicians, players

We’ve got a brand new mini video series with Canadian lutherie virtuoso Jordan McConnell (of McConnell Guitars and The Duhks fame)—Jordan brings out the rich and varied colors of his fellow Canadian builders’ fine creations that we’re happy to represent here at Dream Guitars. Immediately below is a quick collage of the six guitars, and you can scroll down below that for each video in its entirety. Enjoy!

First up is a striking Art Deco Sunburst Maple-and-Engelmann Jumbo from Michel Pellerin (http://www.dreamguitars.com/…/5347-pellerin_jumbo_sunburst…/). To say the voice is huge would be, well, a cruel understatement. This Pellerin rattles your teeth from 20 feet away!

Next on the block is a lively and exhilarating 3GMS/25/27 flattop from Al Beardsell. Soundports, bevels, multi-scale fretboard, isometric neck profile—all with quick attack and responsiveness.

Number three could easily be number one in our books: a Little Manzer in Brazilian and Cedar from Linda Manzer! A pocked-sized beauty with a guitar-and-a-half voice, this model was originally made famous by Pat Metheny, and since then Linda’s made but a handful of these handy (themselves a handful) little gems.

Number four: a classic from one of Canada’s greatest: our 2000 OMC from Mario Beauregard. Brazilian Rosewood and German Spruce of this order is incredibly hard to find these days, and in Mario’s hands these tonewoods are honed to their ultimate edge. Flawless balance from string to string, elegant curves and Ebony trim, a voice equal parts creamy and crisp—you have to make a hard decision between playing this Beauregard and doing anything else, ever, each time you pick it up.

Number five comes from the man himself, Mr. Jordan McConnell. This particular 16 Inch model was built for our very own Paul Heumiller (so of course the Brazilian back and sides are ridiculous), who opted for Moonspruce on top and a Blue Ridge Parkway-themed inlay scheme by none other than inlay virtuoso Larry Robinson.

September 21, 2017/by Logan Wells

Paul Heumiller on Michael Bashkin & Fretboard Journal’s “Luthier on Luthier” Podcast

DG Updates, General Interest Guitar, Luthier profile, Uncategorized

Paul recently sat down with Michael Bashkin of Bashkin Guitars for a chat about the boutique guitar market, life, yoga, and more for episode nine of Bashkin’s “Luthier on Luthier” podcast with the Fretboard Journal.

“For our ninth episode, I sit down with Dream Guitars founder and owner, Paul Heumiller. If you build or play custom guitars you probably already know Paul’s name and that Dream Guitars is one of the top boutique guitar dealers in the world. Paul discusses his philosophy for life and business, and how for him they are one in the same. Paul talks about how Dream Guitars got started and the successful partnerships he has forged with some of today’s most collectible builders. Paul also gives some great advice to new and established builders about competing with your own guitars on the secondary market, and how to avoid burning out.” ~ Michael Bashkin

https://www.fretboardjournal.com/podcast/luthier-luthier-paul-heumiller-dream-guitars/

http://innermost.yoga/

September 21, 2017/by Logan Wells

Incoming 2017 Bouchereau Mistral Build

General Interest Guitar, Handbuilt Guitars, Incoming, Uncategorized

We met Loïc Bortot of Bouchereau Guitars at the 2016 Woodstock Invitational Luthiers Showcase, and a few days later we came home to North Carolina with a sweet little Mistral OM (https://www.dreamguitars.com/shop/new-bouchereau-mistral-ziricote-lutz.html) in tow. That Ziricote-and-Lutz beauty wasn’t long for this shop, however, before we sent it on to its new home with one of our clients. We immediately snagged a slot in Loïc’s build schedule for the next one. We’re happy to report that our second Mistral (this time with Quilted Sapele and salvaged Sitka Spruce) is soundly underway! Loïc has already sent a few photos of the build so far, and will continue to provide photos so we can document the process here. We’re hoping to take delivery in the next month or so! Stay tuned.

Back and sides – Quilted Sapele
Top – Salvaged Sitka Spruce
Scale length – 25.4”
Nut width – 1.7″
Lower bout – 15 1/2”
Body length – 19 3/8”

Quilted Sapele back, Spruce braces.

Installing the Bouchereau label for Mistral #012.

Here’s a shot of the back and sides, recently joined to the top plate.

Closeups of Loïc’s Florentine Cutaway miters. Clean and well-executed!

11/22/2017:

Roughing in the saddle intonation.

Before first stringing.

Closeup of Loîc’s two-tone heelcap.

Sapele back and sides, freshly polished.

Freshly polished and strung up!

Stay tuned for further developments

August 18, 2017/by Logan Wells

Incoming 2017 Tippin Al Petteway Crescendo

General Interest Guitar, Incoming, Uncategorized

Paint us pink with excitement: we’ve got another Al Petteway signature model on the way from one of our all-time favorite builders, Bill Tippin! As you know, Al’s left his mark on virtually every steel string demo we’ve ever recorded, but this special Crescendo actually bears his physical mark on its own special label below Bill’s. We supplied the Brazilian Rosewood for the back and sides (it was a great excuse to sift through our secret stash and dream of future builds), and Bill supplied the rest. We’ll document the build process throughout the various stages, so stay tuned for updates! See immediately below for a few links to Al Petteway signature models Bill’s built for us in the past.

https://www.dreamguitars.com/shop/tippin-crescendo-built-for-al-petteway.html

https://www.dreamguitars.com/shop/tippin-crescendo-al-petteway-signature-acoustic-guitar.html

https://www.dreamguitars.com/shop/tippin-crescendo-al-petteway-series-000.html

https://www.dreamguitars.com/shop/tippin-crescendo-al-petteway-signature-acoustic-guitar.html

Back and sides – DG’s personal Brazilian Rosewood
Top – Swiss Moonspruce
Scale length – 25.5”
Lower bout – 15 1/2”
Body length – 20 3/8”
Body Depth – 4 5/16”
Standard nut width – 1 3/4”

Side assembly in the Crescendo mold clamped to a bench.

Close up of Tippin’s spreaders which keep the sides firmly squared up agains the inner rim of the mold.

Gluing the back to the side assembly: 30 clamps.

Binding strips, dark Brazilian Rosewood against even darker Brazilian Rosewood.

Bill’s spliced some textured sapwood between Abalone strips for an endgraft with an organic flair.

Bill’s iconic soundport, beveled to reveal the reinforcement layers underneath.

A Ryan-style arm bevel has here been routed to receive bindings. Installing a bevel is an intense feat of engineering, one which Bill has mastered handsomely over the years. Bill sourced this fine example of Moonspruce from Switzerland.

10/11/2017 Update:

Koa

Koa arm bevel

From Bill: “The heel to body joint has been beveled back to allow more access to the extension frets (upper register) also the heel profile has been swept in some providing no edges to interfere with access in the cutaway.”

Koa arm bevel to match the other Koa appointments

Fossil Walrus tusk surrounded by Mother of Pearl sparkle, Blue-Green Paua trim

August 17, 2017/by Logan Wells

It’s Show Time!

DG Updates, General Interest Guitar, Handbuilt Guitars, Incoming, Luthier profile

Our Experiences and Take-Aways from 2016’s Santa Barbara Acoustic Instruments Celebration & Woodstock Invitational Luthiers Showcase

People often ask us how we find all the splendid guitars that we offer. Of course we have numerous methods for finding these fine instruments, but one of our most exciting avenues is attending guitar shows. Each year there are a few great shows that feature custom guitars by independent luthiers, often working in one-man workshops and with an unparalleled attention to detail. Dream Guitars owner Paul Heumiller recently came back from two such shows, the 2016 Santa Barbara Acoustic Instruments Celebration and the 2016 Woodstock Invitational Luthiers Showcase. Heumiller: “At these shows many of the top luthiers in the world display several of their most recent developments, which gives us the rare opportunity to play a few different models of each maker. Being able to play more than one at a time is key for us at Dream Guitars, because it gives us a chance to honestly evaluate newer makers and evaluate their builds for consistency and quality of tone. It’s also important to meet up with established makers that we already work with in order to pick out our new favorite instruments to bring back for our clients.”

These shows invite between 80 and 120 guitar makers and are open to the public, which is another reason that we like to attend. Heumiller again: “It’s a joy to finally meet clients that I’ve been working with on the phone and over email for years. The shows are a great opportunity to see the faces and shake the hands of clients with whom I’ve worked for the past 20 years. It’s a part of the business I truly love, since guitar people are all great folks and we all have so much in common. I’ve made several dear friends while running between the shows over the years.”

As we mentioned earlier, the shows are one of the key ways that we discover new talent. This year was an exceptionally rich one for identifying younger makers that had something worthy of the Dream Guitars name. At most shows we expect to perhaps find one new builder that impresses us, maybe two, but this year we found no fewer than six! Heumiller again: “I think the fact that there are so many stellar young builders has a lot to do with the sharing of information these days. Young makers have so much access to good information that if they have talent they can much more quickly reach a high level of quality both in terms of construction and tone.”

At the Santa Barbara show we invited Hollywood, California-based luthier Isaac Jang to join us. “I’ve been watching been him for some time now, and at Santa Barbara his OM just blew me away; the timing was right to start a relationship. Jang’s work has impressed me for years, and during that time I gave him advice and my honest opinion of his work. This year he did something about it, so we decided to purchase the Brazilian Rosewood-and-German-Spruce OM that he’d brought.”–Heumiller. We were also delighted to learn more about Jang’s past, namely that at age 17 he asked Kathy Wingert for an apprenticeship. Kathy wisely told him that he had to graduate from a lutherie school, get a job working in guitar repair, and then come see her. Isaac did all of that by age 19 and returned to Kathy’s door. He apprenticed with Kathy for a number of years, and it shows. Isaac is now a teacher at the Musicians Institute in Hollywood.

While we were there we also made good on our long-standing respect for Michel Pellerin of Canada by offering to represent his work–and we brought back a beautiful Sunburst Jumbo he had recently finished. In addition, we met the truly inspiring creations of Benoît Lavoie. None other than Pierre Bensusan bought Lavoie’s guitar which we planned to get after the show! We are delighted at Benoît’s success; just goes to show we have good taste if Bensusan beat us to the chase, and we’ll wait until the next one is finished.

