Bookmark this page for frequent updates. (Please scroll down for additional guitars.)
Higuerilla and Port Orford Cedar
Cocobolo Rosewood and Engelmann Spruce
Brazilian Rosewood and Adirondack Spruce
Bookmark this page for frequent updates. (Please scroll down for additional guitars.)
East Indian Rosewood and Sitka Spruce
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.
Click Here to See What We Have In-Stock from EddieLee Today
We are pleased to add EddieLee Brown to our line-up of builders here at Dream Guitars. Let’s get to know more about this great up and coming builder.
EddieLee Brown’s first love is music. He played guitar and bass in a traveling rock band in the 70’s. More recently he has fallen in love with fingerstyle guitar playing. “Whether playing electric or acoustic, for me, tone is everything. I have always worked hard to develop a great tone as a basis for playing any instrument,” states EddieLee.
EddieLee has also been a photographer, a Bonsai artist and landscaper, and studied drawing. Each of these helped him develop a sense of design, proportion, and what is pleasing to the eye. He practiced as a Doctor of Oriental Medicine helping heal people with acupuncture, massage, and herbal medicine. This helped him develop a sensitivity of touch and understanding that one part of a system will affect other parts. EddieLee also has a master’s degree in electrical engineering with a strong background in physics and mechanical engineering. He loves physics and determining, from a scientific view point, how things work. This helps him be able to predict how a system will behave when one part of it is changed.
New ELB Guitars OM1937M-D
Brown had a nice stable of electric guitars and basses from his band days in the 70’s and 80’s but in the 2000’s, he found himself playing his acoustic guitar most of the time. When he decided to upgrade his old acoustic, he found the world of hand-built guitars. “The first time they handed me one, I could not believe the difference, and it changed my world. I bought a Goodall Rosewood/Red Wood, Grand Concert and fell in love with the guitar all over again. After playing and hearing the great tone and feeling how responsive it was, I would just stare at the beauty of the wood, design and construction. That is when I got the desire to start building,” quotes EddieLee.
EddieLee has now been building guitars for about 6 years, although 
he had studied guitar design and preparing a few years before that. He also spent time prior to starting his first guitar honing the woodworking skills he would need to produce great looking instruments. The first instruments he built were Native American Flutes which are wooden flutes. EddieLee has been playing these for many years, and loved the instrument. Their construction uses many of the same techniques and skills used in guitar building, so it seemed like a good “warm-up instrument” for him. “They are so much fun to make and I love the feedback I get from people when they get them in their hands. Guitar building followed soon after. It is a real joy to turn a pile of wood into a beautiful instrument and then hear other players make beautiful music with them,” says EddieLee.
Mahogany back of a ELB Guitars OM1937M-D
In EddieLee’s building style, he works to combine elements from his past careers. “I think there is real value in mixing together the old methods using touch, feeling, and tapping and meld into that the newer science to produce a very vibrant instrument with great tone”, quotes EddieLee. Among others, he is currently using Chladni patterns, along with traditional methods, for sound board voicing. He also uses techniques to produce spectrographics of the sound produced by tapping the guitar and its components during the build process. This tool gives a visual and measurable representation of what he hears when tapping the guitar. “Although it can never give me all the information that my ears can, it does allow me to see the frequencies of the main vibration patterns, allowing me to adjust them precisely. I believe these and other science based ways of measuring and determining how the guitar is operating, lets me produce an instrument with better and more consistent tone. And for me, tone has to be there” quotes EddieLee.
Outside of building guitars, EddieLee Brown is still a musician. “I play mainly fingerstyle guitar but still love to get an electric now and then a fire up the old Mesa Boogie Mark IIC”, says EddieLee.
“EddieLee is one of the guys you meet and just know that he builds a great guitar. He came to lutherie later in life and brings all his vast experiences to a new form of expression, the acoustic guitar. I was so impressed with the tone of his instruments that I broke my own rule of waiting until a maker has built 20 or more guitars. EddieLee has some special design elements as well like internal mass elements to manipulate the character of tone. Very fresh and exciting” – Paul Heumiller
Leo 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 will be moving to his own shop on October 1st in Oakland CA. At the same time, Leo is building for us an amazing OM featuring beautiful straight grain Brazilian Rosewood and a German Spruce Top.
Click here to watch Paul interview Leo Buendia at this year’s Memphis Acoustic Guitar Festival.
