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Dream Guitars Volume II: Guitars of Distinction – Kickstarter

Let’s Make Great Music Together!!!

204As 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 our Kickstarter campaign.

Pledge rewards start at as little as $25 and include signed CDs, tab books, behind the scenes tours, even private house concerts and dinners with Al Petteway and Paul Heumiller!!

This will be the sequel to Dream Guitars Vol. 1 The Golden Age of Lutherie by Al Petteway. The inaugural CD was a compilation of original music recorded by Al on a limited edition of guitars, named the ‘Dream Series’, designed and crafted by eleven of our favorite luthiers solely for Dream Guitars.

Great guitars are part of the reason for the second CD, the other major part is Grammy Award winner, Al Petteway. Those of you who are familiar with the site, know Al as the guy who plays everything from sweet acoustic fingerstyle guitar to down home banjo & mandolin to electric lead with attitude. He’s also a wonderful composer who wrote all the ’56 second wonders’ on our site. Those sound clips that everyone wants TAB for.

“Dream Guitars Volume Two: Guitars of Distinction” will feature additionally amazing original compositions by Al Petteway played on some of the most incredible instruments on the planet.  The project will also include a book of sheet music and tablature making it a wonderful learning tool for Fingerstyle guitar players.

Support this project by contributing to our Kickstarter campaign today.

 

Sincerely,

 

Paul Heumiller

Dream Guitars

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Dream Guitars Q&A with Konarak Reddy

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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 have you been playing Fingerstyle?

I have been playing fingerstyle off and on for about 40 years. But I started concentrating solely on fingerstyle about 15 years ago when I performed at Peter Finger’s “Open Strings Festival” in Osnabruck, Germany. Around the age of 13, I first began playing the guitar and it was an acoustic steel string guitar (nylon string guitars were not available in India back then) and I started out by studying western classical guitar from the “Carcassi Classical Guitar Method” book.

What styles are you blending together? Is it Indian classical music or folk music?

I blend styles that range from western classical, jazz, rock, Brazilian, North and South Indian classical and from my experiences of life.

As a child growing up here in India in the 50’s I lived with plurality and multi-culturalism. Every morning I heard the Muslim Mulla’s call echoing from the neighborhood mosque as well as the traditional Subrabhatham, a Sankrit chant sung by the famous M.S.Subbalakshmi playing on temple speakers. We had the Andrew sisters on Radio Ceylon and the western classical music of Beethoven, Chopin, Bach and Tchaikovsky on 33 and 78rpm records at home. We had the churches and the choirs. We had concerts of the great South and North Indian musicians of our time and we also listened to Jimi Hendrix, The Grateful Dead, The Who, Ten Years After, Miles Davis whose LP’s we would exchange amongst us friends.

Where did you learn western music skills?

Well, I studied western classical guitar in India and took exams from Trinity and Royal College of Music, London which are held in India annually. After that, I toured India extensively with my rock band. In ’76, I went to Berklee to study jazz and in ’89 to Musicians Institute, Hollywood. I lived in Los Angeles for 6 years, teaching and playing. Finally, I returned to India in 1993 to focus on my music.

What musicians / artists were influences on you along the way?

Lalgudi Jayram, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Bismillah Khan, Ali Akbar Khan, Carl Jung, Jimi Hendrix, Andre Segovia, Flute Mahalingam, The TibetanBook of the Dead, Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin…

What else would you like our readership to know about you?

I am very fortunate to be born in India a few years after Indian Independence and that too to parents from a mixed marriage, both of whom were artists. The whole world was open to me. I was not confined by tradition, language or thought.

The Freedom Movement was initially led by minds who were fluent in English, aware of world affairs and not afraid to break with tradition. Later, Mahatma Gandhi took this movement to the masses.

So today, when foreign artists and musicians come to India with folded hands, taking their shoes off, dressed in Indian clothes and try to learn from our traditional systems, they do what most hesitant guests do in a new country. They get mesmerized by the brilliance of the traditional systems. The logic, the mathematics, the return to the sum (one), the Raga system, konakol etc. Fusing, trying to mix and match western harmony and Indian melody and rhythm.

But for people like me who grew up in an Indian environment speaking English and equally comfortable with Jimi Hendrix and Ravi Shanker from an early age, well versed with all the influences of post colonial India, mixing styles and genres was a natural process of assimilation. We own it and can practice it with easy irreverence.

