Category Archives: Luthier profile

Q&A with Dontcho Ivanov

There is nothing better than getting to know our builders, the creators behind these works of art we represent here at Dream Guitars. We had the amazing pleasure of discussing life and craft with Dontcho Ivanov. Following is our interview with the creator of the wonderous Snow Parlor. Enjoy! LW: Hi Dontcho, first off thank… Read more »

Coming Back Strong With Bresnan Guitars

We had the honor of interviewing veteran luthier Dan Bresnan of Bresnan Guitars on topics including his craft, voicing, building style, and more. Please find following our full interview with Dan. Enjoy! LW: After some time away from the bench, you’re back in action. Can you fill us in on your life journey from the… Read more »

An Interview with Casimi Guitars

To learn more about their overall creative vision and very unique approach, we recently interviewed our friends Matthew Rice and Matthias Roux over at Casimi Guitars in Cape Town, South Africa to discuss a range of topics including their design, voicing, building style, inspiration, and more. Please see below for the complete chat. Enjoy! Click… Read more »

Dream Guitars & Max Spohn Coming Together

The Dream Guitars roster opens its arms wide for Max Spohn of Heidenheim, Germany. Paul met with Max at the Vancouver International Guitar Festival and was struck by Max’s aesthetic and tone. That baby blue guitar came home to us shortly thereafter! We recently caught up with Max to chat a bit about life &… Read more »

Dream Guitars: Larry Brown’s Sole Dealer

We are super excited to now be working with Larry Brown, a.k.a Lawrence K. Brown. Larry has been building for decades and has likely built more instruments than most luthiers today. Larry was the head of the Lute Society of America, has crafted violas and cellos for orchestras, and built many guitars along the way.… Read more »

Dream Team’s Dion James

We’re excited to announce our latest partnership with Dion James of Alberta, Canada, with an incredible No. 4 model in Birdseye Maple & Italian Spruce. Dion’s guitars let the quality of the materials, and the skill of the craftsperson, speak for themselves. These instruments have modern curves, and are intimately familiar to the ears as… Read more »

“Mass applied musically.” Gage Halland Joins Dream Guitars

We recently landed an incredible new OMC-H from Portland, Oregon-based luthier Gage Halland. Right out of the box, the gorgeous sunburst and energetic tone were the first things we noticed, and it’s only gotten better each time someone picks it up. To celebrate our new relationship with Gage, we sat down for a quick chat… Read more »

The Dream Gets Sweeter: Benjamin Paldacci Joins DG

We recently signed up with French-born luthier Benjamin Paldacci after having met him at the Woodstock Luthier Invitational, and we wanted to get a little better acquainted with the man behind the chisel, so to speak. We’ve had a Malaysian Blackwood OM of his that’s already sold (couldn’t keep it on the rack long enough… Read more »

Repair Guru Turned Builder Buff: Butch Boswell Joins DG

What better way to learn what makes a guitar really sing than by first resurrecting hundreds of choked starlets? Enter: Butch Boswell, veteran of over 20 years’ experience in the repair world whose own guitars belt it out with clarity and gusto. We recently got to check out a guitar Butch had custom built for a… Read more »

Dream Family’s Newest Sons: Glenn Nichols & His Corralitos

We’re more than happy to announce our latest partnership with Glenn Nichols, restoration maestro and electric guitar experimenteur. The curves of his Corralitos model are velvet smooth in hand-rubbed varnish and a dark burst, with McNelly Bliss humbuckers and adjustable bridge (more on that later), and it’ll be available on our site soon. In the meantime,… Read more »

C.F. Holcomb Joins the Dream Side

Just when we thought 2018 couldn’t get any better for our lineup (we hit the ground running by recruiting Stuart Day), we landed a gorgeous guitar from Santa Cruz-based luthier C.F. Holcomb. This Kodiak resonator comes with more bells and whistles than a steam engine train–“The Tree” Mahogany body, Lollar P90, spider cone bridge and… Read more »

Welcome Aboard, Stuart Day! Newest Builder Joins The Dream Team

Dream Guitars is happy to announce that we’ve embarked on a custom build with a luthier we’ve been following with interest for several years now, Mr. Stuart Day of Stuart Day Guitars. Stuart is known for both his archtops and his flattops, and his unique design features and inlay techniques. The SD1-VC he’s begun building… Read more »

A Builder, A Dealer, and A Player: Dream Guitars’ latest collaboration with Isaac Jang

Hi gang! The good news keeps pouring in, which in our case means more amazing custom builds with our favorite luthiers. The latest addition to that roster is California-based luthier Isaac Jang. We’ve been telling anyone will listen that both his aesthetics and his acoustics are astounding, and that’s led to one of our clients… Read more »

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

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… Read more »

Incoming 2017 Robbins R.1 Build

We were first introduced to Tyler Robbins and his work this year at the 2017 Artisan Guitar Show in Harrisburg, PA. Impressed by the R.1 we played there (click here for our listing for it), we brought it home with us. It was sold soon thereafter to a rather excited client! The next R.1 was… Read more »

New Builder Profile: Loïc Bortot of Bouchereau Guitars

Paul attended three shows last year, Fretboard Journal Summit, the Santa Barbara Acoustic Instrument Celebration, and the Woodstock Invitational Luthier’s Showcase. There he met a number of new builders with some truly awe-inspiring builds. Naturally, we took several of them on as new builders for Dream Guitars! Alongside Michel Pellerin, Sam Guidry, and Isaac Jang,… Read more »

New Builder Profile: Sam Guidry

Paul attended two shows last year, the Santa Barbara Acoustic Instrument Celebration and the Woodstock Invitational Luthier’s Showcase, and there he met a number of new builders with some truly awe-inspiring builds. Naturally, we took several of them on as new builders for Dream Guitars! Alongside Michel Pellerin and Loïc Bortot (of Bouchereau Guitars), we’re also… Read more »

New Builder Profile: Michel Pellerin

Paul attended two shows last year, the Santa Barbara Acoustic Instrument Celebration and the Woodstock Invitational Luthier’s Showcase, and there he met a number of new builders with some truly awe-inspiring builds. Naturally, we took several of them on as new builders for Dream Guitars! Alongside Isaac Jang and Loïc Bortot, we’re also proud to… Read more »

It’s Show Time!

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… Read more »

Incoming Preston Thompson 000-14BA Custom

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… Read more »