Following are the full specs and some images to go along with the current progress.
This one is currently available for purchase here at Dream Guitars – Please call the shop for more information 828-658-9795:
Update: Guitar in Finishing Process 12/1/15
This August is the 20th anniversary of Tom Rodriguez Guitars and his making of classical guitars. To commemorate this huge milestone, Tom has started on a very special 20th anniversary guitar. All materials on this anniversary guitar are old and extremely rare which Tom has been collecting through his years of building and saving for a very special occasion, such as this. Following is the list of materials included in this build:
Top – 40 year old Sitka spruce purchased from the estate of an old guitar maker. Tom hand picked it from 30 sets that were bought for its tap tone, stiffness and fine grain
Back & sides, peg head and bridge – 1800’s Brazilian rosewood from an old table top
Fingerboard – 40 year old ebony, hand picked for it’s beauty from a large selection of ebony fingerboards from the same collection of wood that the top came from
Neck – 1800’s Honduras mahogany, salvaged from an old 4 post bed – very dark in color and a singing tap tone
Brace wood – Hand-split Sitka spruce from the back supports of a 90 year old Cable piano
Linings – Quarter-sawn willow, the preferred choice of violin makers, 90 years old, from the same piano as the brace wood
Nut & Saddle – Fossil walrus ivory, 100 to 500 years old
Rosette & bindings – Brazilian rosewood, holly, cherry and ebony, all from various salvages and re-purposing projects
“One need only look at the quality of this wood, all of it having a history of it’s own, to imagine the character of sound that will emanate from this guitar. Celebrating 20 years of building is no small feat. Few makers ever reach that milestone and to do so you have to have an extreme love of the craft and desire to put music in the world. That’s what Tom Rodriquez and this guitar represent. We are simply delighted to be a part of this, this is why we do what we do here at Dream Guitars.” – Paul Heumiller, Owner
1800’s Brazilian rosewood salvaged from an antique table top
Detail of 40+ year old Sitka spruce top wood
Quartersawn bridge blank cut from the same 1800’s table – underneath it is the trimmed off piece with the tax stamps still on it
Detail of the hand split Sitka spruce brace wood from a 1925 Cable piano
Split Sitka spruce brace wood from a 1925 Cable piano
1800’s Honduras mahogany neck heel from an old bed – you can still see the edges of the turned legs before being trimmed away
Headstock with 1800’s mahogany and Brazilian rosewood
August 2015 marked the 20th anniversary of Thomas Rodriguez Guitars and his making of classical guitars. To commemorate this huge milestone, Thomas started on a very special 20th anniversary guitar. All materials on this anniversary guitar are very old and extremely rare which Thomas has been collecting through his years of building and saving for a very special occasion, such as this. Following is the list of materials included in this build:
Top – 40 year old Sitka spruce purchased from the estate of an old guitar maker. Thomas hand picked it from 30 sets that were bought for its tap tone, stiffness and fine grain
Back & sides, peg head and bridge – 1800’s Brazilian rosewood from an old table top
Fingerboard – 40 year old Gaboon ebony, hand picked for it’s beauty from a large selection of ebony fingerboards from the same collection of wood that the top came from
Neck – 1800’s Honduras mahogany, salvaged from an old 4 post bed – very dark in color and a singing tap tone
Brace wood – Hand-split Sitka spruce from the back supports of a 90 year old Cable piano
Linings – Quarter-sawn willow from a 1925 Cable piano, the preferred choice of violin makers, 90 years old, from the same piano as the brace wood
Nut & Saddle – Approximately 20,000 year old mastodon ivory
Rosette & bindings – Maple, Brazilian rosewood, mahogany from a 1860’s square piano and red birch from an 1890’s piano
Tie block on the bridge — Ivory from a piano key from the 1860’s square piano
Inlays on the wings of the bridge — Mother of pearl cut from an early 1900’s lamp pendant
Position marker on the fingerboard — Mother of pearl from an 1850’s Martin bridge pin Thomas had from a restoration he performed
“One need only look at the quality of this wood, all of it having a history of it’s own, to imagine the character of sound that will emanate from this guitar. Celebrating 20 years of building is no small feat. Few makers ever reach that milestone and to do so you have to have an extreme love of the craft and desire to put music in the world. That’s what Thomas Rodriquez and this guitar represent. We are simply delighted to be a part of this, this is why we do what we do here at Dream Guitars.” – Paul Heumiller, Owner
1800’s Brazilian rosewood salvaged from an antique table top
Detail of 40+ year old Sitka spruce top wood
Quartersawn bridge blank cut from the same 1800’s table – underneath it is the trimmed off piece with the tax stamps still on it.