I would love readers to contact me on Facebook, share their comments and also to view my music links:

https://www.facebook.com/konarak.reddy?ref=tn_tnmn
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2DMYe5YHq6U
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORbnRUHZN18
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6kO6SBmCPY

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What is a Crossover Guitar?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

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

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

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Mermer

Learning to Play Guitar

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Meditating through Music

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

Here’s how I approach it…

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

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

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

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

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Fanned Fret Guitars

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Paul Heumiller’s McConnell SJ Fanned Fret

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

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

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


Sexauer Fanned Fret Guitar 24.9″ – 25.4″ Scales

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

 

* http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fanned_Fret_Guitars
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Mountain Song Guitars by Ken Jones Available at Dream Guitars

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The beginning of 2014 brings to us an amazing 2013 Mountain Song Odalisque Claro Walnut/Carpathian Acoustic Guitar, built by our very own Ken Jones. Ken is our primary luthier here at Dream Guitars for repair work. Ken, a proud member of the Guild of American Luthiers, also builds stringed instruments including custom, hand-built acoustic guitars and mandolins under the name Mountain Song Guitars nearby in Candler NC.  Recently we invited him to start building his amazing Mountain Song Guitars for us as well and this one certainly does not disappoint!!

The Odalisque is Ken’s original body shape and makes for a perfect midsize guitar that is about controlled power. For this guitar, Ken selected some beautiful highly figured Flamed Walnut and Carpathian Spruce. This guitar also features a Venetian Cutaway, a Custom Interlocking Ebony and Ziricote rosette, and comes with an Ameritage Hardshell case. “This is the best sounding Walnut guitar I’ve ever played . The bass projects perfectly, with a bit of OM style snap, the midrange is warm and lush and the trebles are sweet and blossom beautifully. Ken added wonderful touches including Armrest and Ribrest Bevel, Red Perfling lines around the entire guitar and an elegant Ziricote Fingerboard , Rosette and Bridge. Welcome Ken Jones to Dream Guitars!” – Paul Heumiller

“Ken Jones’ Mountain Song Guitars Odalisque is one of the best fingerstyle guitars I’ve ever played. It has beautiful woods and a perfect neck shape and size. The tone is balanced and clear with lots of sweetness in the high end and a nice controlled bass. I would buy it right now if I could. I love it.” – Al Petteway

Another note on Ken – He also offers individualized guitar building instruction ranging from one day workshops targeting specific aspects of the construction process, to long term courses covering the entire guitar-building process from wood selection all the way through to final setup.

“For me the best compliment I can give Ken Jones is that I have one of his Baritone Fan Fret guitars on order for 2014. I’ve been so impressed with the originality of his designs and most importantly the satisfying tone of his instruments that I just had to have one. Inspiration and passion are how I judge guitars and Mountain Song guitars have both in spades!” – Paul Heumiller

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Tony McManus Private Stock

The Showstopper – 2003 Martin D-50 Deluxe Brazilian – Limited Edition

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 an instrument. Not withstanding its amazing appointments, this baby sounds amazing. Lush, tight basses are easily coaxed from this beauty, along with well defined mids and trebles with just the right chime and sparkle.

The extensive use of abalone, outlined in mother-of-pearl, represents the pinnacle of fine craftsmanship by the team at Pearl Works, under the watchful eye of legendary inlay artist, Larry Seifel, before his untimely passing.

The Tree of Life motif is brilliantly executed, flowing gracefully up the fingerboard onto the headstock, while abalone purflings wrap around all edges.

This extremely rare find comes with a letter of authentication and custom leather-bound case with built-in analog hygrometer.

“There’ so much to love about this highly collectible Martin D-50, I hardly know where to start! Of course, the fingerboard inlay is incredible, but one of my favorite details is the abalone herringbone purflings. They just add a great, subtle glow to the perimeter of the body. Not to be outdone by the shellwork, the woods used are lovely and unusual. The pale Brazilian Rosewood is paired beautifully with the heavily bearclawed Sitka Spruce top. Of course, this bad boy has all that legendary dreadnought tone — big fat bass notes and chimey trebles seem to sustain for days, and will have all the banjo pickers at the Feed n Seed running for cover! This is a terrific opportunity to acquire the cornerstone to a museum-worthy guitar collection.” – Paul Heumiller

“I had the chance to play one of these before and it’s quite a thrill to hold a guitar like this one. You might want to put this in a nice display case because the inlay done by Pearl Works is amazing and incredibly detailed. By the way, it’s fun to play as well.” – Al Petteway

Click Here for the Full Listing, Audio, Video and Specs

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Guitar nails, yes you can go to the salon…

Gel nails look very natural, they are clear and just a bit shinier than your normal nail. I typically get nice comments on them when folks notice them and it’s a great conversation starter.

Last night I was sitting in the salon getting my nails done when I realized I should do an article as so many players ask about my nails at the shop. There are many ways to go and it’s a personal decision for each player. But here’s what I do and how I got there.

When I initially started playing Fingerstyle I used my own natural nails. The nails were weak, though especially at the end where they often broke, a serious impediment to progress so I switched to metal finger pics – the kind that many Blues players use. I used these for several years. They were extremely uncomfortable and I never liked the metallic attack on the strings.

