We recently met up with a dynamic young player, Yasmin Williams, who was on the hunt for a quality steel string to take her playing to the next level. Here’s a sample of the kind of tone we’re talking about here: https://www.facebook.com/dreamguitars/videos/2022839427746979/. After taste testing nearly every guitar we had in the shop, she finally found… Read more »
We recently had the great pleasure of chatting with fingerstyle-songwriter virtuoso David Wilcox about his complex (to say the least) journey through the world of guitar amplification. Years of teasing out the proper application of each kind of pickup have resulted in a system that employs over five pickups–for one guitar! You’ll want to listen… Read more »
What happens when you put Al Petteway in the same room as one of our long-time client’s personal guitar treasure trove? Something like The Collector’s Passion! Al sets down a permanent record of some of the finest guitars we’ve ever seen, from Somogyi & Traugott to Greenfield, Lowden, Olson, Martin—the track list goes on. Al’s… Read more »
Folks, there’s a hot new item on the market for gigging and traveling musicians. One which eliminates the stress of microphone feedback, sidesteps navigating mic stands, yet offers the kind of tone you can only find with your favorite microphone– in fact, the exact tone of your favorite microphones! This lovely tool analyzes the tonal differences between your… Read more »
The boutique guitar industry is chock full of unique experiences, and we’ve certainly had our fair share of them take place in these very showrooms. Recently, we found ourselves with no fewer than five Traugott R models at the same time (some have already sold by now). When Al rolled in on Wednesday for our… Read more »
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… Read more »
Click here to check out our latest artist performances and lessons!! Since the day I started Dream Guitars I’ve always wanted it to be more than just a guitar shop selling instruments. The sense of community and the shared love of music is one of the reasons that I got into this business and it’s… Read more »
(Clive Carroll has toured with Tommy Emmanuel and Michael Manring, visit Clive’s site for more information.) We had the absolute pleasure of having Clive Carroll at Dream Guitars for a house concert back in February…and we took full advantage of our time with him before the show!! Clive was gracious enough to perform some of… Read more »
We had the luxury of having Indian guitarist Konarak Reddy visit the shop recently, perform and also record a video lesson all available here. Konarak is an amazing player with a unique style of play. We have asked Konarak a few questions about his history and playing style – following are his responses: How long… Read more »
A while back, guitar great Al Petteway sat in front of the camera at our showroom in Weaverville, North Carolina, just outside of Asheville, and gave us all a lesson on how to play his own composition, “Tennessee Mountain Rag,” which is included on the “Dream Guitars, Volume 1, The Golden Age of Luthiers” CD… Read more »
As you may have noticed, bottleneck slide guitar great Steve James spent quite a bit of time at Dream Guitars in our Weaverville, NC, studios back in May, when he came in for a house concert here. He took time out of his schedule to demo several National Resophonic guitars and perform the classic song,… Read more »
In many ways, Dream Guitars is not just about buying and selling amazing stringed instruments. Sometimes, we help make music. In fact, we feel that the Tony McManus album, “The Maker’s Mark: The Dream Guitars Sessions,” may have been our finest moment. Here’s how it all went down… A few years ago, Dream Guitars’ top… Read more »
Our own Paul Heumiller recently sat down in front of the cameras to talk about one of Dream Guitars’ favorite builders, Jordan McConnell of McConnell Guitars (and the Grammy-award winning band, The Duhks) for a video interview. You see, Paul is not only has a savvy eye when it comes to great luthiers and their… Read more »
Singer-songwriter Danny Ellis has had an interesting life to say the least. After growing up in an orphanage in Ireland in the 1950s, Danny found music and it saved his life. He began his professional career as a trombone player with “The Boyne Valley Stompers,” a Dixieland band touring Ireland. From there, Danny expanded his… Read more »
When Steve James spent time with us at Dream Guitars just before his rocking house concert performance at our Weaverville, NC, offices, not only did he demo several amazing National Resophonic guitars, he also taught us all a lesson in bottleneck slide playing the legendary “Guitar Rag.” Your moment of musical history for today: Sylvester… Read more »
Last month, Dream Guitars hosted the great Steve James for the latest house concert at our Weaverville, NC, headquarters… and the house was rockin’. Steve played Sylvester Weaver’s “Guitar Rag,” widely recognized as the first slide song ever recorded (1923). Throughout the show, Steve played his own National Resophonic instruments, including a Resorocket Wood Body… Read more »
We host a number of events here at Dream Guitars. Just one of our many ways to give back to the community and share music with others who are passionate about it. We welcome you all to come join us at a House Concert, Guitar Clinic, Setup Saturdays and other events throughout the year. Come… Read more »
Here at Dream Guitars, we discovered early on that one element of selling world-class guitars online was missing for our online customers: the sound. We then became perhaps the first online dealer of guitars to offer sound samples by recording every guitar we have in stock, played by any number of our favorite friends. In… Read more »
Frequent visitors to the Dream Guitars website have no doubt noticed our recent fine classical guitar demos, all compliments of one extremely talented guitarist, David Stevenson. David is both a skilled performer and an immensely gifted composer. On May, Arise Stevenson and percussionist River Guerguerian collaborate on a engaging set of music that showcases instrumental mastery,… Read more »
The talented Mary Flower stopped by Dream Guitars recently and spent the afternoon playing some of the fine guitars we have in stock. Mary plays a great combination of roots music, including ragtime, acoustic blues and folk. If you like these videos, be sure to check out Mary’s website for upcoming gigs, and information on… Read more »
Steve James is a well known name among devotees of contemporary acoustic folk and blues; this notoriety based on numerous critically acclaimed recordings, a tireless international tour schedule and a sheaf of published work including articles, instruction books and videos. His instrumental versatility (on guitar, slide guitar, mandolin, guitar-banjo) also makes him a favorite at… Read more »
Everyone knows that Al Petteway is an extremely fine guitarist, but what you may not know is that he is also an excellent guitar teacher. In this video Al instructs how to play his original tune “Tennessee Mountain Rag”. If you live in the greater Asheville area or just visiting, Al is available for one-on-one… Read more »
Canadian luthier Jordan McConnell dropped by Dream Guitars last week and sat down for an interview with our own Paul Heumiller. For those who don’t yet know, Jordan is building outstanding, versatile instruments that are in high demand. As a touring professional guitarist with his band the Duhks, Jordan understands the needs of the guitarist,… Read more »
Recently I was invited to view the guitars of Carl Sandburg at the Carl Sandburg Home — a National Historic Site located in Flat Rock, North Carolina. In addition to being a famous writer and Pulitzer Prize winning poet, Carl Sandburg was an accomplished folksinger that helped preserve many of America’s great folksongs through his… Read more »
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Players Say: "Never visit Dream Guitars if you are in a hurry. I was there just once and I had a really hard time to leave because of the overwhelming quality and beauty of every single instrument."
What I appreciate the most is the strong personality and knowledge that Paul Heumiller expresses in his choices, not only choosing the highest makers in the field, and a fantastic selection of vintage instruments, but also giving space to new incredible builders who need to be discovered.
I’ll come back with plenty of time, you should do the same if you like to visit the best collection of independent makers and vintage guitars on the planet.