Detail of the hand split Sitka spruce brace wood from a 1925 Cable piano.
Split Sitka spruce brace wood from a 1925 Cable piano.
Here is the neck blank for the 20th anniversary guitar which was cut from a bed post from an 1800’s bed that was found in the attic of a friend’s 200 year old farmhouse.
The headstock on the left is the old wood which you can see the rich color from over a 100 years of oxidation. The neck on the right is Honduras mahogany from the 1960’s, for comparison.
1800’s Honduras mahogany neck heel from an old bed – you can still see the edges of the turned legs before being trimmed away.
Headstock with 1800’s mahogany and Brazilian rosewood.
Decorative trim wood for the 20th anniversary guitar was taken from this Rand square piano, dating between 1820’s to 1860’s.
All the veneer for rosette and binding, rosewood, mahogany and maple from the Rand piano and red birch from the 1890’s piano.
Amount of wood that it took to create the bindings.
Detail of the complete binding.
Rosette made up of wood cut down while Torres, inventor of the modern classical guitar, was still alive.
Detail, Brazilian rosewood, maple, mahogany and red birch. Thomas opted to use the natural color of the wood rather than color dyed veneer. The rosette is 35 layers thick, hand scraped to be an exact thickness.
Mother of pearl lamp pendant used for inlays on the bridge wings.
The bridge is cut from the same 1800’s table as the rest of the guitar. It is perfectly quarter sawn, super fine even grain and has oxidized to a rich, almost black color.
Detail of the mother of pearl dot.
Ivory tie block is from a piano key off of the 1800’s square piano.
Finished bridge
The guitar coming together
Detail on back of guitar
Top and back
Bracing for the guitar, asymmetrical lattice bracing. Thomas engineered his guitar from the ground up over his 20 years of building, He’s very proud to be making his own guitar and not just another Hauser or Torres copy.
All of the brace wood is Sitka spruce from the 1925 piano, hand split for the straightest possible grain.
Willow linings, cut from the 1925 Cable piano. Willow is the top choice for linings in high end violins. The neck heel is painted to keep moisture from traveling through the end grain, a common cause of humps in the finger board where the neck meets the body.
Big pile of spaghetti that will become the binding for the guitar.
Completed binding
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
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!
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. Stewart Universal Favorite Banjo
Strat Reliced by Monroe
Cromwell Archtop
Cordoba RCWE
Furch Little Jane
Kanilea Ukelele K-1 – New
1963 Danelectro U2
Emerald X7-OS
Taylor T5-S
Leho Ukuleles LHT6-ASAK – New
Leho Ukuleles LHT-SMF – New
The Loar LH-280-CBK
The Loar LH-319-VS
Mics / Preamps:
K&K Sound Quantum Blender Dual Channel Guitar Preamp/EQ
Accessories:
D-TAR Mic Stand Adapter #2-90-915
ErgoPlay Tappert Classical Guitar Support
Planet Waves Chromatic Strobe Pedal Tuner PW-CT-04
Planet Waves Auto-Trim Tuning Machines PWAT-333L, 3+3 Setup, GOLD
Planet Waves Insert Cable PW-INS-10, 1/4″ Male Stereo to Dual 1/4″ Male Mono
B-Band chromatic Tuner Tun-E
Strings:
Thomstik-Infeld AC112
Curt Mangan 12-String Light Phos-Br
Curt Mangan Med. Lt. Phos Br
Curt Mangan Med. Lt. 80/20
Curt Mangan Bluegrass Phos Br
Curt Mangan Heavy Phos Br
Elixir Med
Elixir Lt-Med
1895 S.S. Stewart Universal Favorite Banjo
19th century body/tone ring with Rare ‘wraparound’ pot, custom neck by Larry Brown featuring gorgeous inlay work, newer Guardian Case
$1,995 + Shipping
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
Monroe Relic Strat, made with Fender parts, features Texas Special Pickups, Rosewood Fingerboard, Tremolo, Tweek Case
$895 + Shipping
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
Cromwell Archtop
1930s Cromwell Archtop (G-2?), Made by Gibson for Cromwell, this one has play wear and some reglued braces, funky and old, but great sounding. Perfect for front porch blues sessions!