Then one day I found myself in New York City attending a workshop with Martin Simpson who was one of the instructors. The first song I heard them play was Rosie Anderson and the tone Martin produced was just amazing. Single notes were fat and clear and the overall tone was just beautiful sounding. After the performance we had a chance to meet and chat and he showed me his acrylic nails. Martin told me he goes to the salon every few weeks. I walked out of the door at Columbia University down the street to the first salon I could find and gave them my right hand!! It was pretty comical actually because they thought I wanted both hands done – I mean it was New York City after all. They didn’t speak much English but as soon as I made the motion of playing air guitar they understood.

This was probably 16 or 17 years ago and back then the acrylic nails were a powder and a resin that were mixed together and applied to the nail. Not a great product as it would dry out the original nail and was prone to chipping more often than it should. However over the past few years, a new acrylic nail gel product came out that is not only healthier for your real nail but much more durable and in fact a bit more flexible and better sounding.

The process is pretty simple, as the name implies – the product, which is a gel, goes on thick and gooey and levels itself. If it is your first time and if you want your nails to be longer  they will first apply some fake nail tips to form a bridge for the new gel nail to go over. You then place your hand under a UV light which hardens and cures the gel in short order (warning this can get hot and burning, pull them out for a few seconds to cool and then reinsert them). There’s a few iterations of sanding your nails and adding coats of gel and drying under the UV. This takes about 30 or 40 minutes, then you are ready to go home and play. Well almost. One of the great benefits of this product is shaping. The standard nail file goes from course to fine so you can experiment with beveling your nail and polishing it to different ranges of smooth for the particular tone that you want for your music. Think about the bevel on your favorite pick and try for that for starters.

The long-term care of these nails is pretty straightforward as well – about every 2 to 4 weeks depending on your own situation, you can go back to the salon for what is called a fill. This is where they simply fill in the portion of your nail that has grown out and add any more gel towards the base of your fingernail, fixing any minor nicks or things that need to be touched up.

Nail salon price varies around the country but anywhere from $20-$30 will get you a set of these nails, and fills usually range from $15-$20. Well worth it – I used to lose my pics all the time and now I simply can’t leave home without them.

PS -Be sure and get a pedicure while you’re at the salon, it’s not just for the ladies and it’s fabulous!

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What exactly is a baritone guitar?

What exactly is a baritone guitar? A baritone guitar is simply a guitar with longer strings and a larger body so that it can be tuned to play in a lower sounding register. Tunings, scales and chords are identical to any other guitar just the actual pitch changes. A common baritone guitar would have a scale of 28.5″, that is 3″ longer than a typical guitar. This allows you to use heavier strings and to tune down a 4th or 5th. For instance a common tuning would be Standard Tuning but down a 5th to A-D-G-C-E-A. The relationship between the strings remains exactly like standard tuning, so you play all the same shapes for your chords and scales, but they sound at a different pitch. An open E chord in the first fret would sound like an A chord.

You can also use any alternate or open tuning variation for instance DADGAD tuning from A to A or G to G on the outside strings. The actual pitch is somewhat irrelevant and is dictated by the gauge of strings used and the construction of the instrument. Dream Guitars owner Paul Heumiller, a long time baritone player says, “I play in many tunings on my baritone guitars and I also like to experiment with a variety of strings. For instance I will use a lighter gauge string and tune up higher to B or B-flat on my baritones or I’ll use very heavy strings so that I can get down to a low G on alternate tunings like C9. The same guitar can do a wide variety of things with a little experimentation. It’s also quite fun and gives you a lot of colors if you’re a performer or recording artist. The emotions that you can get from a baritone guitar are unlike anything you can get on a regular guitar.”

While it’s true that many players use low tunings on a normal scale guitar, there is a fullness, depth and beauty that only comes with the longer string length. Other common baritone scales range from 27 or 27 1/2 inches on the short side, and up to the 28.5 inches referred to earlier. The player will feel a bit more of a reach in the left arm due to the longer scale, but it is very easy to play and many players enjoy the extra room it gives for the fingers to do their work.

Baritone string sets are more common now as the instrument has become more popular. D’addario and many other companies offer sets for baritone guitar which would be .017 to .070. Many players also use a medium set shifted over using just the second through sixth strings and then add a bass string of your choice from .060 to .070. A thinner bass can add a bit more string attack while the larger is more round and deep.

Owner Paul Heumiller on why he plays baritone guitars: “For me it’s all about inspiration for my songwriting. I started playing guitar to write music and it has always been my passion. An instrument with a voice that moves you to write something better or different than you normally would is incredibly valuable. For me when I play even my most familiar chords but on a lower tuned baritone, it changes the emotion and the feeling of the music. It leads me somewhere I would not have gone on a regular guitar. I’m a big advocate of having a guitar collection that offers as many different sound possibilities. Why have 10 guitars all the same scale? In my collection I have short scale high tuned guitars, normal scale, fan fret, baritone, bass and nylon string instruments. Inspiration is always just an arms reach away for me as a writer.”