We also got to see the new work of Noemi Schembri from Italy. The tone of her guitars mesmerized us at Santa Barbara, and by the time we saw her again in Woodstock we simply could not resist any longer: we brought back an Madagascar Rosewood SJ and a Koa Baritone.

In Woodstock we were introduced to the inspirational work of Canadian builder Loïc Bortot (of Bouchereau Guitars fame). After playing a few of his instruments, it was clear why he graduated first in his class at Quebec City’s National Lutherie School, and is now a teacher there. From that week we brought back his wonderful slotted head Mistral model. Speaking of teachers, we were also able to connect with Sam Guidry, a teacher alongside Bryan Galloup at the American School of Lutherie, and get one of his Maple OMs for the shop. Paul: “Bryan told me I had to look at Sam’s guitars, and I’m really glad I did. I’ve long respected Bryan, so when he tells me about someone new, I listen. At Woodstock I got to spend a lot of time with Sam after events; he’s a great fellow to be around, and he’s incredibly passionate about his craft. As soon as I played this Maple guitar I fell in love. It’s voiced for a big, round attack with superb clarity across the registers–which is why I’m stoked to get in the shop!”

Paul: “The other aspect of the shows that is pure joy for me is seeing my old friends that I’ve known for many, many years. Many of them I met as young upstart builders when I first opened Dream Guitars’ doors, and they’re still building guitars today. The many dinners and glasses of wine from bygone years allow us to really get to know each other as human beings that share a common passion in the art of the guitar.” This time around it was wonderful to make a new friend in Richard Hoover, the founder of Santa Cruz Guitars, and Joe Glaser a repairman beyond compare. Paul: “I was delighted when Richard Hoover asked me to introduce him to a few talented young makers. He was beaming over the fine work of Isaac Jang and Leo Buendia like a high schooler opening his guitar case for the first time. Clearly the passion is still inside of Richard, and he so gracefully complimented his younger peers on their fine work. He told me later that ‘just when he thought we’d gotten this guitar making thing down these new guys come along and make it harder again with their new ideas!'”

The one common thread that binds these young makers together and excites us so much is their open mind, open heart approach to the craft. They don’t just want to build good copies of guitars, they want to push the envelope in all the right ways and create innovative musical tools to inspire musicians in ways not yet known to us. Paul: “This is something you can’t just feel by just looking at their guitars necessarily, but trust me: as I dined with these folks and taste tested dozens of their guitars I could feel the boundaries they were pushing and hear the voices they were pioneering.” These new builders are seekers chasing down their crazy dreams–while they fulfill the dreams of players the world over. We are beyond excited to consider what will become of the guitar world in the years to come. This is the golden age of guitars, and it’s not stopping any time soon. Let’s hang on and enjoy the ride!

November 18, 2016/by Paul Heumiller

1930 Martin 000-45 In The House!

General Interest Guitar, Paul's Pick, Uncategorized, Vintage Guitars

Dream Guitars has the ability to reach out and pluck those dream guitars from out of the air, where mere mortals are unable to find recordings of these beasts, let alone actual guitars. Paul’s kept himself at the center of the world of high-end guitars for 17 years now, patiently building his knowledge base and making connections between players, builders, and collectors, diligently placing new voices into practiced hands, providing discerning clientele to inspire luthiers, and reuniting collectors with the instruments of their childhoods, or their parents’ childhoods. As a result, Dream Guitars has become one of the focal points for preserving the world of fine lutherie and maintaining the market for anyone with a voice or a guitar model at stake.

Accordingly, Dream Guitars is exactly the place you want to come to if the instrument you’re looking for is off the beaten path (just look at the country roads that lead to our showroom), masterfully constructed and exceedingly rare. When one of our clients came to us with his collection of Holy Grail guitars, Paul was more than ready to help out. One quick flight to New York and a careful car trip back, and Dream Guitars has now gotten a hold of three irresistably collection-worthy instruments: a 1935 Larson Brothers Prairie State 15″, a 1938 Larson Euphonon Dreadnought, and the grand master of all–an all-original 1930 Martin 000-45! This last one is particularly difficult to find: there were only 21 made in 1930. Add to that the voice, with all its 86 years’ of music, and the completely original state of its parts (right down to the cast iron key for the case), and the chances of finding a guitar like this in the wild are nigh impossible.

Valued at $135,000, this Martin is an incredible find, and Paul was able to line up a buyer within a matter of days. Soon the chalice will be passed and this Holy Grail guitar will be en route to its new owner. In quick order, the Larson Prairie State also sold as well, and both guitars are going to trusted clients who respect the historicity of these instruments. This is what it’s all about for us: connecting players and collectors across state lines (and national borders) to foster a healthy market for the exchange of these irreplaceable instruments.

Before we let this one go, however, Paul wanted to compare it with some of the contemporary voices that we have in the shop, so we set up a little taste test between the 1930 Martin 000-45 and a McConnell 16 Inch, Matsuda M1, a Traugott R, and a Wingert 00. Here’s Paul:

“The taste test was really fun. Dream Guitars is well known for representing many modern makers who are moving toward something different than traditional, vintage voicing, who instead search for new, individual forms of expression and musicality by chasing the fascinating new ideas in their heads. It’s wonderful to have a chance to play many of these prewar Martin guitars because they are quite different from these contemporary builds. On the one hand, it’s nearly impossible to replicate what happens to a guitar after 80 or 100 years of being in the world. The finish gases off or is worn off, and the wood dries out while millions of notes vibrate through its fibers. This chronological process yields a distinct kind of energy and body–something that contemporary builders of traditional styles are seeking to recreate. A similar, but distinct quality of energy can also be found in the very finest modern guitars, even after just one year of being played in and opening up.

The advances in bracing and voicing for the modern guitar, I believe, allow us to get closer to a sound that’s comparable to these prewar instruments, but much earlier in the guitar’s life. I attribute quite a lot of these advances to one simple thing: how much time each builder spends on one guitar. If they take their painstaking time to consider whether or not to pass the top through the thickness sander one more time, or to take one more pass with a chisel at the scallop of a brace. Constantly tapping the wood and striving for their own unique tone. To me that’s why you can pick up a recent McConnell, Traugott, Tippin, or Somogyi, to name a few, and feel the same sort of inspiration you feel from one of these outstanding vintage Martin guitars. It’s not the same voice, but the combination of so many advances in construction and voicing definitely allow these new instruments to compete on the same field as Holy Grail guitars. I truly believe we are in the Golden Age with dozens of makers building their own versions of luthier history.”

Click Here to Learn More about this Historic Guitar

November 1, 2016/by Paul Heumiller

Restoring Faith In A Holy Grail Guitar

DG Updates, General Interest Guitar

With vintage instruments, there’s simply no telling what patches and pokery you’re going to find under the hood. Good news! Dream Guitars is well-acquainted with those surprises, and we know just what to do when they crop up. Recently, a client and collector came to DG with several obscenely rare Martins, among them a 1930 OM-45 that he was concerned was too quiet. Once Paul Heumiller got his hands on the guitar, his ear told him something was definitely awry. Having played many of the “Holy Grail” Martins for the 20s and 30s, he’d expected to hear a energetic voice with vigorous projection, but this guitar sounded timid, with a bad case of congestion.

Paul immediately suspected that the bridge plate had been modified, and after plumbing the depths of the OM-45 with a flashlight and a mirror, his suspicions were confirmed: glued where the original bridge plate should have been was a massive (over 3″ wide) modified bridge plate! It was probably installed in an effort to combat the tendency of the top to belly up as the string forces enact continual upward stress for years, over-doming the top around the bridge. On the one hand, the girthy bridge plate worked perfectly: this more-than-80-year-old guitar had very little belly to its top, unheard of at its age. On the other hand, the voice was something between a Chevrolet sputtering tailpipe fumes and a cat mewling in the rain, the top’s vibrations were so severely dampened.

We assured our client that this was a problem that we could handle. Enter: Ken Jones, veteran of instrument restoration, who approached the repair with zeal as he prepared to remove the bridge. However, the situation was about to get more interesting, once the bridge was released. Underneath, where there should have only been a pale, unfinished Spruce top, there was a nasty black patch of Spruce and scaly epoxy. After repeated attempts to steam this patch free proved ineffectual (due to the epoxy’s high heat resistance), Elliot W. took chisel in hand and meticulously pared away the noxious epoxy with “surgical precision and the serenity of spirit that work of this caliber demands,” says Jones, finally releasing the Spruce patch.

What’s next on the agenda? Ken: “Cleaning up the inside of the top, making a smaller, thinner bridge plate, and using our belly-reducer cauls to further sweet-talk the top back into shape. I have no doubt this will improve the voice of this guitar. This is a really cool, fun, and interesting repair that reminds me why I got into repair work in the first place–keeping these old dogs going because they just sound better and better with age!” In addition to releasing the bridge, releasing the pickguard helped reduce the amount of belly dramatically, making us very confident that this top will settle down and behave beautifully, once we’re finished here.

Stay tuned as we continue to make good on the original bad repair of this 1930 OM-45! If reading about the magic of instrument restoration strikes your fancy, just you wait: we’ve got more exciting repairs on our bench, and we’re itching to bring you along for a play-by-play.

Update: July 25, 2016

The last time we checked in, this 86-year-old Martin had been divested of a poorly-executed repair that was compromising its top, with the last of the lingering epoxy scraped clear and the massive bridge plate and patch removed.

Much has happened since then! After brainstorming and consulting with other maestros of the repair world, Ken Jones and our team have landed on an elegant solution to simultaneously reinforce the top, fill the rectangular hole between the bridge and the bridge plate, and create a consistent platform to reglue the original ebony belly bridge: combine the patch under the top with the plug into one patch-plug.

Spruce stock has been carefully trimmed to exactly fit inside the braces, then excess spruce has been routed away from the plug portion. The thickness of the top of the OM-45 is about .112″, so this piece was thicknessed to .168″ or 1.5x the thickness of the top.