$595 + Shipping
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
Cordoba RCWE
Thin body classical, Indian Rosewood back/sides, Cedar Top
$995 + Shipping
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
$1,599 + Shipping
 |
 |
Kanilea K-1 Concert Premium Satin Ukulele
$770 + Shipping
 |
 |
$1,500 + Shipping
 |
 |
Qty – 4
$930 + Shipping
 |
 |
$1,100 + Shipping
 |
 |
$350 + Shipping
 |
 |
$255 + Shipping
 |
 |
The Loar LH-280-CBK is a great budget archtop capable of handling styles ranging from Jazz and Blues to Country and Rockabilly. With a 24.75” scale and Vintage “C” profile neck this will feel familiar to anyone accustomed to vintage archtops.
$400 + Shipping
 |
 |
The Loar is a company dedicated to reviving the artisan principles of the golden era of 1920s and 30s archtop guitars. Indeed, the LH-319-VS is a fine example of their success in this endeavor. Anyone familiar with vintage Gibson, Guild, Martin or Washburn f-hole archtops will be pleasantly surprised at the similarity of the LH-319 in tone, playability and appearance.
$460 + Shipping
 |
 |
K&K Sound Quantum Blender Dual Channel Guitar Preamp/EQ – SOLD
Preowned but looks 99% new. Functions properly. Includes 1/4″ stereo TRS cable. Needs power supply 12VDC 700mA Center-positive
Qty-1
$149.99 + Free Shipping
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
D-TAR Mic Stand Adapter #2-90-915
Attaches to underside of Solstice or Equinox allowing the unit to be mounted to a standard microphone stand.
NEW, Qty-1
$14.99 + Free Shipping
 |
 |
 |
 |
Thomstik-Infeld AC112 | $14.50 + Shipping |
 |
Curt Mangan 12-String Light Phos-Br | $6.50 + Shipping |
 |
Curt Mangan Med. Lt. Phos Br | $9.00 + Shipping |
 |
Curt Mangan Med. Lt. 80/20 | $8.50 + Shipping |
 |
Curt Mangan Bluegrass Phos Br | $5.00 + Shipping |
 |
Curt Mangan Heavy Phos Br | $5.00 + Shipping |
 |
Elixir Med | $12.50 + Shipping |
 |
Elixir Lt-Med | $12.50 + Shipping |
Ben Wilborn is one of the builders that we have recently added to the array of fine builders that we represent at Dream Guitars. We receive numerous requests from builders, new and established, to be part of Dream Guitars. It’s very humbling to be the ones that they wish to represent their work. In the case of Wilborn guitars, we invited him to send us an example of his work because tone is the first thing we always look for in a new luthier’s instruments. It only took about 20 seconds to figured out that Ben knows how to get tone out of his instruments. We were also smitten with the fit, finish and overall design of his guitars – very elegant, leaning towards traditional but definitely having his own style…and so began our association with Ben.
We at Dream Guitars are known for commissioning unique custom instruments for clientele as well and we were excited to see 
something even more artistic from Ben. As a result, Paul Heumiller, owner of Dream Guitars and Ben went to work to decide on specs for a custom Wilborn parlor guitar. “I love to work with builders on custom instruments. Having seen thousands of guitars helps me develop an intuition for both stylistic and practical features on the guitar. At the same time I love to leave room for a builder to express himself. So Ben and I collaborated on a number of design elements in this parlor guitar, but then I left him to do the rest. I can’t wait to see the final instrument as I know it will be both beautiful and expressive aesthetically and musically.” – Paul Heumiller.
This incoming Parlor will feature Brazilian Rosewood and Vintage Sitka Spruce cut in the 1960s, Leapordwood Bindings, Brazilian Rosewood Fretboard and Bridge and a short scale, 12 Fret Neck. Yummy!
Click here to see our in-stock Ben Wilborn Guitars
Contact us to reserve this incoming Wilborn guitar or to inquire about the many custom builds we have in process at any given time. Capture your Dream Guitar.
Custom Wilborn Parlor in Construction
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 what keeps it so enjoyable for me year after year. All of the wonderful instruments that we sell are for one purpose which is to make music which in turn makes the world a better place. I truly believe that. To that end we have always offered inspiration in the form of our Listening Studio, concerts, performance videos and lesson videos on dreamguitars.com.