Dream Guitars offers baritone instruments from many of the world’s top custom makers. In addition we have wonderful performer priced instruments as well from Veillette, Furch and Gold Tone. Also keep a look out for the first Dream Guitars labeled baritone models coming in 2014 custom designed by Paul Heumiller and Ken Jones of Dream Guitars, incorporating the features we have seen that really work for baritone over the years.

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Black and Gold Friday – November 29th 2013

Dream Guitars is happy to announce its inaugural Dream Guitars “Black and Gold” Friday where some of the best deals of the year will be offered on our in-stock instruments.

This sale has begun and is presented throughout the day right here on this blog as well as our Facebook page.

Deals Good Until Current In-Stock Inventory Runs Out or Monday, December 2nd at 5pm, whichever comes first.


Current Deals – Click on the Image for More Details:

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*Dream Guitars is not responsible for any errors or omissions on the deals offered during its inaugural Black Friday event on November 29, 2013. Offers subject to change without notice.

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Brand New “Relic look” Guitar from Jim Merrill

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Check this out! This is a Brand New “Relic look” guitar from Jim Merrill. Merrill guitars are synonymous with great prewar tone. Jim employs all the building techniques that made the old Martin guitars the ‘Holy Grails’ we all revere including premium woods, hide glue construction and even the sea snail dot inlays like Martin used.

This particular guitar is a custom “Relic” C-18 based on the 1937 Martin D-18 and aged by Jim to have the mojo of a 1930s guitar but you also get the flawless performance of a modern build by a most talented maker.

Full Specifications:

  • Hand carved neck
  • Hand carved braces
  • Hot hide glue build
  • Nitro-cellulose lacquer finish
  • Red spruce top and braces, antique maple bridge-plate
  • Ancient Honduras Mahogany back, sides, and neck
  • Ebony fingerboard and bridge
  • Brown tortoise celluloid binding and end-wedge
  • Cloth side reinforcement strips
  • Mahogany neck and tail block
  • Spanish Cedar kerfed lining
  • Sea Snail dot inlays (just like the old guitars)
  • Brazilian Rosewood headplate
  • MOP logo
  • Antique Elephant Ivory nut and saddle
  • Galalith bridge pins/end pin
  • Brown tortoise celluloid pickguard
  • Waverly 1129 tuners

Price: $7,895

Contact Us for More Info!! 828-658-9795 or [email protected]

 

 

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The reason I started Dream Guitars goes back to one guitar…

The reason I started Dream Guitars goes back to one guitar, a guitar that inspired my music in such a way that I was changed forever. I had met Fingerstyle guitarist Martin Simpson and he was mentoring me on my guitar playing. Martin encouraged me to reach beyond what I thought I needed and get the very best guitar I could afford as he insured me it would inspire my music. I trusted Martin and did just that. I scraped together every dime I could to buy a guitar that at the time I could not afford. With approximately $7,000 I picked up a Stefan Sobell Brazilian Rosewood guitar handmade in England.

During the first few days with the instrument I learned so much about my playing. Subtle nuances and techniques that I was already doing that my inferior instrument could not produce I now heard.  On the flip side, because of the instrument’s round trebles and great sustain I had to learn how to really emote on guitar. I was beginning to better understand my playing and where it could go.

But perhaps the biggest aspect of that first hand made guitar was the impact it had on my playing time. I could not walk by that guitar without stopping and grabbing it even for a moment. I went from practicing an hour a day to practicing three or four. I took it everywhere I went excited about the next time that I would hear its beautiful treble notes that were full like a clarinet. I couldn’t wait to hear the long lingering notes that seem to get stronger overtime. I couldn’t wait to put a few more miles of wear on its top finish because I was playing it so aggressively to get the very most sound out of it, making it mine with every stroke.

This was not just a guitar, it was a partner in my musical experience, it was true inspiration which enabled me to write hundreds of songs and elevate my playing tenfold in a very short time. This is why makers build these fine instruments spending hundreds of hours to do so. This is why I started Dream Guitars – to help you find your inspiration.

-Paul Heumiller

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Andrew White Guitars Now Available at Dream Guitars

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For more than a decade, renowned West Virginia luthier Andrew White has built an amazing reputation. Andrew has become well known for his ability to successfully pair traditional and non-traditional elements such as fan frets and modified body shapes. Many of his personally handmade guitars now demand more than $10,000 per piece.

In his personal shop, Andrew builds only a handful of guitars each year. In an effort to bring his instruments to a larger audience, he partnered with a well respected Korean guitar manufacturer, Artec Sound Co. The result are instruments that are incredibly consistent in their voice and playability, making use of modern designs with an emphasis on high quality fit and finish.