Next, the thickness of the top (.112″) was routed away everywhere on the patch, except for where the patch will fill the hole in the top.

Before we could even consider starting on this exciting new leg of the repair, we first needed to patch the sections of the X braces where the previous colossal bridge plate was notched into them. If we hadn’t addressed those gaps, the top would have been at significant risk for further deformation. That finished, we then moved on to the spruce blank itself, shaped to fit between the newly-repaired X braces. The top of this Martin OM-45 is .112″, so the spruce blank was sanded to .168″, or one and a half the thickness of the top, so that, once installed, the plug would sit slightly proud of the surrounding top. After transferring the shape of the rectangular hole in the top between the bridge and bridge plate to the blank, we then carefully routed the surrounding material until the “plug” part of the patch was .168″, and the surrounding spruce was .056.

Then, the location of the bridge plate was marked out on the underside of the patch, and the patch was then sanded from that point of contact to paper-thinness at its edge to minimize mass and allow the original top to vibrate as freely as possible without jeopardizing its structural integrity.

An edgewise view of the tapered back end of the spruce patch.

After looking at these photos, you might be asking yourself, “Why is that thing so wide?” The patch-plug has a large surface area in order to increase the amount of gluing area for the patch-plug, meaning that the patch-plug is glued to the underside of the top in addition to being glued to the end-grain of the sides of the rectangular hole left by the previous repair. By itself, an end-grain glue joint is inherently weak. However, with the additional gluing force of the lower section of the patch against the underside of the spruce top, we’re confident that this new patch-plug won’t pull up, which was the problem with the epoxied patch from an earlier repair which we had chiseled out. The large surface area of the patch-plug also provides a little more reinforcement to combat the bellying that was present when the OM-45 first appeared on our bench.

The patch-plug was then carefully scored partway along spring growth grain lines (which are softer) and broken into three pieces that equally divided the plug in order to fit into the soundhole, with blue tape on the back to act as hinges.

The “top” or the non-show side is scored about halfway through the patch with a sharp blade The score lines are in the soft, spring growth grain. Next, it is broken along those score lines. This is to prevent a seam from showing inside the guitar once it is in place. Also, a break will help register all three pieces together cleanly inside.

The moment of truth came when we first folded the patch-plug and eased it into the soundhole before pressing it into place between the X braces. Turns out: a perfect fit.

So snug, it will stay in place on its own without glue or tape!

Once we knew the dimensions of the patch-plug were exactly what we wanted, we then made several cauls for the top and bottom, and aged the new spruce patch-plug with Potassium Permanganate in order to make it blend in better with the surrounding 86-year-old spruce.

A special set of inside clamping cauls are mad to fit the patch.

Now, a test fit is all fine and dandy, but it’s another matter entirely when the moment of the actual glue-up arrives. This time, everything must to be perfect. In keeping with tradition, we used hide glue and several cam clamps and deep-throated C clamps with the cork-lined cauls to cement the patch-plug with the original top. Hot hide glue is absolutely essential for a repair of this nature, where even clamping pressure is key, and hide glue’s ability to pull the wood tighter and tighter together as it cures helps ensure that the joint is airtight and even. Moreover, hide glue is tonally superior to rubbery aliphatic resin-based glues–but this comes at a price: a very short working time. Thus, appreciate how cool-headed and savvy is our repair staff: we were able to evenly spread glue on the patch, fold the patch, get it inside the guitar through the soundhole, unfold it, put it into place, then precisely arrange three cauls and five clamps inside a tiny soundhole, working by feel, before the hide glue could gel!

Only hot hide glue will do for a repair like this. Even clamping pressure is key.

From the initial dry fit to the actual glue-up, this patch-plug was a star patient, and we’re quite happy to report that everything fits snugly, and the plug sits just slightly proud of the surrounding spruce.

The plug ended up just proud of the top so it can be sanded down to level.

Next on the docket? Sanding the plug flush to the top, then levelling the entire surface under the bridge. This last step is crucial and delicate: without a consistent gluing surface to attach to, the bridge will invariably pull up again.

As the work progresses and we get closer to refitting the bridge and restringing this Holy Grail Martin to its former glory, we’ll post more photos with each swipe of the sandpaper. We’re getting very close to hearing what it sounds like to right the wrong of that gruesome earlier repair! Dream Guitars’ owner Paul Heumiller’s ears will be the true test, once he compares the choked chords of the first time he strummed this OM-45 to its newly-restored self.

July 24, 2016/by Paul Heumiller

Incoming Preston Thompson 000-14BA Custom

DG Updates, General Interest Guitar, Handbuilt Guitars, Incoming, Luthier profile, Paul's Pick

Early in 2015 I had the pleasure of playing my first Preston Thompson guitar. I was mesmerized by the warm and full voice that came out of the small 000 sized body. I remember Al Petteway and I talking about how magical the voice was. The build quality was also perfect in every detail.

I reached out to Preston and asked him to make us a Dream Series instrument. This is something we have only done with approximately eight to ten builders over the years. I very much look forward to seeing and hearing the first of many Thompson guitars. I’m certain our clientele will absolutely love them.

Following are a handful of specs featured on this incoming Dream Series guitar:

Top: Adirondack
Back and Sides: Brazilian Rosewood
Binding: Brazilian w/BW purf
Top Purfling: Herringbone
Rosette: Abalone 3-Ring
Back Strip: 45 Style
Tail Wedge: Brazilian w/BW Purf
Neck: Honduran Mahogany
Headstock Binding: Brazilian w/BW Purf
Headstock: Slotted
Neck Binding: Brazilian
Nut width: 1 3/4”
String Spacing: 2 5/16”
Heel Cap: Brazilian

This one is currently available for purchase here at Dream Guitars – Please call the shop for more information 828-658-9795. Following are a few additional early images of this beauty coming together as well:

For more information on this incoming Preston Thompson 000-14BA Custom please call the shop 828-658-9795.

Update 7/18/16:

Here are a few new pictures of this beauty as it comes along:

Update 7/27/16:

Here’s a great video of the Brazilian binding coming together on this incoming Thompson – Enjoy!

June 15, 2016/by Paul Heumiller

Sorry, Folks: This Seat is Taken.

DG Updates, General Interest Guitar, Handbuilt Guitars, Luthier profile

Kim Walker Waiting List Closed Again

A luthier’s ability to succeed depends on a host of factors, not the least of which is their reputation, which can be a precarious thing. They need good tools, the best wood, a perfectionist’s disposition and a jeweler’s eye for detail. They need to be self-motivated, marathon woodworkers—and they need to be able to deliver on their promises. A luthier with a reputation for incomplete builds and exorbitant delays will not be long for the world of fine instruments. If, however, you have a reputation as ironclad and golden as Kim Walker’s, then you might just find yourself with eight years’ worth of builds on the calendar, and what do you do then? Close the book, and get down to business, which is precisely what Walker’s just done—again.

How has Walker achieved such a legendary status? Through years of honing his ears and his hands with an unwavering dedication to lutherie. Starting with George Gruhn and his repair shop, then graduating to Guild’s R&D department and custom shop, before launching his own Walker Guitars label in 1994, Walker has been at the forefront of both vintage restoration and contemporary innovation for his entire career. As such, Walker is one of a very select group of luthiers who successfully straddle the line between traditional and contemporary guitar building, the result of which enables his instruments to appeal to all audiences, from pre-war Martin collectors to the devotees of bleeding-edge luthiers like Steve Klein and Ervin Somogyi. It should come as no surprise, therefore, that Walker has felt the need to close his waiting list again, in order to buckle down and dedicate his complete and undivided attention to the guitars already on his bench. Because Kim insists on working alone, he is able to ensure that every aspect of these guitars is 100% an expression of himself and his art. His way isn’t a school’s, or a builder’s with apprentices: this is one man with two hands, premium wood, and a studio space in which to create.

Given his sterling reputation and master skills, it’s hard to put a price on an instrument of this calibre, and as the opportunities to own one of Kim Walker’s guitars become fewer, the respective worth of any one of his instruments is correspondingly increased. The resale value of a Walker often exceeds the original cost of the instrument (a fact Walker himself notes on his website) because demand is so high: no one wants to get rid of theirs, once they’ve managed to beg, borrow, and steal to get it in their hands in the first place. In the world of high-end guitars, a Walker is worth its weight in gold, and nearly as rare. Will Walker open up his waiting list again? That’s certainly the hope, but who knows just how many years in the future he’s already booked himself: it could be a lifetime in the waiting.

2003 Walker Guitars SJ in Brazilian / Adirondack

May 5, 2016/by Paul Heumiller

Dream Guitars & The Golden Age of Lutherie

DG Updates, General Interest Guitar, Handbuilt Guitars, Luthier profile, News & Events

We’ve all heard the phrase “The Golden Age,” which is defined as “the period when a specified art, skill, or activity is at its peak.”[i] Lately the term has been used to describe this epoch in the history of guitar-building (lutherie). From the unique vantage point at Dream Guitars (www.dreamguitars.com), they couldn’t agree more: today we are definitely in the middle of the Golden Age of Lutherie, and Dream Guitars stands at the center of this renaissance.

“I have had the chance to play spectacular examples of instruments from the late 1800s and the first half of the 20th century. Many consider these early guitars to represent the “Holy Grail” of guitars, but I truly feel that the explosion of the independent guitar-maker has challenged this conception. There’s no doubt that some of the pre-war guitars are among the best instruments on the planet today, but now there are dozens of contemporary makers whose instruments rival, and sometimes even surpass, these ‘Holy Grail’ guitars–and their talents continue to improve on the best ideas of yesterday.” – Paul Heumiller, Dream Guitars owner

“We are very proud of our role in these great days of the guitar. From the very beginning, it was a sincere goal of mine to help luthiers market their craft. In the early days as I visited shops and got to know these great people, their passion and artistry captivated me and I wanted to be a part of their success.”- Paul

Dream Guitars has built a platform for luthiers to successfully market their work, which is backed by Dream Guitars’ reputation for expertise and honesty–allowing a maker’s instruments to be seen and heard by people all over the world. “We have been able to help many luthiers to not only find homes for their instruments, but also to increase their prices to provide fair compensation for the years invested in their craft.” -Paul

Like everything in the modern world, easy access to information, including books, videos, symposiums, guitar shows, and training courses has expedited the growth of talent in the guitar-making world. But there’s something more than simply the proliferation of information at play here: something special has happened in the acoustic guitar world in particular. Paul: “Many of the older guitar builders talk of a time not so long ago when everyone guarded their secrets, but they all agree that somewhere along the line everything shifted. In the last 25 years or so, guitar-makers have opened up to each other–and that sharing is, in my opinion, the impetus for our current Golden Age.”