Many clients are surprised when they realize how many lessons we have actually produced over the years. We have over 40 free lessons on our website and YouTube Channel today by such artists as Al Petteway, Steve James, Vicki Genfan, Clive Carroll, Konarak Reddy, Danny Ellis, Doug Young and Paul Asbell. In addition we have performance videos by these players and other friends who come by the shop, including Cliff Eberhardt, Loren & Mark, Jordan McConnell (The Duhks), Steve Baughman and Robin Bullock.
All of these can be found on our popular YouTube Channel and we also have a direct link to our Lessons Page on our main menu under Resources.
Have you visited our Listening Studio? Over the years, we at Dream Guitars have been recording each of our in-stock instruments, many by the one and only Al Petteway. As a result, we were able to compile all of these recordings into a database that now allows you to listen to thousands of individual guitar recordings while comparing and analyzing tone woods, builders, models, wood types, and more.
We have also produced a complete book of Sheet Music and TAB for the Dream Guitars Vol. I: The Golden Age of Lutherie CD by Al Petteway.
In addition, we are very excited to have just finished up Dream Guitars Vol. II: Hand Picked by Al Petteway as well. Volume II not only includes Music and Tab but will also include a Video lesson of absolutely every track available on our site in the coming months.
Hot News: Robin Bullock has also recently moved back to the Asheville Area and will begin to produce a regular lesson series for us as well!! Stay tuned for more on this.
So take advantage of the Listening Studio as well as all the Lessons, Blog Articles, Interviews and all we create for you. You can find them on our YouTube Channel, Facebook Page and of course dreamguitars.com. Most importantly keep making music!!! The world needs it!
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.
Contact us today to discuss your collection 828-658-9795.
Click here to read a collector’s testimonial for Dream Guitars
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.
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.
Bookmark this page for frequent updates. (Please scroll down for additional guitars.)
Pernambuco and Sitka Spruce
Brazilian Rosewood and European Spruce
Figured Honduran Mahogany and Bearclaw Sitka Spruce
Brazilian Rosewood and Cedar
Collaboration between Walter Lipton and Bill Tippin. Engraved inlay by Doug Unger.
Brazilian Rosewood and German Spruce
Cypress and Cedar
Brazilian Rosewood and Sitka Spruce
Koa and Spruce
Mahogany and Spruce
Brazilian Rosewood and Cedar
Ceylon Satinwood Back/Sides, Englemann Spruce Top, Alaskan Yellow Cedar Neck
Indian Rosewood and Sitka Spruce
Black Acacia and Cedar
Maple and Spruce
Maple and Spruce
Brazilian Rosewood and Adirondack Spruce
Brazilian Rosewood and Adirondack Spruce
Brazilian Rosewood and Adirondack Spruce
Brazilian Rosewood and Adirondack Spruce
Brazilian Rosewood and Adirondack Spruce
Macassar Ebony and Bearclaw Sitka Spruce
Steel Body with Gold Crystalline Finish. 1.5 Tricone Neck. 
Mahogany and Adirondack Spruce 
East Indian Rosewood and Spruce 
Padauk and Spruce
Figured Maple and Adirondack Spruce 
Granadillo and Adirondack Spruce
Sinker Honduras Mahogany and Tulip Magnolia
Tasmanian Blackwood and Lutz Spruce 
East Indian Rosewood and Carpathian Spruce 
Brazilian Kingwood and Sitka Spruce 
Cocobolo Rosewood and Bearclaw Sitka Spruce 
Bookmark this page for frequent updates. (Please scroll down for additional guitars.)
Brazilian Rosewood and Moonspruce
Flamed Maple and Spruce
East Indian Rosewood and Sitka Spruce
Magnetic Pickup with “C” Electronics
Cocobolo Rosewood and Bearclaw Sitka Spruce
Honduran Rosewood and Adirondack Spruce
Madagascar Rosewood and German Spruce
Koa and Flamed Maple
Pernambuco and Sitka Spruce
Brazilian Rosewood and European Spruce
Figured Honduran Mahogany and Bearclaw Sitka Spruce
Brazilian Rosewood and Cedar
Collaboration between Walter Lipton and Bill Tippin. Engraved inlay by Doug Unger.