Andrew and Artec have together created three body sizes including the Freja, Eos, and Cybele. Each of these models are also offered in a variety of different tone woods and options.

Over the years, Dream Guitars has consistently received requests from our fans to expand our offering to include quality instruments in the lower price range between $500 and $3,000. This year, Dream Guitars did just that by adding a handful of new, fine instruments within this range. Andrew White’s new line of quality manufactured guitars was a no-brainer to be included in this initial expansion.

“It was fate that when I saw Andrew at the Healdsburg Guitar Festival this year we were looking for great guitars in an entry level pricing and he has just launched his line. It is exactly the kind of guitar we were looking for, a modern design with serious tone and quality build. Our clients will love these!” – Paul Heumiller

“These Andrew White guitars have an incredibly consistent tone and playability. The neck feels good and seems to have a slightly smaller string spacing than standard which makes it easier to reach those bigger stretches. The fit and finish is really nice and the woods are beautiful. ” – Al Petteway

Dream Guitars currently carries a beautiful representation of each of Andrew’s manufactured models. Click Here to view our current
inventory.

Want to see one of these bad boys in action? Click Here to watch Al Petteway himself playing an Andrew White 100 NAT, only $599 at DG.

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Dream Guitars Announces More Affordable Quality Acoustic Instruments

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At Dream Guitars we are fortunate to have a clientele that includes the hard working guitarist you see play on a Friday night in your home town to some of the world’s top collectors. Over the years our site has become a favorite of guitar lovers the world over and we frequently receive letters of appreciation for all the hard work we do providing the most complete resource for handmade acoustic guitars on the planet.

Many of our fans have been asking for a wider range of instruments and we are listening. Until now we have rarely offered guitars under $3,000 but in an attempt to help all players find the best guitars on the planet we are now.

We are currently adding a hand picked selection of fine guitars, ukuleles and more from $400-3000 that include some brand new and exciting designs by names like:

  • Avian Guitars Designed By Michael Bashkin & Harry Fleishman
  • And more!!

Paul Heumiller himself and the team at Dream Guitars are choosing only truly fine guitars in every price range. So whether you need a workhorse guitar for bar gigs, a second guitar for a vacation home, or just a great guitar that won’t break the bank, DG will have it all.

We are very excited with this new expansion and thanks to all of our clients for telling us what you need and want from Dream Guitars.

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Dream Guitars Now Carries Gold Tone Guitars

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Dream Guitars has always specialized in the high-end instruments hand made by the finest luthiers. This remains our passion and purpose, but over the years we’ve had repeated requests to offer working man guitars suitable for stage and travel.

Many players and fans of DG were going unserved by us and they wanted us to be their shop. They trust us to choose only great instruments regardless of the price point.

So we set out to do just that.

We are now adding brands such as Gold Tone. Gold Tone was started by the husband and wife team of Wayne and Robyn Rogers whose goal is to produce professional quality instruments at an affordable price.

Gold Tone has now wound up on stages the world over with performers such as Bella Fleck, Bill Keith and Buddy Miller just to name a few.

Dream Guitars owner Paul Heumiller has this to say about Gold Tone, “One of the aspects of offering Gold Tone I’m most excited about is that the price point will give players a chance to try something new. Maybe a guitarist will try an Octave Mandolin or a Steel Guitar. Maybe a songwriter will get to try a Baritone guitar and be inspired in a new direction. To me that’s what makes Gold Tone special, they are truly about making music.”

We will be stocking a wide array of instruments from Gold Tone including Paul Beard Designed Resonators, Baritones, Mandolins, Octave Mandolins and more. We are also happy to order anything else you need. Just holler…

Gold Tone as well as other new brands such as Stonebridge, Composite Acoustic and Andrew White Guitars, are available for immediate purchase in our newly improved Online Store. Click Here to Browse!

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The Dry Air is Here – It’s Time to Humidify

With Fall’s cooler temperatures and dry air it’s the perfect time to think about your guitars. Just as your skin begins to get dry this time of year so does the thin wood on your fine guitar. Humidity control may be the single most important factor in preventing problems with instruments.

You will know if you guitar begins to get dry if you start to feel the frets protruding from the fingerboard. That is a sign that moisture is leaving the wood and the ebony fingerboard is actually shrinking. Less noticeably you may see that the top is actually sinking as well, this happens as the wood shrinks and pulls tighter. This is what causes a bit of a dip in front of the bridge towards the sound hole on older instruments.

“Here at Dream Guitars, we see a lot of older instruments with cracks or stability issues due to poor humidity control.” says Paul Heumiller, owner of Dream Guitars, “Fortunately humidity is very easy to control. Modern in-case humidifiers are wonderfully easy to use and there are also hygrometers (gauges that measure humidity) that attach to the inside of your cases or can be place in your playing room for every day viewing.