Paul continues, “I get to spend a lot of time with guitar makers at the various showcases around the world, as well as visiting them in their shops. Time and time again, I hear stories of how one builder has advised or inspired another. They speak of each other in reverent tones, each one wanting to raise the bar, but do so with the utmost respect for their contemporaries. They all want to see the craft itself improve, and that’s what’s truly special about what’s going on now in 21st-century guitar building.”

Another obvious trend is this year a number of new guitar-makers are on the scene. There are now hundreds of independent guitar-makers hanging their shingles outside of shops which range from the corner of a basement to 5000 ft.² master shops. As a result, some say the market is flooded with too many new makers. At Dream Guitars, they see both sides. Dream Guitars is constantly approached by new makers wishing to promote their instruments with them. Most of the time, Dream Guitars demos and critiques their instruments and advises possible improvements where they simply haven’t mastered the craft yet. Occasionally a builder shows tremendous promise and Dream Guitars offers to work with them and continue to offer valuable insights along the way so they can blossom. Paul: “One thing I see a lot are makers whose first few guitars look beautiful, but they haven’t yet found their voice. By that I mean they’re building a guitar that is perfectly beautiful and functional but sounds no better than an inexpensive guitar off the rack at any big-box store. They’re missing what I call the ‘White Magic:’ that builder’s unique voice which makes a guitar inspirational. Master Luthier Ervin Somogyi once told me, “The first fifty guitars you’re just gluing wood together.” There’s something to be said for that: it’s the years of experimentation and feedback from great players that keep a builder striving and searching for that intangible something that makes one guitar better than the others.”

This is evinced by the handful of makers whose order books are strained by ten plus year waiting lists, or whose guitars finally fetch a price that’s commensurate with the years of work they’ve put into their craft. These are the instruments that collectors covet and professional players are inspired by. These are the ones that define the Golden Age of Lutherie–the guitars that they will be talking about for the next hundred years.

Dream Guitars was perhaps the first website on the Internet to record every instrument that they offered online. They have now amassed a library of over 5,000 recordings of the finest hand-built instruments in the world. They have also created a Listening Studio which allows anyone to search their library of recordings by a myriad of guitar specifications, and use the recording to educate themselves about various makers, woods and general guitar differences. Dream Guitars has also created video interviews of many of today’s makers, either in their shops or at trade shows. All of this footage is available for free on their website.

Dream Guitars owner Paul Heumiller is one of the premier experts on acoustic instruments. While not an active luthier, Paul has studied guitar-making with Kent Everett of Atlanta, Georgia, and has performed shop repairs at Dream Guitars since the beginning of the company over 18 years ago. Heumiller has also been the only shop owner to be on the board of A.S.I.A., the Association of Stringed Instrument Artisans. Paul is also a professional musician who has spent many years performing and teaching Fingerstyle guitar. He has been quoted in numerous publications and books. Recently, in 2015, Acoustic Guitar Magazine printed a two-page article, “Dream Weavers,” on Heumiller.

[i](http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/golden-age)

January 21, 2016/by Paul Heumiller

Q&A with Luthier Al Beardsell

DG Updates, General Interest Guitar, Handbuilt Guitars, Luthier profile, Paul's Pick

We had the privilege of catching up with renown Canadian luthier, Al Beardsell and asking him a few questions on his building, interests and background. Following were his responses to our questions for him:

Q. What inspired you to begin building guitars?

A. My Dad, his workshop, my brother, Bill Lewis Music, Larrivee and Gurian guitars – probably in that order. My Dad was an amateur furniture maker, so I learned from him that if you want something done a certain way, do it yourself. My brother, who was a serial obsessive, made some guitars in high school, got bored and moved on to beer-making (he’s still a master brewer to this day). I swiped all of his guitar-making books, “borrowed” all his tools and wood, and got started. This brings us to Bill Lewis Music in Vancouver. In the 70’s, Bill had a music store that also supplied instrument building materials, plans and tools. They also carried handmade guitars by Larrivee and Gurian, which I guess was a defining idea for me that you could actually make these things. This totally blew my mind – something so beautiful to look at and sound so beautiful. I was totally hooked.

Q. What builder(s) do you admire?

A. This is a long list but if I had to shorten it, a few standouts would be Pons, Lacote, Martin, Loar, Mario Macaferri/Selmer, Leo Fender, The Larriveans (Laskin, Manzer , DeJonge, Wren, etal), Collings. Builders who take an existing tradition and recontextualize it into something classic yet contemporary.

Q. How would you describe the voicing in your guitars? How did you find your voice?

A. Hmm, well the voicing is dependent on the needs of the player – a tighter sound, more open or separated notes, maybe more sustain for fingerstyle, maybe a darker sound – all these things are taken into consideration. It’s just years of trial and testing to arrive at where to make stiffer and where to remove stiffness, which woods to use, etc.

New Beardsell 3GMS/25/27

Q. Can you explain your approach to sound ports? Why do you use two?

A. My approach has always been to offer the player something they may not have heard before – like what the guitar actually sounds like. The sound hole does a few jobs like allowing free air movement in and out of the box, tuning the air mode fundamental by size of aperture, and coupling the reflective and sympathetic sounds of the back with the top. There may be more to it, but these are the parts that I’m mainly interested in. Originally, in order to make the opening large enough to have a similar area as a 4″ soundhole, I split the sideport into two. This had an interesting effect of broadening the areas of the box being monitored and simply enlarging the sound projected. Also, moving the soundhole off the top does reconfigure the structural stiffness of the top. The soundhole does create a loosening of the top that must be counterbalanced by grafts and braces. By reducing this loosening, we can make the top thinner and therefore lighter. The main goal of the sideports in my mind is the acoustic connection made with the player even in amplified situations. Many times I’ve played acoustic shows where all I hear is amplified monitors. This tends to give the player a compressed dynamic range and they will pay accordingly – at top volume always. Having some sense of the instrument’s natural dynamic range will mean the audience will benefit from the player. The size has been reduced over the years to drop the air mode and develop more bass.

Q. What do you enjoy doing outside of building?

A. Curling, yoga, fencing, playing rock, being a dad

Q. What inspires you today?

A. I’ve been very inspired by the local music scene in Winnipeg. A year and a half ago, I opened a new shop (the former Garnet Amp factory) that is open to the public. We do repairs and pickup winding, restorations and, of course, guitar-making. It’s a very different connection to the people who actually make music than the rarified environment of the luthiery shop.

Q. Where do you think your building style will take you in the next 5 years?

A. I’m looking at using more computer-aided design and control technology. I’m making more archtop electric guitars and pickups, and manouche guitars especially – my first love really.

Q. Which up and coming luthier impresses you the most?

A. There are a few in Winnipeg like Jordan McConnell, but he’s been around a while so he’s no pup! I’m always amazed by the amount of new talent, all doing very high quality work. My assistant Lucas Roger is going to kick ass any day now.

November 30, 2015/by Paul Heumiller

Luthier Leonardo Buendia’s New Shop

General Interest Guitar, Handbuilt Guitars, Luthier profile, Paul's Pick

As mentioned in a previous post, Leonardo Buendia, one of Ervin Somogyi’s current apprentices and an amazing up and coming builder, is wrapping up his 3 year apprenticeship with Ervin and is moving to his own shop in Oakland, California.

We caught up with Leo and asked him a few questions regarding his new shop.

1) Where will the shop be located? Why did you pick there?

Leo: My new workshop is located in East Oakland. I was offered the space by Lewis Santer, whom I’ve known for 3 years and who for a long time shared this same space with Michi Matsuda. Lewis has been in this shop for 10 years and it’s well-equipped and already set up in a very smart way. It’s a pleasure to be able to work with Lewis, who was also Ervin Somogyi’s shop manager for many years. The transition is going smoothly – I’m getting back into my rhythm quickly.

2) How are you configuring your shop? Why will it be configured this way?

Leo: Since everything was already set up for the construction and repair of guitars, I’ve only had to put together two benches–one in the dry room and one in the common space. In the dry room I’m going to keep all of the wood I will be using for the guitars commissioned for these next few years. The dry room is also where I will be doing all of the gluing. I will be using the bench in the common space for shaping, scraping, sanding, etc.

3) Any sources of inspiration that you can point to in your new shop?

Leo: Ervin Somogyi’s shop, of course, is a big inspiration for how I would like my shop to look. I love the use of different workstations and I’m emulating that. It allows my work to be very efficient. I also took away from my experience at Ervin’s that it’s extremely helpful to have plenty of backstock of blocks, braces, fingerboards, pre-bent sides, pre-bent binding, etc.

4) Any neat facts about your building process in your new shop that you’d like to share?

Leo: In the near future I will be working on designing a different kind of headstock. So far I’ve been molding the heads in the style of a classical/Spanish guitar. In Argentina we play Spanish guitars, so I’ve always liked the headstocks I learned to make with Ervin, which are reminiscent of these. Now that I will have more time for experimentation and designing, I am going to make headstocks with a more modern style, while still avoiding the symmetrical and conventional. This new design is more like that of my fanned fret guitar. Another change that’s coming is that in about 6 months I will begin with a new model, the OO. The big sound that it makes is very surprising given its small body. In fact, it’s the guitar I plan to make for myself.

Click here to learn more about an Incoming Leonardo Buendia OM Build

Click here to watch Paul interview Leo Buendia at this year’s Memphis Acoustic Guitar Festival.