Brazilian Rosewood and German Spruce
Cypress and Cedar
Brazilian Rosewood and Sitka Spruce
Koa and Spruce
Mahogany and Spruce
Brazilian Rosewood and Cedar
Ceylon Satinwood Back/Sides, Englemann Spruce Top, Alaskan Yellow Cedar Neck
Indian Rosewood and Sitka Spruce
Black Acacia and Cedar
Maple and Spruce
Maple and Spruce
Brazilian Rosewood and Adirondack Spruce
Brazilian Rosewood and Adirondack Spruce
Brazilian Rosewood and Adirondack Spruce
Brazilian Rosewood and Adirondack Spruce
Brazilian Rosewood and Adirondack Spruce
Macassar Ebony and Bearclaw Sitka Spruce
Steel Body with Gold Crystalline Finish. 1.5 Tricone Neck.
Mahogany and Adirondack Spruce
East Indian Rosewood and Spruce
Padauk and Spruce
Figured Maple and Adirondack Spruce
Granadillo and Adirondack Spruce
Sinker Honduras Mahogany and Tulip Magnolia
Tasmanian Blackwood and Lutz Spruce
East Indian Rosewood and Carpathian Spruce
Brazilian Kingwood and Sitka Spruce
Cocobolo Rosewood and Bearclaw Sitka Spruce
“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
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!!
A few years ago, we began the search for great sounding but reasonably priced guitars to offer our many clients who were asking for such an animal.
As luck would have it at that same point in time, our luthiers Michael Baskin and Harry Fleishman were in the midst of designing guitars that would be built overseas as a new company called Avian. Today, these guitars are hand-made in a small factory only building Avian guitars. This is not a situation where a huge factory is pumping out 20 different brands. That is why the quality is so great and the tone so wonderful.
Click Above to Learn More about Avian Guitars from Paul
Michael and Harry have personally trained this small, talented staff and the results are evident. We have sold many of these guitars to people here in the shop where quite frankly they sell themselves with just a few moments of play. But for those of you out in the Internet land, we want to offer you a risk-free way to try one for yourself.
Hence, we are proud to announce the Avian adventure!
For a limited time, try an Avian guitar for three days in your home. 
We are so confident that you will agree with us that these guitars rival others that cost more than $5000, we’re willing to put our money where our mouth is. Call us today and we will ship you an Avian guitar at no charge. All we ask is that if you return it, you pay just the return shipping which is only $75. We will pick up the rest.
But that’s not all – We will also include a Dream Guitars Volume One CD and Tablature so you’ll have plenty of music to play on your new Avian guitar.
Select from any of our in-stock Avian guitar models including:
Ready for the Avian adventure? Call us today to take advantage of the above promotion.
Offer valid through 10/15/14 or while current inventory lasts
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 glue rubbed finish that was pretty cool. Martin used this Cümbüş on his amazing album, “Cool and Unusual”. The aluminum bowl has an amazing strong percussive sound and the nylon strings give it smoothness that is just, well cool and unusual.
While traveling in Italy a few years ago for a guitar Festival in Sarzana, I came across a dealer of Turkish instruments tucked in the mountain side of Cinque Terre. I bought a Cümbüş there and carried it all the way home 
to the US knowing someday I would convert it like Martin had done.
Robert Anderson, a renowned banjo maker, moved to Weaverville North Carolina just miles away from my home. I showed Robert the instrument and he was excited about trying something new. He had never seen a Cümbüş before but was game for the project.
Robert is a true artist who loves to do carvings and extensive inlay work. This neck was fairly simple compared to many that he does.
I’m delighted with how it came out. The tone is amazing and it plays like a dream. This is a new instrument for me so I’ll be 
woodshedding the next two years! Wish me luck!
Click Here to watch Robert Anderson play Paul’s Five String Nylon Fretless Banjo
Robert Anderson and Paul Heumiller
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
(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 his amazing tunes and provide a handful of lessons for our viewers.
“I have the great fortune as the owner of Dream Guitars to often have the chance to be in the company of some of the world’s top guitarists. I am always amazed at the extremely high level of play they achieve and of course it’s because they put the hard work in on the techniques that often elude mere mortal guitarists. Well here’s a look at a few distinct techniques and riffs that are very doable for everyone, if you just take the time it takes and have fun with it. Challenge yourself to play something new today, something you’ll learn from one of the very best Clive Carrol.” – Paul Heumiller
The grouping of videos include amazing performances of “Autumn Leaves” and “Black Moon” as well as four mini-lessons covering the Plectrum Technique, a great blues riff, a right hand exercise, and a lesson on thumb/finger independence.