We at Dream Guitars highly recommend the Planet Waves product line for Humidity control. Click here to view the Planet Waves Humidifier products we have in stock.

Also if you have a number of guitars, you may want to consider a room humidifier such as those available at many of the big home stores. The key here is to have a hygrometer as well so you know exactly what is going on in the room.

Whether your solution is a guitar case or room humidifier, you want to keep the moisture between 40 to 50% humidity all year long. Here at Dream Guitars we have a built-in humidity system that keeps our shop at exactly 45% humidity all year. That means adding moisture once the heat comes on in October or November.

Contact us today for more advice or click here to take advantage of our recommended humidification products currently in stock in the Dream Guitars online store.

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Hot news from Tippin Guitars: New model, the Forte,and two new Al Petteway Signature Models coming down the pike

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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 one of his most creative projects to date.

The Forte, based on his Crescendo model, was inspired by Tippin’s own personal guitar preferences. He found a way to boost the richness of the Crescendo — he increased the width of lower bout while maintaining the balance — and it’s slightly wider (3/16th”) at its widest.

Our own Paul Heumiller and Al Petteway had the privilege of playing the new Forte while out in Healdsburg. “The new Forte model from Bill Tippin has everything I love about the Crescendo, balance, clarity, power and Bill’s trademark full trebles, but it adds a bit more fullness to the bass for the player that enjoys a bit more thump in the chest. Outstanding!” – Paul H.

The Original Tippin Crescendo Model

The Crescendo, which is considered to be the cornerstone of Tippin’s entire line of guitars, is large yet versatile. Imagine a 14-fret OMT with the rich tone normally found in an 00012-fret size. The Crescendo manages to combine the feel of a 14-fret OMT while preserving the rich tone of a 12-fret body model, replete with incredible tone, balance and projection.

Dream Guitars has a pre-owned 2005 Crescendo in stock featuring Brazilian Rosewood and Carpathian Spruce – contact us if you’re interested in acquiring!

And, by the way, our own Paul Heumiller is anxiously awaiting to take delivery of his personal, custom Crescendo. Paul’s model is made from Brazilian/Moon spruce with a cutaway, MOP sparkle trim. What makes this custom job so unique is that it includes a short-scale, Fan Fret design, which will perform well in Drop-D, DADGAD and standard tunings.

The Tippin Al Petteway Signature Model

Also, Bill has embarked on a new build of the Tippin Al Petteway Signature, also based on the Crescendo model. Check out this video demonstration of the Petteway Signature on our YouTube channel. This instrument is representative of Bill at the top of his game, and when you listen to our studio recording you’ll understand what we mean. Interested in purchasing the incoming Tippin Al Petteway Signature model? Contact us today to learn more about your reservation options.

We do also have a pre-owned Al Petteway Signature in stock as well if you would rather not wait for the incoming guitar. This 2008 Crescendo Al Petteway Signature was actually originally purchased by Al Petteway himself and was the first Signature model ever made! This beauty features brick red Brazilian Rosewood, Moon Harvested European Spruce, an armrest bevel, beveled cutaway, and new heel design. Click here to learn more.

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Exclusive Opportunity! Reserve this Stunning, Custom Grit Laskin Guitar, inspired by Dream Guitars, Today!

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This is exciting stuff, folks. We all know that Grit Laskin is one of the finest luthiers around and is widely considered as a master of inlay work. Today, Dream Guitars announces that he is working on a custom guitar that we have made available for reservation with delivery expected in December.

Our own Paul Heumiller worked with Grit to develop the basic inlay ideas and Laskin took off running. As you can see in these pictures, the design is amazing, intricate and just short of groundbreaking.

Here is some of what Grit himself had to say about this piece:

One of the most beloved and influential guitarists was the legend who passed away just last year, Doc Watson. I began thinking about Doc, and about the natural world and the title from Shakespeare popped into my head: ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream,’ which takes place in a forest. The more I read about Doc, the more his life inspired me: His musical beginnings, the events in his life that shaped him and the fact that what gave him the musical bug was the shape-note hymns sung by his mother. My brain locked onto that seminal influence and also latched onto the literal meaning of the word shape — this old-style singing shaped his life, yes, but the notes themselves also provided physical shapes in which I could place scenes and elements from his life. Bingo.

“I’m putting a large portrait of Doc picking a guitar on the headstock in the same realistic I used for John Lennon on the ‘Imagine’ guitar. Flowing down the fret board are the seven basic shapes of shape notes (do, re, mi, fa, so, la, ti) large enough to place within elements such as Doc’s earliest musical instruments, his early solo album, ‘Southbound,’ which  first brought him to prominence. In fact, the working title of the piece is ‘Southbound.’

