We love to see a Ryan with some years under its belt. This 2001 Mission Grand Concert doesn’t disappoint! Only a few shallow love bites here to let you know this Ryan hasn’t been wasting away in its case. The voice is lively and responsive, with more dry mids than you would usually find on a Cedar-topped guitar, and that gives this particular Mission a defined response that holds up well to both fingertips and flatpicks. Straight-grained Indian Rosewood back and sides, venetian cutaway, and Kevin’s 25.7” fingerstyle scale length. 18 years strong and counting, this is a sweet slice of the Ryan & Dream Guitars life.

Other keywords: lutherie, luthier, finger style, abalone, red cedar, tkl

Kevin Ryan’s Paradiso model offers, in one instrument, both the warmth and color of a smaller bodied guitar and the attack and projection of a larger one. We’ve got an excellent example of that balance in this 2014 Paradiso in Cocobolo and master grade Sitka Spruce. Fabulous fit and finish from tailblock to tuners, with Titanium bridge pins, Kevin’s acoustic flutes arm bevel and 25.7” scale—this Paradiso is a smooth operator under your hands.
The lower bout is a trim 15 1/4”, and with a Florentine Cutaway and slim neck profile you’ll find this Ryan to practically play itself. We in particular appreciate the smoothness of the response, and this Paradiso’s ability to remain crisp and articulate even when we dipped down into C tuning territory. Really, we were hard pressed to find note we didn’t like!

Other keywords: finger style, fingerpicking, tkl, paridiso

Kevin Ryan’s guitars are known for being methodically engineered for fingerstyle music and dressed to the nines with ergonomic features. We recently landed a whopper that exemplifies all of that and more. This 2009 Nightingale was custom built for a client who needed a thinner body for playability, so Kevin reduced the depth of the sides by a half inch, and added his acoustic flutes and arm bevel and a short 25” scale fretboard to make this instrument as effortless as possible. Primo-grade Madagascar Rosewood make up the arched back and sides, which Kevin paired with a set of his Caspian Spruce (Picea Orientalis), and a rose inlaid into the headstock from none other than inlay virtuoso Larry Robinson. The neck is reinforced with graphite rods, which enabled Kevin to pare the neck carve down to a trim C shape that flattens slightly at the peak.

Additionally, there’s an L.R. Baggs Lyric pickup installed, a Calton flight case custom fit for this Nightingale’s unique dimensions, and a fresh set of frets ready for action. The voice has opened up into a sweet panoply of overtones and clear fundamental since 2009. The trebles have that round quality reminiscent of bells, and we love how silkily the bass notes roll out of this guitar. With Kevin’s acoustic flutes, the player gets a bit extra in their ear, which is a wonderful boon when you’re on stage, or playing with another musician. In short, this Ryan Nightingale is the complete package for playability with no sacrifice to tone and projection.

Other keywords: nightinggale, lutherie, maddie rosewood, mother of pearl, mop, abalone, florentine cutaway

Practically brand new, this 2015 Paradiso Grand Concert from Kevin Ryan is everything you could hope for out of a medium-sized fingerstyle guitar: flawless articulation, consistent balance across the registers, glassy playability–and that’s just for starters. Part of Ryan’s signature sound is a great balance between warmth and clarity, which this Paradiso exhibits handsomely; passages in Standard, DADGAD, or even Cadd9 have a delicious color in the middle registers that fills out the voice and offsets the sparkle of the treble strings for an even response.

If you’re looking to record, this Paradiso is an excellent choice! When the glitter of Paua Abalone is used to delineate the Malaysian Blackwood back and sides from the European Spruce top, the result is gorgeous, elegant. Of course, the arm bevel with Kevin’s “Acoustic Flutes” doesn’t hurt, either!

For the fingerstylist who needs a guitar that can keep pace with whatever wild tunings strikes his fancy, and can add prodigious strength and tone to every arrangement, no matter how grand or subtle–this is the instrument for you. This 2003 Grand Cathedral Fingerstyle from Kevin Ryan is nothing short of awe-inspiring, from its striking Cocobolo Rosewood back and sides, Sitka Spruce top, and delicate Abalone inlay to its rich, enveloping voice and vibrant tone.

No matter what tuning we tried, the Grand Cathedral’s voice remained true, with the bass strings retaining their snap and crackle, and the trebles singing as sweetly as in standard pitch. And what lushness, what complex overtones when we pulled out our favorite fingerstyle pieces! This is the kind of guitar which makes your every tune sound just a little better. With the Ebony armrest and Florentine cutaway, playability isn’t even a question–the Grand Cathedral practically plays itself. We’d love to go on and on about this Ryan, but it’s really something you need to see for yourself to really understand. So what are you waiting for?

Looking for a Kevin Ryan guitar, but unable to foot the bill for a new one? Try out this 2004 Mission Grand Concert for size! With the classic combination of East Indian Rosewood back and sides and a Caspian Spruce top, this MGC provides the player with a lively mix of bright trebles, rumbling bass, and smooth playability. If you want your guitar to do double duty as a fingerstyle instrument and flatpicking powerhouse, we’re confident that this MGC can more than foot the bill. She responds very well to an aggressive attack, but is lightly built for more nuanced arrangements. With a well-balanced tone that’s superb for recording and session playing, this MGC can also rule the stage when you need to play amplified once you plug into the L.R. Baggs I-Beam with onboard preamp.

Altered tunings like DADGAD, this guitar eats for breakfast–it even handled Cadd9 without losing the well-defined edge of the bass strings! Featuring a custom shamrock inlay on the heel cap by Larry Robinson himself, you’ll feel pretty lucky every time you get to pull the Mission Grand Concert out of its Calton flight case to play.