October 30, 2015/by Paul Heumiller

A Great Weekend in Memphis

General Interest Guitar, Luthier profile, News & Events

Dream Guitars at the 2015 Memphis Acoustic Guitar Festival

View All Interviews and Performances from the Show

The 2015 Memphis Acoustic Guitar Festival was great fun. I always look forward to the custom guitar shows as it affords me a chance to catch up with the many luthiers I am honored to call friends and see what wonderful creations they are developing as time goes on. This year I traveled to the show with Scott Bresnick, who works with me here at Dream Guitars. What follows is an understanding of what goes on at the shows, the story of a few guitars that truly impressed us, and some insight into the people who build these great guitars.

A custom guitar show is special in that you have the opportunity to play two, three or perhaps four guitars from each of the builders in attendance. Many of these guitars are custom-made for sale at this event. Others are already sold but they afford you a chance to hear multiple models and wood combinations at one time. That is what makes this type of show so special. Aside from visiting a shop like ours, it’s very hard to find all of these makers in one place. The 2015 Memphis Acoustic Guitar Festival consisted of one large hall that housed all of the luthiers and their instruments. Just outside this hall were other rooms for demoing guitars and additional smaller rooms with concert stages for demo concerts, workshops and listening concerts. There were also a handful of vendors, tone wood suppliers and manufacturers of guitar related accessories.

We arrived just in time on the first day to catch our own Al Petteway in concert. He played a rousing set of new material featuring many of the songs on the “Dream Guitars Vol. II: Hand-Picked” CD. This is a wonderful new album that features Al playing his and my favorite guitars that we pulled right off the walls at Dream Guitars. We also have a tab book for the entire CD and are producing video lessons for every song as well.

We have been working with many of the luthiers that attended the show for years. They’re always coming up with new designs, bracing changes and appointments, so it is always exciting to see their latest work. You can see a full list of the builders that attended the festival here. One such Builder is Thomas Rein, who recently revamped his bracing to incorporate a U-shaped brace on the lower bout. This guitar was my very favorite at the show. The tone was so round and lush while articulate and soul shaking. You can see this Thomas Rein guitar on our website complete with a video by Al here. We also interviewed Tom about his process and discovery of his new tone.

It’s no surprise that most of our other favorites at the show were the builders we already work with such as Bill Tippin, Bruce Petros, Brian Applegate and many others. I’ve been discovering and selecting builders at shows like this for many years. We are always on the lookout for a builder that is new to us and one that we believe our clients will find inspirational. This year I met Brad Daniels of Oxwood Guitars, Isaac Jang, Joel Michaud and several other rising builders that truly impressed us. We have invited each of these builders to make guitars for DG, so keep an eye (and ear) out for more on these folks.

There are also other builders that we meet at these types of shows and decide are not for Dream Guitars. We try to stay very true to what our clients expect, which is the best of the best. So for some luthiers at these shows, we provide constructive and honest feedback in hopes they can improve in time. An unseen part of what we do at Dream Guitars is to advise newer luthiers and tell them what areas of construction and tone they need to keep working on. We stay in touch and if they reach the level of expertise we require, we then begin to represent them. We truly enjoy supporting builders of every level and helping the overall craft.

Many of the attendees at the show are longtime clients and friends of the shop. We would stop in the hall and compare notes about what builders we’re enjoying at the show and the overall experience. One of my longtime clients commented that he loves coming to our shop because it is truly quiet, as we give each client a private appointment time. While the shows have quiet rooms, they are not that quiet. Often you are playing with two or three others in one open room and hotel conference rooms do not sound very good.

Scott and I brought along a video camera and throughout the weekend interviewed a number of the builders at the show. Our intention was to ask them questions to provide you with some insight into who these men and women are, and of course there is some guitar design discussion as well. We are after all guitar nuts, just like all of you. All of these videos can be found below and are also be available on our YouTube channel and featured on our website. We hope you find these entertaining and informative:

https://youtu.be/Vb6FTR_Sv7Q

July 20, 2015/by Paul Heumiller

The 45 Style

General Interest Guitar, Handbuilt Guitars, Paul's Pick

Martin began making the 45 Style way back in 1904. The main feature of this trim style is abalone inlay along the top, back, sides, around edge of fingerboard, around the soundhole, neck heel, and tail wedge. Over the years the 45 models have been coveted by Martin fans the world over.

Today, many modern makers still emulate the famed 45 trim package. We happened to have a few in the shop recently and thought it would be fun to show you the wonderful variety of guitars that can be found with this popular adornment. A picture is worth a thousand words so here are a few shots of our three in-stock beauties: a 1991 Martin D-45, a 2008 Wayne Henderson D-45 and a 2014 Huss & Dalton Custom TD-R.

As you can see in the pictures below, while they all have abalone borders in the same places, the color and quality of the Abalone varies quite a bit. Like all building materials there are ‘grades’ of abalone shell. Nowadays builders also vary the width of the trim to add their individuality to a time tested inlay pattern.

Most players agree that the 45 style trim is quite beautiful and we sure are glad that it continues to thrive at Martin and in the hands of the many fine custom Luthiers in our world today.

Click on any of the images below for larger view.

Left to Right: 2014 Huss & Dalton Custom TD-R, 2008 Wayne Henderson D-45, 1991 Martin D-45

The first two from the left below – The Henderson (Center Below) and the Huss & Dalton (Left) are Brazilian Rosewood. The last one on the right is the Indian Rosewood Martin. You can see how much variance there is in Brazilian, many colors, figure patterns, etc.

The Henderson(Center Below) below features quality Abalone with a variety of hues in it, blue, gold and white.

Nice quality Paua Abalone here on the Huss & Dalton below. Lots of Blue in this shell.

A key element of the 45 Style trim is that the Abalone is featured on the top, back & Sides. Pretty fancy!

April 14, 2015/by Paul Heumiller

When Collectors Sell Guitars

General Interest Guitar, Handbuilt Guitars, Sales, Vintage Guitars

One of the services that Dream Guitars offers is representation for entire or partial collections. We are very fortunate to have many of

1957 Gibson J-200 from a recently acquired private collection

the world’s top instrument collectors as our clients and at different times, and for various reasons, they may choose to sell some or all of their treasures. When they do, they call on us.

“The largest collection we’ve represented thus far was 65 classical guitars. Among them were many of the famous Spanish makers, a number of vintage pieces, and some very unique and rare instruments as well.” – Paul Heumiller, owner of Dream Guitars.

Often a collection has a general theme, like this collection of classical guitars, or perhaps vintage Gibson instruments, prewar Martin guitars, or a variety of independent modern luthiers. “Recently, we have been getting in a large collection of vintage Martin and Gibson instruments from a client that we have worked with for more than 10 years. It gives us a very rare opportunity to offer our client base some pieces that you never see in one shop at one time. It is very exciting for me and my team to get to see, play and offer these historic musical gems.” – Paul Heumiller.

Click here to read a collector’s testimonial for Dream Guitars

We also have a number of clients who have included Dream Guitars in their estate planning. They give explicit instructions to their family members to contact us upon their passing so that we can assist with properly selling and handling the instruments they worked so hard to collect. “It is very humbling to have a client call you and ask you to assist his family. It has been extremely rewarding over the years to assist surviving family members to get through one of the hardest times of their lives. We get to ensure that they are treated fairly and properly compensated in a way that our client would have wanted. We take great pride in assisting folks in this way.” – Paul Heumiller.

Recent shipment of private collection to Dream Guitars

For our clients, this large influx of of incredible instruments is educational, exciting and downright fun. We get so many calls and questions when we get in a collection of related instruments. Simply by reading about 20 similar guitars in one grouping, our clients can learn something completely new about the world they love. For instance a client who has never owned a vintage guitar can have a chance to read about many in one visit to our website. Conversely, a steel string player might get a chance to learn who the best nylon makers in the world might be.

“Offering large collections is pure joy. You can’t imagine how ‘kid-like’ we all get in the shop when 20 boxes arrive. It’s like Christmas for weeks.” – Paul Heumiller.

If you have a small or large guitar collection and are in need of help finding a home for some of your pieces, we would be honored to serve you and we will always do so with the upmost respect and gratitude.

Click here to read a collector’s testimonial for Dream Guitars

January 8, 2015/by Paul Heumiller

Woodstock Invitational Guitar Festival 2014

General Interest Guitar, Handbuilt Guitars, Music, News & Events

Written by Paul Heumiller, Dream Guitars

Click on any of the images throughout the article for a larger view

For those who have never been to the Woodstock Invitational Guitar Festival, it is something quite special. Seventy or so of the top Luthiers in the world are invited by Baker Rorick to come to the small town in the Hudson Valley for a weekend of pure joy for guitarists. This is a small show and it’s overcrowded, but that’s a good thing. It ensures that the show will stay of the highest quality. Baker has no plans to grow the show or move it to a larger location and I think that will keep it very special. It’s already host to more guitars than you can possibly see properly in two days.

For me this year’s show was extra special. It had a real feeling of brotherhood. Perhaps the last few years, very hard years in the guitar business by anyone’s account, have bonded us all. Many builders (and shop owners) have barely survived, others have been forced to go back to a ‘real job’, but most continue to hold onto the passion that drives them to build the finest instruments that we’ve ever seen. Immediately upon arrival I received hugs and handshakes from my friends, the builders who whittle wood to make music. Making the show even more memorable is the fact that Scott Bresnick, the man behind the machine that is Dream Guitars, met me at the show as well. Scott quietly does vast amounts of promotion for us and has been my sounding board since I started DG in New Jersey. So this year is, as I said, was just extra special.

Now for the good stuff, the guitars. Woodstock is like the buffet at the Grove Park Inn in Asheville. More food than you can possibly eat, but you’re sure as hell going to try.

As someone who has played thousands of guitars and all of them the finest in the world, I’m struck with the amazing quality of the voices of the instruments here at the show. A large number of the guitars are nothing short of mesmerizing and inspiring. I don’t say that lightly as I am admittedly quite spoiled hanging out at Dream Guitars all day. At a show like this it’s hard to go 10 feet without running into someone else you know and stopping and saying “hi” and catching up. It makes the going slow but well worth while.