Talk about creative thinking.

If you’re jazzed about this guitar and Laskin’s work no one would blame you if you missed our announcement, so here it is again: This guitar is available and you can reserve it now by contacting the Dream Guitars shop near Asheville, NC, right away. If you miss this opportunity, or want to see more of Grit Laskin’s work, check out the gallery on his homepage.

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10 DG Deals of Summer – Best Prices of the Year!

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Seems like every day there is something new to be excited about here at Dream Guitars. Today is no different. In fact this may be one of the most exciting days of the year.

Our new inventory for the fall has been ordered. This means we need to make room for these new instruments and move out a handful of current guitars in stock.

In light of this, today we are kicking off our “10 DG Deals of Summer” which are our best prices of the year on some of our most desired inventory!!

Each day between now and the end of the month, we will be announcing a rock bottom price deal on an instrument we have in stock.

And as fast these deals come, they go as quickly. All deals during the “10 DG Deals of Summer” expire 10 days after being posted here.

So without any further delay, let the deals begin!!

Check back to this blog daily between today and the end of the month for New Daily Deals

Deal of the Day for August 21st – Taylor Presentation 12 String: Regular Price $6,175 – DG Deal of Summer Price DEAL EXPIRED

 

 

Deal of the Day for August 22nd– Huss & Dalton TD-R Custom – Dreadnought Acoustic Guitar with Brazilian: Regular Price $6,175 – DG Deal of Summer Price DEAL EXPIRED

 

 

Deal of the Day for August 23rd– 2010 Keller six string – OM – Brazilian Rosewood, Cedar Top: Regular Price $6,175 – DG Deal of Summer Price DEAL EXPIRED

 

 

Deal of the Day for August 24th – 2004 Alberico, Fabrizio OM – German Spruce Top and Cocobolo Rosewood Back & Sides: Regular Price $5,660 – DG Deal of Summer Price DEAL EXPIRED

 

 

Deal of the Day for August 25th – 1996 Collings 000-2HSB Sitka Spruce Top, Indian Rosewood Back & Sides: Regular Price $3,395 – DG Deal of Summer Price DEAL EXPIRED

 

 

Deal of the Day for August 26th -2012 Bresnan GS – Brazilian Rosewood Back & Sides and Adirondack Red Spruce Top: Regular Price $6,175 – DG Deal of Summer Price DEAL EXPIRED

 

 

Deal of the Day for August 27th – Klein Guitars 12 String, Bouzouki Acoustic Guitar: Regular Price $10,295 – DG Deal of Summer Price DEAL EXPIRED

 

 

Deal of the Day for August 28th – New Greenfield G-3 in Palo Escrito and Moonspruce Acoustic Guitar: Regular Price $17,355 – DG Deal of Summer Price DEAL EXPIRED

 

 

Deal of the Day for August 29th – 2010 Klein Guitars Pink Ivory Moon – Rare Pink Ivory Wood Back and Sides with Rosewood Interior Layer: Regular Price $15,445 – DG Deal of Summer Price DEAL EXPIRED

 

 

Deal of the Day for August 30th – 2005 Williams Kiwi Guitar – Beautiful woods, Taraire for the back and Kauri for the top: Reduced Price $4,115 – DG Deal of Summer FURTHER REDUCED Price DEAL EXPIRED

 

 

Ready to Order? Call Us Today 828-658-9795

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Let Al Petteway teach you how to play “Tennessee Mountain Rag,” featured on the “Dream Guitars, Vol. 1” CD and in the book of tab

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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 and tablature book.

For the lesson, Al plays a Tippin Al Petteway Signature Model with Brazilian Rosewood and Moon Spruce, built by one of the great luthiers in the United States, Bill Tippin of Tippin Guitars.

“In this style of music, everything is out there to be had,” Al explains when discussing his writing method for this song, which taps into many other tunes and progressions in the genre, and the way he puts it all together to make it his own. This is songwriting, folks.

Al also details his chords as well as a cool “chicken picking” technique that he uses for a neat walk-down. He also details optional rhythm choices, which he points out are reminiscent of the style of Chet Atkins. He also shows you a neat lick he learned from listening to Atkins.

You can watch the video here on our Dream Guitars YouTube channel. The “Dream Guitars, Vol. 1” CD and complete book of tablature is available in our online store. All of this and more is available in the online shopping cart.

You should also visit his website at www.alandamy.com to learn more about Al Petteway, his wife, Amy.

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Take Care of Your Dream Guitar… Get Yourself a Dream Guitar Case!

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The pleasure of owning your very own Dream guitar — Tippin, Traugott, Martin, Laskin, McConnell or any other instrument from our collection or from one of your lucky finds — can only be ensured with proper care and maintenance… and that starts with the right case. Get into one today!

