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Add to Compare1996 Somogyi Thin Modified Dreadnought, Indian Rosewood/European Spruce
Take the legendary California Guitar Trio, pair them with Ervin Somogyi, and the results are stunning. Hideyo Moriya of CGT worked with Ervin in 1996 to build this Thin Modified Dreadnought as the ultimate performing guitar, rigged out with a 26-25.125” multiscale fretboard, florentine cutaway, and a thin body design that was further enhanced with a Manzer-style body wedge. The result is a featherweight Somogyi that is equally at home for picks, fingertips, standard tuning, NST, DADGAD, you name it. Straight-grain Indian Rosewood body pairs with European Spruce top and one of Ervin’s famous segmented rosette. Recently, Hideyo had Ray Kraut (appropriate as one of Ervin’s former apprentices) refinish this beauty and remove the original pickup system, making it all acoustic. Hideyo put so much time into this guitar, a refinish was very due! Now it looks gorgeous and ready for more action. Additionally, Ray also converted the previous pickup’s side-mounted preamp into a squared up soundport, giving the player a little more “me in the monitor.” Wrapped up in the original Calton case, itself very familiar with the road but in perfect working order, this 1996 Somogyi Thin Modified Dreadnought is safe and sound. Interested? Give us a shout!
Other keywords: 172, fingerstyle, new standard tuning, fan fret, multi-scale, multi scale, flight case, fingerpicking, lutherie
SOLD Read moreScale Length 25.125 in - 26.25 in Nut Width 1.688 in String Spacing 2.063 in Woods Spruce - European, Rosewood - Indian 
Add to Compare1984 Somogyi Dreadnought, Brazilian Rosewood/Sitka Spruce
Ervin Somogyi may be the grandfather of contemporary fingerstyle guitar-building, but we’ve got a 1984 Dreadnought of his that proves his work excels under a flatpick just as well. We’ve even got a few photos from Ervin showing Dan Crary playing this very guitar as proof. This is a gorgeous example of Brazilian Rosewood and Sitka Spruce, plus a Florentine Cutaway and 25.25” scale, that’s a breeze to play with fingers or picks. The shorter scale sweetens up the treble strings without compromising the bass response, and we love how the balanced middle register fills out the voice.
The setup is dialed into a sweet spot for a variety of attacks, and the strikingly Flamed Mahogany neck is a smooth, slim operator for deft lefthand work. This Somogyi Dread is in great shape, especially considering it’s been cruising along for over 35 years!Other keywords: lutherie, luthier, dreadnaught, birdseye, schaller, brazilain
SOLD Read moreScale Length 25.25 in Nut Width 1.75 in String Spacing 2.25 in Woods Spruce - Sitka, Rosewood - Brazilian 
Add to Compare2014 Somogyi Andamento Jumbo, Brazilian Rosewood/German Spruce
Odds are, if you’ve followed us for any length of time you’ve been exposed to the grandfather of the fingerstyle guitarbuilding, Ervin Somogyi. And if you know anything about his work, you’ll agree that fit and finish, attention to detail, and immense musicality are all hallmarks of his style. Given that, consider how much effort, how many hours, Ervin put into this Andamento Jumbo? To date, Ervin has only built five of these museum-quality guitars. Each of these instruments has come at the cost of many long and painstaking hours at Ervin’s bench.
According to the man himself, “The Andamento guitars are noteworthy in that eleven separate mosaic patterns have been created for it: its back and sides inlaid with ten different mosaic pattern tiles, connected by a latticework of black-white-black purfling lines; and there’s a separate mosaic pattern in the segmented soundhole rosette. Furthermore, the back and side inlays are micromosaic tiles. Each tile comprises of 200 separate pieces of wood. The Andamento guitar has some 200 of these tiles—twenty each of each separate design—and each tile is half the size of a dime. They are perfectly executed despite of their smallness of scale.”
So many details, so many opportunities for failure, yet this 2014 Andamento Jumbo is only a portrait of perfection. Brazilian Rosewood back and sides, German Spruce top with incredible bearclaw figure, and geometric inlays along the back of the neck—we can say without hyperbole that this is one of the most unique guitars of Somogyi’s long career on the planet.