I started at the stage where my good friends John Buscarino, Chris & Jeremy Jenkins, Michael Bashkin and Bill Tippin all had their instruments displayed. John had his Autumn Leaves 35th anniversary guitar, complete with an amazing carved tree on the back of the instrument.

Stage left was Keystone guitars from Japan, one of the newest builders to join the Dream Guitars family. Keisuke Nishi built a wonderful modified dreadnought for the show which I promptly snatched up for our clients.

Down on the main floor were a number of builders including:

•   Cris Mirabella
•   Joe Veillette
•   John Osthoff
•   Bruce Petros
•   Kent Everett
•   Julian Gaffney
•   David Berkowitz
•   Bernie Lehman
•   Randy Muth – another builder we invited to join DG at this event
•   Ken Parker
•   Jason Kostal – indeed Jason Kostal’s guitars are the highest form of artistry
•   Pellerin
•   Tim Reede and Raymond Kraut, both joining the DG Family as well
•   Ryan Thorell
•   Paul Beard
•   Linda Manzer
•   Michael Baranik
•    And many more.

A veritable cornucopia of fine guitars. Some that have remained etched in my memory are:

Cris Mirabella’s arch top in black with maple accents:

Randy Muth’s guitars all have an amazing and unique voice:

Julian Gaffney, currently apprenticing with Ervin Somogyi, built a stunning guitar that I played for some time and truly enjoyed:

There’s always a big amount of laughter as well, like when Tom Ribbecke decided to probe Kent Everett’s new Petite Model guitar:

But this is just one room at the show. I stepped out the door and into the stage/bar area where there is constantly amazing music being played. All day long there are demo concerts and feature concerts and talks by prominent builders such as Bill Collings, Tom Ribbecke, Michael Gurian, Ken Parker, John Monteleone and Roger Sadowski.

Ear candy everywhere. A short walk across the drive and you enter the secondary room which houses a lot of tonewoods, Luthery tools and a fine display of guitars including multiple Grit Laskin guitars featuring Grit’s fabulous inlay work and two rare Steve Klein Electrics from the Jeff Doctorow collection (see photo below). Jeff is a good friend and fellow Jersey Boy.

John Slobod and his Circa guitars were also here in this room and he and I got a chance to sneak to a back office for some serious tasting. He had two small body guitars with him and each a cannon in its own right. He does things with Maple that are amazing, a lush full voice that’s even prettier than the insanely figured set of wood he actually traveled to Germany for. A few friends joined us as well so I got to hear the guitars from out front and in the driver’s seat and they are masterful.

Another great thing about shows like Woodstock is that it gives me the chance to touch base with Luthiers about what they’re seeing in the business in general. Most everyone has felt an uptick in 2014 with sales increasing. That coincides with what we have seen in the shop as well. Particularly high-end guitar sales have greatly increased in 2014. From where we sit, 2015 looks to be a great year for guitar makers and of course that means for guitar players. With instruments like this being crafted by great people with passion, we should all have plenty of inspiration to make our music for the world.

Below are a list of makers whose guitars we brought back from the show. Contact us here at Dream Guitars for more information:

•   Randy S. Muth
•   Keystone Guitars
•   David MacCubbin
•   Raymond Kraut
•   John Osthoff
•   Bernie Lehmann
•   Kevin Pederson
•   Tim Reede

Following are a few of the cool & unusual sights from the show as well:

Pellerin Harp Guitar:

Jeff Doctorow’s Steve Klein Guitars:

Lehmann Tiger Maple Bridge:

Manzer Unfinished Guitar:

For more information on the Woodstock Invitational Guitar Festival, please visit their official website.

November 12, 2014/by Paul Heumiller

Wayne Henderson Guitar Video Roundup

General Interest Guitar, Handbuilt Guitars, Luthier profile

We here at Dream Guitars are thrilled to have multiple Wayne Henderson guitars in-stock at the moment! We are taking full advantage of this and recorded another one of our guitar roundup video collages of Al jamming away on all three of these amazing guitars. Hear and see three of Wayne Henderson’s guitars side-by-side, played by one of the best acoustic guitar players on the planet, Grammy Award winner Al Petteway!

Wayne Henderson and his guitars need little introduction these days. Having built for an army of the best players in the world, both in the southeast where we live and for big names like Eric Clapton, his guitars are now legendary. But why? Tone, that’s why. No maker reaches the highest levels without killer tone.

Click here to watch the video!

The three Henderson guitars featured in this collage are a:

• 1996 Henderson D-18 Mahogany/Spruce – This D-18 style Mahogany Dread was the prize for the 1996 Wayne Henderson Guitar Competition and it has been put to good use since. The well-played spruce top is giving it’s all now, and it is extremely loud and clear as a bell.

• 2010 Henderson D-18 Mahogany/Adirondack (Red) – (Sorry folks this one is already sold!!) This Henderson D-18 in Red Spruce and Mahogany is how a pre war style guitar should be done, and is a perfect example of why Henderson guitars are so sought after. This thing is a flatpicking cannon, it would be hard to find a better suited flatpicking guitar. When you pick this guitar up you instantly realize why Wayne is so well regarded in the guitar world.

• 2010/11 Henderson D-28 Brazilian/Adirondack (Red) – This D-28 in Red Spruce and Brazilian Rosewood is the bluegrassers dream, it has all the power to punch through an instrument heavy jam session, or take on the softer side and it fingerpicks beautifully. The voicing Wayne achieves, as always, is lovely. It is warm and has a great boom chuck.

Click here to watch the video!

Did you know that on top of being a master luthier, Wayne is also a heck of a player? Henderson’s top-notch finger-picking is a source of great pleasure and pride to his friends, family, and neighbors in Grayson County, Virginia. His guitar playing has also been enjoyed at Carnegie Hall, in three national tours of “Masters of the Steel-String Guitar”, and in seven nations in Asia.

This Henderson guitar roundup video collage is not the only one of its kind. We have also done collage videos of Ervin Somogyi, Kim Walker, and vintage Martin guitars. You can also view more of our videos on our Youtube channel by clicking here.

November 6, 2014/by Paul Heumiller

Three Decades of the Somogyi Sound!

General Interest Guitar, Handbuilt Guitars, Incoming, Luthier profile

“The guitar itself has always been my best teacher. She has always revealed herself to me bit by bit, taking her own sweet time. I’ve been the student.” – Ervin Somogyi

We are extremely fortunate to have three Somogyi Guitars in-stock at the moment so we decided to record all three for another special video which we have named, “Three Decades of the Somogyi Sound!”

Click here or on the video image above to watch “Three Decades of the Somogyi Sound!”

“Ervin Somogyi has long been one of my favorite builders. He was one of the original luthiers to create the open modern voicing that we now all think of when we hear fingerstyle guitar recordings. In the 1970s and 80s when artist like Alex De Grassi first started to record fingerstyle guitar, they went to Ervin Somogyi and asked him for guitars with more open voicing that would be more appropriate to make recordings with. The factory guitars of the day were simply not expressive enough for solo guitar pieces. To this day Ervin is considered one of the masters of guitar voicing and he has taught his ideas and techniques to many of today’s top luthiers the world over.” – Paul Heumiller

Here at Dream Guitars we have been a dealer for Ervin Somogyi for many years and he is constantly a favorite for our clientele. It is a sheer delight to have three of his guitars in the shop right now, each from another decade.

We simply could not resist recording them side-by-side to share with the world. Somogyi’s voice is one that all lovers of guitar should know and understand. It has so influenced modern guitar perhaps more so than any other single builder.

We asked Ervin Somogyi himself for a few thoughts on how his building has evolved over the last few decades and here’s what he had to say:

“Lately, some guitars of mine from the eighties and nineties have come on the market, and some of them have come to my shop for visits, checkups, or for a tweak or repair . . . or because the original owner was no longer playing guitar and wanted to see if I knew anyone who would want to buy their baby. And so on.

I have been pleasantly surprised in every instance by how well they’ve held up. Yes, they’ve had signs of wear and tear — if not in small scratches and such, then most notably in the look of the lacquered finish. Lacquer has the capacity to separate from its underlayment, over time; and these guitars show small spots of lacquer separation/bubbling from the wood underneath. This is not in the least bit serious; it’s cosmetic and easily fixable; a guitar simply looks not-brand-new in this regard.

Happily, not one of the guitars that I’ve seen or heard about, from this period, has been mistreated: they seem to be structurally sound. And I’ve been pleasantly reminded of how far back I was using certain elements of decoration, or arrangements of bracing, that now seem to me like the most intelligent way to carry out this work.” – Ervin Somogyi

Click here to view our in-stock Ervin Somogyi guitars.

September 18, 2014/by Paul Heumiller

An Amazing Incoming Mountain Song Baritone Guitar

General Interest Guitar, Handbuilt Guitars, Luthier profile

UPDATE: Paul’s personal baritone guitar built by Ken Jones and Mountain Song Guitars has been completed and added to the Dream Guitars website!! Sorry folks, this particular one is not for sale but you can order your own Mountain Song baritone through Dream Guitars! Click here for more info on Paul’s baritone and Mountain Song or click on one of the images below to watch Al and Paul jamming away on this beauty!

COMPLETED MOUNTAIN SONG BARITONE

ORIGINAL BLOG DURING THE BUILD

Ken Jones is up to it again – this time this guitar is going right to our own Paul Heumiller. Ken is building Paul a very special Baritone featuring Padauk, Carolina Red Spruce and fanned-fret neck. The scale lengths range from 28.5″ on the bass side to 27.25″ on the treble. The body is slightly smaller than Jumbo proportions with a 16.5″ lower bout and 20.5″ body length, and a 4.75″ body depth at the tail, tapering to 4″ at the heel. Ken also offers the same body shape in a full-Jumbo size of 17″ LB and 21″ body length, with a 5″ body depth at the tail and 4.25″ depth at the heel. Top bracing is also Carolina Red Spruce.