Click here to view all six Clive Carroll videos.
About Clive Carroll:
Soon after graduating from London’s prestigious Trinity College in 1998, Clive was given the opportunity to play at a gig with UK guitar maestro John Renbourn, who, on hearing him play, immediately suggested that Clive record an album. So one year later, Clive was working away in the studio, recording his first album ‘Sixth Sense’, which was greeted by press and audiences alike as something of a breath of fresh air in acoustic guitar circles. The album’s 2000 release didn’t go unnoticed by mentor and friend John Renbourn, either, because the pair spent the next two years on tour together in Europe and the United States.
In the meantime, Clive would occasionally return to playing classical repertoire, recording the ever popular ‘Canon’ by Pachelbel for BMG/RCA Victor in 2002. His next solo album, ‘The Red Guitar’ appeared in 2004 and this time it was guitar legend Tommy Emmanuel’s turn to invite Clive to tour with him. After a jaunt across Australia together, the pair continued to perform all over the world. The collaborations with John Renbourn continued, meanwhile, and 2005 saw them work together on the Sony Picture Classics film ‘Driving Lessons’ which starred Julie Waters and Harry Potter star Rupert Grint.
After years of travelling with guitar giants Renbourn and Emmanuel, it was time to go solo and so in 2006 Clive embarked on a series of tours under his own name, accepting an invitation to appear at the highly regarded International Guitar Night of America along the way. All the time, the buzz concerning this young virtuoso began to grow ever louder…
So, with barely time to draw breath in between working on side projects like tutoring at the Irish World Music Centre in Limerick, playing at events organised by the likes of film director Guy Ritchie and Michelin award-winning chef Jean-Christophe Novelli and travelling to the Middle East to play at the Strings Of Freedom concert for the Sultanate of Oman, work began on Clive’s third solo album, ‘Life In Colour’. The result is a roller-coaster ride of six string virtuosity that takes the listener from the dusty roads of ‘Mississippi Blues’ one minute to the wide epic open space of ‘Oregon’ the next.
One thing is for sure; ‘Life In Colour’ represents a milestone both in the career of a remarkable musician and the music world in general.
For more information, please visit his website.
Instrument design involves shifting your attention. You shift it from subject to subject. Hopefully you remain on a topic long enough to think up an improvement or a refinement. You pick a topic, you examine, you contemplate, you experiment, you reflect, you move on.
I spent quite some part of 2009 studying, understanding and working on intonation. Its one of those “bottomless” subjects. Its a huge subject. To some extent it’s one of those doors you open only to wish you’d left it shut.
You realize that intonation is all one big compromise, that no matter what you do, choices have to be made which by improving something means making something else worse. You learn that even the ideals:Just intonation, Meantone and Equal temperaments are all compromises.
You also realize that you don’t have to actually understand intonation very well to make, play or enjoy guitars. Then you also realize that very few guitar makers or players understand it either.
You also make the discover that the type of instruments you make has an effect on how critical your instrument should be intonated. That in turn helps you see why so few makers either understand the subject or even want to understand the subject.
But what (if you’re a maker like me) do you do when you have a customer who is obsessed with intonation?
You either decide to learn about intonation or you ignore the customer.
Ive a friend and customer called Ian. He’s obsessed with intonation. It drives him nuts. In turn he drives me nuts. This had to stop. So, I decided to look into the issue a little deeper than I had in the past.
Ian now wanted the guitar to be as close to Equal temperament as possible as in the current crop of bands he played with he had to play in a lot of different and sometimes just plain odd keys. I mean, who plays in F#?
Ian does.
————————————————————————————————
Here is a brief rundown of my learning
“Perfect” intonation is impossible to achieve.
The luthier (and the customer) must be willing to accept some degree of approximation.
“But my old (insert the name of a guitar you’ve played/owned) plays perfectly in tune all up and down the neck”
I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but…
it doesn’t,
it didn’t,
and it never will.
It’s not possible,
it never has been
and never will be.
What is possible are a couple of things: the instrument may have lacked the power and clarity that show up the many intonation errors which are inherent in all guitars. This is very common with guitars that follow the traditional American steel string design. (Think Martin.) Then there are our ears and our discernment of tuning which varies greatly. Some folk are blessed/cursed with perfect pitch. Such people really struggle with guitars. All guitars. Some folk can’t hear when its out of tune. They’re the lucky ones.