If you’d like to read even more about Ervin’s process, check out the “Special Projects” page on his website: http://esomogyi.com/special-projects/the-andamento-guitars/Other keywords: lutherie, luthier, fingerstyle, inlay, mosaic, tesserae, tiles, museum quality, museum guitar, brazilain
SOLD Read moreScale Length 25 in Nut Width 1.75 in String Spacing 2.25 in Woods Spruce - German, Rosewood - Brazilian 
Add to Compare1977 Somogyi 12-String, Indian Rosewood/Spruce
One of the most well-known names in modern lutherie, Ervin Somogyi. We’ve been lucky to work with his guitars for a number of years, and today we’ve landed a unique piece of Somogyi history: his first 12-String, built in 1977. Originally owned by none other than Alex DeGrassi, this Ervin’s first has Indian Rosewood back and sides and Spruce on top, 12 frets to the body, and a Classical-style mosaic rosette. The body dimensions are slim for a 12-string (14 5/8” across the lower bout), granting a warmth and punchy flavor to the voice. While it doesn’t have the signature bass response that Ervin’s guitars are now known for, this 12-String has a balance and intimacy to it that really lends itself to recording. The setup is slick and easy, the nut coming in at 1 7/8” and the saddle string spacing at 2 5/16”. It’s a fantastic 12-String by itself, and it has the added provenance of being Ervin’s first.
Other keywords: somogyi guitar, lutherie, luthier, the responsive guitar, fingerpicking, 12 string, oakland, gotoh
SOLD Read moreScale Length 25.4 in Nut Width 1.875 in String Spacing 2.313 in Woods Spruce, Rosewood - Indian 
Add to Compare2017 Somogyi Diospyros Modified Dreadnought, Ebony/European Spruce
A feat as only Ervin could achieve. Modified Dreadnought #500, Ervin’s “Diospyros” (Latin for Ebony) guitar, is comprised of over 500 pieces of Ebony and Yellowheart in a tiled spread along the back and sides. The effect, to mirror the paving stones Ervin once saw in a photograph of a Mexican village street, is rendered by painstakingly inlaying irregularly sized and shaped tiles, each with purflings.
According to Ervin, it was “an anonymous street somewhere in Mexico, that was made of paving stones that had been arranged and fitted together by some past work crew. The stones were not fitted together in a grid pattern but were instead set in randomly as far as size and shape went. The entire thing gave a sense of Order in Chaos that very much appealed to me.”
The tiles (none of them perfectly square) are shaped to fit the exact curvature of the body—all 500 of them. Between the tiles, Ervin inlaid over 3000 “grout” segments of green veneers, and this doesn’t include the inlays along the back of the neck. For the top, Ervin picked out a pale European Spruce top and carved a pattern of 13 celtic hounds around the soundhole (eyes of Abalone, backed by handmade Japanese washi paper).
There simply isn’t anything quite like this anywhere else. We looked. It’s a pinnacle of the art form of modern lutherie.
Other keywords: somogyi guitar, lutherie, luthier, the responsive guitar, hoffee, fingerpicking, dadgad, schaller, modified dreadnought, dreadnaught, mod d, md, collection
SOLD Read moreScale Length 25.125 in Nut Width 1.75 in String Spacing 2.25 in Woods Spruce - European, Ebony 
Add to Compare2005 Somogyi Jumbo, Brazilian Rosewood/European Spruce
There are few names that elicit a response among luthiers and players alike like one man’s: Ervin Somogyi. Having elevated the state of lutherie to heretofore unseen heights, Somogyi enjoys a reputation for building the finest fingerstyle guitars for today’s players, with a lengthy waiting list and a stable of apprentices learning Ervin’s master touches firsthand. Accordingly, this 2005 Somogyi Jumbo represents many of the hallmarks of Somogyi’s style: enormous, enveloping bass notes, a florentine cutaway, delicately ornate carving, wedge-shaped sides for player comfort, French Polished top for maximum resonance. From the swooping lower bout (at 16 1/2″) to Ervin’s graceful crenellation at the peak of the headstock, this Jumbo is the very image of perfection.