“I knew for certain that I wanted the body to be Padauk Wood. The finest baritones I have ever played were made from Padauk. It has an amazing clarity that really helps the bass notes maintain separation when they’re tuned down to A or B. In recent years I have been primarily playing Fanned Fretted instruments and knew that I wanted that element as well. I play in many alternate tunings and it is key for me to have the bass strings longer than the treble strings. It insures that my bass notes will be strong and never floppy, while at the same time the trebles maintain a pleasant tension and sweet tone. Ken had a chance to get some wonderful local Carolina spruce tops from legendary luthier John Arnold so he suggested we use that for the top as it is wonderfully stiff and has incredible tap tone,” says Paul Heumiller.

Other details include ebony headplate, fingerboard, and bindings, armrest bevel and ribrest bevel and a one-piece, carbon fiber reinforced Honduran Mahogany neck with double-acting truss rod.

Paul first played a Baritone guitar at Martin Simpson’s home in England many years ago. That very first moment he felt a wave of inspiration that has led him to continue to play in alternate tunings and on Baritones ever since. Paul states, “The most wonderful thing about the Baritone guitar is that you play exactly the same piece that you would in standard pitch but everything changes. The low register, rumbling bass and sweet, lucid trebles alter the mood and inspire the soul.”

“I started to play the guitar for the sole purpose of writing songs. While I can do a lot of things on guitar, I consider myself primarily a singer-songwriter. So whether an instrumental piece or accompaniment, my Baritone guitar offers me a voice that takes me into another world, another head space and invites me to write something I would likely never find at standard pitch,” says Paul Heumiller.

Paul continues, “When I decided to invite Ken Jones of Mountain Song guitars to build me a Baritone instrument we had long conversations about the many Baritones that I have been able to play in the shop over the years. I am in the very fortunate position of getting to play the finest guitars ever made every day of my life. I have played many Baritones by Lance McCollum, Bill Tippin, David Berkowitz, Steve Klein, Ralph Bown and so many other of the finest makers in the world. So having the chance to collaborate with Ken was like dropping a three-year-old in the middle of a candy store with a credit card!!”

“It’s been really enjoyable and informative collaborating with Paul on the various design elements, from the scale-length spread, to tonewoods, to the neck shape/profile. That was particularly interesting, since we were able to look closely at some of Paul’s favorite neck shapes, and come up with a hybrid that perfectly suits his needs. It’s essentially a D-shape with a slight V carved into the bass-side. We decided to keep the adornment to a minimum, with side dots only, and just a small inlay on the fingerboard at the twelfth fret. Being a large-bodied guitar, we agreed that an arm bevel was in order, as well as a super-comfortable ribrest bevel,” says Ken Jones.

“Paul has played more of the world’s finest guitars than just about anyone out there, and it’s been a pleasure and honor to learn from his insights what makes a truly great guitar,” Ken continues.

Great news! There are two more Baritones underway from Ken and Mountain Song Guitars – one in Quilted Maple and another in Cuban Mahogany. Ken is shooting to have these completed by the end of this year. These two will have similar features however it is still early enough for customizations.

Call today 828-658-9795 to reserve and customize your own Mountain Song Baritone Guitar!!

August 12, 2014/by Paul Heumiller

Dream Guitars is proud to announce the acquisition of Acoustic Pro Musician

General Interest Guitar, News & Events, Product Announcement

Dream Guitars is proud to announce the acquisition of Acoustic Pro Musician

With the acquisition of Acoustic Pro Musician (www.acousticpromusician.com), Dream Guitars (www.dreamguitars.com) now has a dedicated web destination for quality instruments affordable to all players and staff tested gear.

Whether you need a stage instrument, are looking for a travel guitar or flight case, or you are new to the custom guitar world, Acoustic Pro Musician is your resource.

For the past 14 years, Acoustic Pro Musician (www.acousticpromusician.com) and its founder, Danny Brevard built a strong reputation within the guitar community. Upon Danny’s decision to retire from the acoustic guitar business, he reached out to Paul Heumiller and a deal was struck for Dream Guitars to acquire Acoustic Pro Musician and continue building the Acoustic Pro Musician brand and reputation of offering quality instruments and gear in affordable price ranges for all musicians.

“As you know, music is my passion and serving others has always been a priority in my life. As I have reached the age of 60, I’ve realized that there are things that I still want to do but I have to make some life changes to do them. Dream Guitars is perhaps the finest shop in the world and known for tremendous expertise and helping players in an honorable fashion. Paul shares my vision and passion and I am confident you will all be delighted to work with Paul if you haven’t already.” – Danny Brevard

The team of 8 professionals at Dream Guitars, and now Acoustic Pro Musician, look forward to continuing to build two strong brands into the future, offering customers the full spectrum of quality acoustic instruments and gear available throughout the world.

“I am extremely delighted that Danny has asked me to carry on his wonderful shop Acoustic Pro Musician. I have heard nothing but great things over the years and I have the utmost respect for Danny’s expertise and service. I will continue to operate Acoustic Pro Musician as it’s own entity, offering the same guitar lines and the great service everyone expects from Acoustic Pro and from Dream Guitars.” – Paul Heumiller

June 19, 2014/by Paul Heumiller

What is a Crossover Guitar?

General Interest Guitar, Nylon string guitars

A cross over is a common name for a nylon string guitar with dimensions and features closer to a steel string guitar. For hundreds of years the classical guitar has remained almost unchanged – no cutaway and a wide neck. But as nylon string guitars become more popular with a wider variety of players in varying styles of music, they are demanding change. A cutaway allows access to the higher frets. A slimmer nut width and neck girth makes left-hand play easier and wide stretches less daunting.

Many players are simply ready for an instrument that’s easier to play and allows them to create their music with less of a fight. Many modern builders are responding to this call. Here at Dream Guitars we offer instruments from Alejandro Cervantes, John Buscarino, Steve Fischer, Brian Applegate, Daniel Stark, Paul McGill and others who are embracing and welcoming this change.

The primary features that identify a crossover are very obvious. Typically the nut width is around 48 mm or 1 7/8 inches. “We see nylon crossover Guitars with as narrow a nut as 1 3/4″ up to perhaps 1 15/16″ nut. 1 7/8ths (48mm) seems to be the most popular. Given that nylon strings are physically wider, a nut width greater than 1 3/4″ seems to help players play more cleanly and be able to fit the fingers into complex chord shapes. Also nylon strings do vibrate in a much wider arc so the string spacing all the way up the fingerboard must allow for that. All of these dimensions work so depending on the player’s needs we can find them the appropriate feel.” – Paul Heumiller, Dream Guitars

The other key feature is the cutaway. A cutaway allows a player to more easily reach up to the 15th fret and beyond for pieces that go into the higher register. Paul adds, “I think the classical guitar world has resisted using the cutaway in an attempt to get all of the possible volume out of the instrument. Making a nylon string instrument loud and strong is quite a challenge since there is very little string energy to begin with. But in our experience, a cutaway has a very minor effect on the sound of an instrument. If you think about it, the upper portion of a guitar’s top toward the neck joint does not move very much. You have the entire neck heel inside that area and it is glued directly to the top and back. In addition the fingerboard is glued down to the face and there is a big popsicle brace inside above the sound hole. All of that severely restricts the soundboard in the upper area of the body. We think players are simply no longer wanting to sacrifice playability for whatever minor tonal difference there might be.”

Above we have 2 incoming Buscarino Cabarets – One is Indian Rosewood with a double spruce top. The other is highly figured maple with a double top of cedar and Spruce. Click here to inquire.

Pickup systems are also common on crossover guitars. Modern pickups are so natural sounding that players are much more excepting of amplifying in that way. This gives players the ability to use nylon string on stage much more easily and just enjoy amplification at home where you can add a little bit of reverb to create a wonderful spacious ambience.

As for voicing, crossover guitars are often exactly the same as classical guitars. Traditional fan bracing is employed by many builders so that the voice is indeed a classical guitar. Other builders are employing new design ideas such as double tops and lattice bracing. But that is true also of classical guitars today so it is not truly a difference any longer.

Click the Image Above to Watch Al Petteway Play a New Cervantes Crossover

Paul Heumiller adds, “what we are seeing is that the nylon string instrument has become extremely popular with Fingerstyle players in the styles of Jazz, Brazilian, Samba, Folk and other steel string players who are aging or simply prefer the easier play of a nylon string guitar. Another big segment are steel string players who simply want another voice for certain pieces. Players like Eric Clapton have shown that nylon string guitar is not just for classical anymore. It’s a very exciting development – one that I think will continue to grow in popularity. It is so much fun to play nylon string and explore the Tonal pallet that you can create.”

Each of the Guitars mentioned here has a video performance on our website, click the links above to hear what crossover Guitars might offer you’re playing. Call us today to add one to your arsenal.

March 19, 2014/by Paul Heumiller

Learning to Play Guitar

General Interest Guitar, Guitar Lessons

At Dream Guitars we are often asked for our thoughts on good ways to learn how to play guitar. We are so lucky to live in this modern age where knowledge is all around us and easy to find.

Here are a few thoughts on the best ways to learn guitar.

If you are completely new to the instrument, there’s no substitute for a good teacher, as initially learning the correct hand positions and physical posture are crucial early on in the process. This will help prevent bad habits or even worse, injury in the future.

Most often we are asked about learning a particular style of play such as Fingerstyle guitar. Many players are brought up on electric guitar, learning to play with a pic and strumming. Hence, the switch to Fingerstyle can seem daunting.

For Fingerstyle, there are some amazing resources that we can highly recommend.

Al Petteway Teaching "The Crossing" from Dream Guitars Vol. 1 The Golden Age of Lutherie

Dream Guitars itself is proud to be producing more and more in the way of free lessons for our viewers. Please be sure to check our website and our Youtube channel often for the latest lessons from some of the top Fingerstyle players in the world.

Dream Guitars also offers a CD and tab combination that is a wonderful learning tool for Fingerstyle: Dream Guitars Volume One: The Golden age of Lutherie DVD by Al Petteway featuring some of the finest guitars in the world and a companion tab book making it easy to learn your favorite Dream Guitars songs that you’ve heard on our website.