The ideal for many would be to have a guitar that plays in just temperament or just intonation (JI).
This is when chords sound in tune with themselves; the intervals are in tune with the bass string overtones and is what many players try to achieve by tuning the guitar to a chord. This is because it sounds nice. It sounds correct. But as soon as we change to a different chord shape on a guitar that has an equal temperament fretboard we expose the fact that the nice-sounding intervals are at the expense of others. The only way the JI can be sustained is for the player to tune the guitar so one chord (like an open E chord) “sings”, use only that one chord shape and slide it up and down the neck.
The next best thing to JI is “meantone” temperament.
This is where some chords and keys are close to JI, but at the expense of other chords and keys which will be far worse. The groups of keys that work in the meantone scales I’ve come across are don’t work all the keys we want to use. Eg: E, A, C, G, F. And the corresponding minors.
Many luthiers have tried before.
Over the last few hundred years makers have tried all sorts to achieve JI or meantone scales:removable frets, semi frets, guitars with multiple and removable fretboards, more than 12 tones per octave and, more recently, wiggly frets. But still the results, even if executed well will give us a compromised result: some keys will be good but only at the expense of others.
So what do we do?
So if we are to play in more than one key a different compromise is required. The equal-tempered scale used today is in fact one of several options available (I discovered an online library of over 3,500 different temperaments!) but it is probably the only scale of any use if we expect to play reasonably in tune in several keys. This particular division of tones is now generally accepted, even though the only intervals that are in tune are the octaves; all other notes are actually sharp or flat of just temperament). The fifths are pretty close to JI but the thirds are all noticeably sharp (by around 14 cents) so this universally accepted compromise has flaws even if executed with precision.
Thanks to the nature of the guitar there are more obstacles to overcome – the act of fretting causes a string to stretch. In stretching, the pitch is raised by different amounts according to the distance the string has to travel, and how much further it is stretched once fretted. Add to this a rather complicated problem called inharmonicity, which relates to the inherent stiffness of steel strings. This stiffness means the higher overtones of the note sound sharper than the fundamental of the note being played. This is especially true of lower notes.
Further complications can be caused by string inconsistencies and/or the appropriateness of the string gauges used. Excessive neck relief, built in to allow for the vibration of the strings, can also compromise intonation. Its not easy. There is a lot to be said for making “warm” sounding guitars, as they mask so many of these issues. No wonder they’re so popular.
But what if we want to make great sounding guitars?
The long and short of it is the maker must change how they intonate. Learning to do so is a lengthy process involving measuring and adjusting the value of every note fretted and then calculating the position of both the saddle and the zero fret according to the string gauges used and tuning employed.
Complicated.
It involves a combination of a compensated saddle, something we are all pretty familiar with, and a compensated “wiggly” zero fret or nut.
The amount of compensation depends on the scale and the preference of string type and tunings to be employed. It is a laborious process but worthwhile.
I’ve managed it, and so have a few other luthiers. Does it really make a difference?
Well, that depends, it gies back to what was said earlier about the type of instrument we make and the players discernment, but yes, it does make a difference, and it is the only way to achieve equal temperament (itself a compromise) on clear and powerful sounding guitars.
So what are the benefits?
And that, as far as intonation and guitars goes, is about as good as it can get….
About the writer
Nigel Forster began guitar making in 1988 as an apprentice to well regarded English luthier Stefan Sobell. He worked for Sobell 1988-1990 and 1992-2003. He opened his own workshop in late 2004 making acoustic guitars, mandolin, cittern and celtic bouzouki and a revolutionary new design of archtop jazz guitars.
For his acoustic guitars, and Celtic family instruments, Dream Guitars are Nigel’s exclusive USA dealers.
As well as making instruments, Nigel now spends part of each year away from the bench, on retreat, traveling, writing and volunteering. As a result the number of instruments he makes is now reduced compared to previous years.
Getting on the waiting list isn’t as easy as it used to be…
His first print book, a book about instrument design and a collaboration with photographer Dave Best is available:
http://www.ypdbooks.com/photography/366-between-the-ideal-and-the-possible-YPD00333.html
Standard Amazon shipping rates apply and appear at the end of the checkout process.