Dream Guitars has a solid collection of outstanding guitar cases from trusted brands including Main Stage, Hoffee and others.

How about a little primer on exactly which guitar cases we have to offer, shall we?

First off are the magical Main Stage cases, which are comparable to Calton Cases, another popular brand. In fact, Main Stage was founded by two former employees of Calton and these guys remain true to the quality and care that helped make Calton a big name. Now they’re doing it on their own and the Main Stage brand has earned an excellent reputation for superbly made, professional grade hard-shell fiberglass touring cases for stringed instruments. Each case is handmade for your exact instrument, featuring custom fit, color and finish.

We order all of our Main Stage cases with Thinsulate thermal padding and granite finish. Custom Order prices may vary.

Another of our most popular cases is from Hoffee…. you won’t be disappointed.

“We are very proud to offer Hoffee Carbon Fiber cases,” our own Paul Heumiller is proud to tell you. “They are light, super strong and worthy of holding your Dream Guitar.”

Hoffee cases are priced right and the strong, lightweight, carbon fiber cases are custom Made in the USA. Hoffee is proud of its state-of-the-art mission, from the materials to the process itself.  The carbon fiber shells are stronger and lighter than other wooden, ABS (plastic) or fiberglass cases.

Dream Guitars offers custom sizing and an array of colors, allowing 4-6 weeks for delivery. Check out our store — where we also have cases from Cedar Creek, Colorado and Ameritage for sale — and contact us for details. If you’re in the area, stop by the shop in Weaverville, NC, just outside of Asheville, and explore.

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Slide Master Steve James Talks About His Musical Life in a Dream Guitars YouTube Exclusive

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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, “Guitar Rag,” widely regarded as the first slide guitar song ever recorded (1923).

He also sat down in front of the camera to talk about his life in music; click here to check it out on our YouTube channel. Steve recalls his first records (a collection of Lead Belly 78 RPMs he got the age of 4), his first guitar (a 1963 Gibson J-50) and his early days in New York City studying under such greats as Freddie Lewis and Stan McGee. He also points out the importance of the lessons he learned listening to the unique techniques of Blind Willie Johnson and the alternate tunings of Muddy Waters and Bukka White, some of the unsung heroes of the bottleneck slide blues.

He wraps things up talking about American blues music, calling it “our great export… this is what we offer to the world. People love our music and love to listen to it.”

This video is brought to you by Dream Guitars, proud to be a National Resophonic dealer… and a good friend of Steve James! Contact us today to get your very own National steel! Visit www.stevejames.com for more about Steve!

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The One About the Time When Tony McManus and Dream Guitars Made an Award-Winning Album

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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 dog Paul Heumiller was at the Swannanoa Gathering, which included a week of playing, meeting other musicians and generally having a blast with amazing music in the background. There, Paul met the Celtic steel-string legend and the two hit it off in a big way. As the week drew to a close, Paul made Tony an offer he couldn’t refuse.

“Next time you make an album,” Paul said, “let me know and I’ll bring a bunch of [Dream] guitars.”

Tony called a few months later, and Paul quickly found himself loading up the car with 19 guitars before driving out from Weaverville, NC, to Nashville, Tenn., and the famed Compass Records recording studio, where all of the Outlaws music was recorded, a studio that had welcomed Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson and Hank Williams.

“What a great vibe,” Paul explained.

For a week, Paul prepped guitars and Tony made music with several guitars, including a Greenfield, a Wingert, and a Matsuda, among others, which he selected not only because of the sound but that Tony believed that each luthier’s guitar was the right instrument for a specific song and its character.

The result of this magical week was Tony’s album, “The Maker’s Mark: The Dream Guitars Sessions.” You can find the album in our Dream Guitars shop by clicking here. “Maker’s Mark” is also available on Amazon. Paul feels strongly that this is “one of the finest solo guitar records ever” because of Tony’s expert selection process.

Each unique musical piece brings tonal variety. For the final track, “Valse de Belugas,” or “Waltz of the Belugas,” Tony used all 19 guitars and added a beautiful, 12-string Veillette Gryphon.

For the record, Acoustic Guitar Magazine has said this about Tony and his music: “Few guitarists can present Celtic music with the gusto and nuance they possess when played on fiddles or bagpipes. Tony McManus is one of those few.”

The album won the Canadian Folk Music Award in the solo instrumental category that year, and we at Dream Guitars remain as proud now as we were then.

Tony has also just released his latest recording entitled “Mysterious Boundaries.” You can check it out by visiting Tony’s website.

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CONNECT WITH US

Showroom (by appointment only):

108 Monticello Road, Suite 400,
Weaverville NC, 28787

Store Hours: Mon-Fri 9am-4pm EST

Contact Us
Make an Appointment

ABOUT

COMMUNITY

POLICIES

EDUCATION