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 »
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 »
The latest build from Tyler Robbins is underway! You won’t want to miss this one; every single one of Tyler’s guitars we’ve seen has floored us, and this one has some top-notch tonewoods to carry that even further, to say nothing of his expressive aesthetic. Back: Brazilian RosewoodTop: German SpruceRosette: Spruce with teal-orange resin, segmentedArm… Read more »
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 »
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 »
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 »
With so many great builders to choose from, you’d think it would be hard for Dream Guitars owner Paul Heumiller to pick the proper luthier for his next instrument. However, if you’ve ever played one of Leo Buendia’s masterpieces, you wouldn’t be so surprised to learn that one of Leo’s 12-fret Jumbos was in Paul’s… Read more »
To everyone who’s bid on a charity guitar, everyone who’s gotten the word out to lend a hand, everyone who’s just donated straight to the cause—Dream Guitars thanks you from the bottom of our hearts. We’ve been able to raise thousands of dollars for Puerto Rico hurricane relief, to support hurrican soup kitchens in Houston,… Read more »
We don’t often take on new Classical builders, but we’re more than happy to start a relationship with Mendocino-based luthier Steve Porter! Engineering fiercely resonant and dynamic guitars with a technical nod to Gil Carnal’s own techniques, Porter’s builds with “clarity and maximum string efficiency” at the forefront. Our first guitar from Steve is a… Read more »
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 »
The Artisan Guitar Show in Pennsylvania was a case of fortuitous timing: Dream Guitars was introduced to a slew of new and talented builders to add to our lineup! Canadian builder Ben Lavoie, Italian luthier extraordinaire Mirko Borghino, and Tyler Robbins, who’s been working alongside Bryan Galloup and Sam Guidry for several years now. Since… Read more »
After the success of our recent Rainsong auction to provide relief for Hurricane Harvey, we wanted to keep the momentum going to help out with Hurricane Maria and Puerto Rico. So we then auctioned off two of our own guitars for the cause, a 2012 Grand Auditorium from Leo Posch and a 2009 Tui from… Read more »
We’re not prone to idle hands at Dream Guitars, and neither is Tyler Robbins! In addition to the Cocobolo R.1 he’s building for us, he’s got another one in the works already, this time with Ziricote! Keep checking in as we update this latest build thread with photos and specs. Back and Sides – Ziricote Top… Read more »
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 »
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… Read more »
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… Read more »
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! The first was Isaac Jang, a Hollywood-based builder who studied… Read more »
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… Read more »
Following are a few highlighted new arrivals here at Dream Guitars. Please click on any of the links or images below for more details on each guitar. Feel free to call the shop as well to further discuss any instrument 828-658-9795. Click here to view all additional new arrivals at Dream Guitars. 2009 McCollum J… Read more »
While it is getting colder and the snow continues to fall, we figured why not warm it up and have a Spring Cleanup Sale!!! All of the following products are offered at a significant discount. To order, please call the shop 828-658-9795. Offers valid while inventory lasts. Currently on Sale: Instruments under $2k: 1895 S.S.… Read more »
Click Here to watch Robert Anderson play Paul’s Five String Nylon Fretless Banjo Years ago when I was spending a lot of time with Martin Simpson, the great guitarist from England, he had a Turkish Cümbüş that he had converted to a five string nylon fretless banjo. I remember that the neck had a super… Read more »
Let’s Make Great Music Together!!! As a result of your requests, we have embarked on the creation of the music CD Dream Guitars Volume Two: Guitars of Distinction – Featuring Grammy winner Al Petteway playing instruments by a select few of Dream Guitars favorite luthiers. Help us make this project a reality by contributing to… Read more »
We are very excited to announce the arrival of this extremely rare Martin Limited Edition D-50 featuring both Brazilian Rosewood and Bearclaw Sitka Spruce. Click Here for the Full Listing, Audio, Video and Specs This 2003 Martin Limited Edition D-50 is number 2 of only 50 made and is as much an art object as… Read more »
Dream Guitars is proud to bring you some exciting news from Tippin Guitars including a brand new model and incoming DG inventory!! Bill Tippin’s New Forte Model First off, Bill Tippin introduced his newest creation, the Tippin Forte, at the recent Healdsburg Guitar Festival in California. This is a new model from him and is… 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.