Homespun is another company that has long offered some of the best tutelage in the business. Their myriad of DVDs, featuring some of the best players in the world, are a great way to learn Fingerstyle guitar. Dream Guitars owner Paul Heumiller says “I grew up playing electric guitar and blues. When I switched to Fingerstyle I was lucky to find the Stefan Grossman tapes that taught the early blues material with alternate thumb finger picking. This was a great start for me as getting some independence from the thumb and the other fingers on the right hand is key to Fingerstyle. Then I moved into slide material and later found the homespun tapes from Martin Simpson, Al Petteway and many more of my heroes.

Another great resource is CandyRat Records – they have some of the best Canadian artists on their label and offer educational material as well. Look for Don Ross, Antoine Dufour, and Craig D’Andrea.

But don’t forget about private lessons and camps as you begin to improve with Fingerstyle guitar. Some of our clients will book a private lesson with Al Petteway when they come to visit the shop. Spending an hour or two with the Grammy-winning guitarist can shed light on your strengths and weaknesses and give you a fresh look going forward.

There also amazing workshops all over the country, most in the summertime, in the form of week-long camps where you can study with a half dozen or more teachers and jam with many like-minded guitar loving nuts. Here in Asheville we have the Swannanoa Gathering every summer where Al Petteway hires many of the top players in the world to come and teach for a week at Warren Wilson College. You choose classes each day from a variety of instructors and styles. It’s simply magical. You’ll go away with enough material for a year or more of practice.

We highly recommend the Swannanoa Gathering and if you plan to attend, come swing by Dream Guitars as well while you’re in the area. We’d love to have you.

For more information on any of the resources above or to pick our brains further on the topic, please feel free to call the shop 828-658-9795.

February 26, 2014/by Paul Heumiller

Meditating through Music

General Interest Guitar

The last few years I have developed a deep meditation practice. I won’t go into all of the benefits of meditation here because there are wonderful narratives on that subject. But suffice it to say that I find meditation a true key to happiness and contentment. Therefore I prioritize it in my day above all else. But sometimes that comes into conflict with my music and guitar playing. There are only so many hours in the day and I’m sure we all can relate to having to slice up 16 waking hours into slots of time for family, work, exercise, music, meditation and fun. And one day it hit me that music and meditation could be done at the same time. I actually did this when I was a teenager when I would play a piece of music until it became a trance-like repetition that I played just for pure enjoyment. Now that I have actual meditation skills and experience I find the two go beautifully hand-in-hand.

Here’s how I approach it…

Clearly the piece of music has to be somewhat simple and repetitive. For me it’s usually just a few chords or a riff with some drone strings that I can play over and over. This is actually great fun and gives you all the benefits of building strength and endurance for your hands and fingers while also working on tone production and getting to the place where you can play without thinking. In meditation, there is no thinking – the whole idea is to forgo thoughts and focus on just one thing. Often this is the breath or image, but it can also be a sound, the sound of the music.

Start by playing something very simple even just a few open strings in DADGAD for instance, then begin to focus on hearing the music and nothing else. Put all your intensity into just hearing and letting the music come into your being. If your mind begins to wander and you find yourself thinking about playing the music better, work you should be doing, the kids in the other room, then gently, like you’re talking to an old friend, tell your mind that there’s no time for thoughts right now and bring yourself back to intense focus on just hearing the music.

Do this without any judgment or any feeling of failure. It’s a very hard thing to control the mind. It controls us every moment of every day and it doesn’t necessarily like it when we try to take control back. So thoughts will come, but every time gently bring yourself back. Even a few seconds of calm are extremely valuable and slowly those seconds will grow into tens of seconds and maybe half a minute and then a full minute and so on.

Studies show that meditation and calming from within is extremely healing and beneficial to the brain. But to me it’s something even more, it’s healing for my soul. I invite you to join me and try meditation, or if you already meditate try it with music and your guitar. Anything we can do to have the guitar in our hands more, put music into the universe, and work on controlling our mind is time will spent.

February 21, 2014/by Paul Heumiller

Fanned Fret Guitars

General Interest Guitar, Handbuilt Guitars, Paul's Pick

“Clearly straight fretted guitars work beautifully and have been around forever, but there are advantages to Fanned Fret depending on your playing style.” – Paul Heumiller

What’s up with the crooked frets? Yes the slanted frets on my guitars are awesome conversation starters. But that’s not what it’s all about.

According to Wikipedia, Ralph Novak, guitar builder and designer, patented the Fanned Fret at the end of the 80’s. While the patent has expired, he still holds the trademark of the term “Fanned-Fret”. Fanned Frets create a different shape to the guitar. The slanted frets lengthen the bass strings and shorten the treble strings. This is further achieved by positioning the bridge at an angle opposite to the nut.*

Fanned Fret guitars are multi-scale instruments designed with a real purpose.

To understand the concept, we need only look at non-fretted stringed instruments. Consider the piano and the harp dulcimer and you immediately notice the bass strings are always longer than the treble strings. The reason for this is to create proper tension with a longer, thicker string to produce full low notes. Conversely the treble strings need to be shorter so they can be tightened to produce the higher pitch. There is a beautiful resonance you get from a longer bass string. When you tune down to D or C or even further, a longer bass string makes all the difference in the quality of the bass notes. The treble string remains normal length or slightly shorter depending on what you need and can offer a great feel that allows for easy playing high notes, bending strings, etc. The combined string lengths or scales, can provide the perfect amount of bass, sweet trebles and playability that you want for your personal style.

Another benefit is slightly improved intonation. You can understand this if you look at a True Temper Fretted guitar like the Bamburg JSB currently on our website, a Micro-Fret guitar, or a Sitar. You will see that accurate placement for every note on every string would require many tiny frets. The Fanned Fret and its longer length bass strings help intonation across the entire fingerboard.

One other powerful benefit is simply the tension of each string in relation to one another. On a standard guitar as you play from the bass strings down to the treble strings, the treble strings are often more tense and noticeably tighter feeling. Fanned Fret guitars help even out the tactile feel and to me are smoother feeling when playing across the strings.

“There is also something about the splay of the fret that feels extremely comfortable, it seems to suit my hand beautifully, more naturally than straight frets.” Paul Heumiller

One other note I’d like to make is that there is very little difference in the overall feel of playing a fanned Fret guitar. I have handed them to many players in our shop without them knowing I was handing them a fanned Fret guitar and often they don’t even notice until they take a hard look at the fingerboard. On a technical note, you can choose where to place the one perpendicular fret and that decision will effect the feel at the first position and elsewhere. Common choices are the 7th, 9th or 12th frets. After owning several fanned fret guitars I’ve settled on the 7th fret for my playing. It keeps the first position very easy to play. “We once had a Jeff Traugott guitar where all the frets were slanted backward toward the headstock 10 degrees. This one purely ergonomic and can be comfortable to some players as well. Though you don’t get the multi-scale benefits.” – Paul Heumiller

Now let’s look at some common Fanned Fret scale combinations and the uses for each. Let me start by saying there are no hard and fast rules. I encourage experimentation and fearlessness in this regard. The least amount of fan that we typically see is a half an inch combining the two common Martin scales 24.9 inches on the treble to 25.4 inches on the bass. This is a great design for someone playing in standard and drop D and even DADGAD but not really going to lower tunings. You’ll feel very little difference at all but you will get improved intonation and clarity and the short trebles are a joy to bend. Other scales we often use for DADGAD players is 25 inch treble scale and 26 inch bass scale, Paul’s Somogyi employed this combination. This works great for DADGAD and even some C tunings. The one inch fan is still very manageable and very versatile. Both of these scales above can be used with standard gauge strings – light gauge works fine as well.

Paul Heumiller’s McConnell SJ Fanned Fret

For my personal McConnell guitar we elected to use 25.5 inches on the treble side and 26.25 on the bass side. Jordan McConnell and I decided on this scale combination as I primarily play this guitar in low tunings C9, Gsus4, and DADGAD down a whole step to C. Paul says “I left the trebles long because we wanted them to bite. But I can also put it in standard pitch and it works great. I use 12.5 to 55 gauge strings – just personal preference here.” On the longer side of Fanned Fret would be 25.6 on this treble side to 27 inches or so on the bass side. This big of a spread you’ll feel a bit more but it can go very low – all the way down to A or B, crossing into baritone territory. “I once owned a Traugott with this spread and it was killer!. Bill Tippin is currently building me a short Fanned Fret guitar, this one will be 24.75 – 25.5, I plan to play it mostly in Drop D and Standard and wanted really bendy trebles!” – Paul Heumiller

There’s really no limit to what you can do with the Fanned Fret to accommodate your music and your style of play. At Dream Guitars we are Champions of the Fanned Fret concept and almost always have one or two in stock. We work with many builders who offer Fanned Fret options and owner Paul Heumiller is currently working on a new Fanned Fret Baritone design with Ken Jones that will be available in Spring of 2014.

Give us a call to discuss your needs and see if a Fanned Fret guitar is right for you. We would love to help you design your perfect Fanned Fret guitar.

Sexauer Fanned Fret Guitar 24.9″ – 25.4″ Scales

“We all know that 12 fret guitars tend to have a different tonal profile than 14 fret guitars. Often they are often a little more complex and seem to just breath a little easier in the low end. This is largely due to the bridge position being shift down to a more central position in the lower bout. With a fanned fret guitar, the bass end of the bridge is in a ’12 fret’ position and the treble end is is in a ’14 fret’ position. This makes it easier for the bass strings to move the top and produce a nice full bass response. Meanwhile, at the other end of the bridge, the treble strings are still in a 14 fret position. The top is ‘tighter’ there and better able to produce good strong trebles. So… it seems to me that a fanned fret guitar, by virtue of the angled bridge, gives us the tonal best of both the 12 fret and 14 fret design.” – Mark Blanchard – Blanchard Guitars

* http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fanned_Fret_Guitars

February 6, 2014/by Paul Heumiller

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