The Brazilian Rosewood back and sides are razor-straight grained, and the European Spruce top (adorned by what must have been dozens of hours’ work to carve this celtic knot) is pared to maximum responsiveness, making the voice of this Somogyi dynamic and articulate. Built for fingerstyle in 2005, this Jumbo provides wonderful string-to-string balance, replete with haunting treble overtones, and in 2016 the previous owner commissioned Ervin to revoice the top, making this Jumbo even more articulate and thunderously projective by utilizing the voicing techniques he’s cultivated for his newest instruments.
This is a work of art that has been rejuvenated by its maker, combining the latter’s latest skills with tonewoods which have opened up immensely in the past decade.
Check out this video of Al playing this Somogyi in DADGAD: www.youtube.com/watch
SOLD Read moreScale Length 25.25 in Nut Width 1.75 in String Spacing 2.13 in Woods Spruce - European, Rosewood - Brazilian 
Add to Compare2019 Somogyi Studio, Wenge/Sitka Spruce
Ervin Somogyi takes his hallmark model, the modern fingerstylist’s dream machine Modified Dreadnought, and shrinks it by 4% for the Studio model you see here. This beauty is nearly new, from 2019, and already oh so lively. Wenge back and sides paired with a tight-grained Sitka Spruce top, Ervin’s pixelated rosette, and a slinky smooth setup that’s a delight for the fingers. One of the virtues of Ervin’s Studio model is an increased balance between bass and treble, with a slightly more articulate midrange and warmth. The iconic Somogyi bass response is all here, and it mates sweetly with the rest of the voice for fingerstyle royalty. Weighing in at a trim 4lbs 4oz, this 2019 Somogyi Studio is lively, exquisite, and ready for action.
Other keywords: somogyi guitar, lutherie, luthier, the responsive guitar, hoffee, fingerpicking, dadgad, gotoh
SOLD Read moreScale Length 24.9 in Nut Width 1.75 in String Spacing 2.25 in Woods Spruce - Sitka, Wenge 
Add to Compare2005 Somogyi Modified Dreadnought, Brazilian Rosewood/Sitka Spruce
What can be said of a Somogyi that hasn’t already been said? That Ervin’s Mod D has revolutionized fingerstyle guitar construction, or his aesthetic innovations have re-engineered what art we though was possible through a flattop canvas?
This 2005 Mod D was built for the 2005 NAMM show, and boasts a few details that make it stand out, even in the rarified air of Somogyis. The Mahogany neck features a pointed heelblock and paired inlays; the segmented rosette (a Somogyi hallmark) is here encased in a larger band of Spruce; a bit extra bass and projection from the non-cutaway body; Brazilian Rosewood to die for, and Sitka Spruce to match—and for all of that, an delectably responsive and articulate guitar for whatever style you happen to be playing in.
This beauty was sold before we could even list it on the site!
SOLD Read moreScale Length 25.4 in Nut Width 1.75 in String Spacing 2.15 in Woods Spruce - Sitka, Rosewood - Brazilian 
Add to Compare2007 Somogyi 000-12, Brazilian Rosewood/Bearclaw Sitka
It’s a sincere pleasure to meet guitars again after they’ve seen a bit of the world. Paul couldn’t agree more, when this Somogyi 000 came strolling in the door. He commissioned this very guitar from Ervin in 2007, and he pulled out every. single. stop to make sure it was the perfect instrument. Brazilian Rosewood to make your grandpa cry, a Bearclaw Sitka set on top, tight-grained and amber, custom Rodgers tuners, hand-carved rosette and end graft with a celtic flair—the list goes on. Paul ordered a 12-fret neck for this 000 to maximize the sweetness and warmth of the tone, and added a multiscale board (26” bass to 25” treble) to keep that sweetness and clarity across the myriad of tunings he employs. Right down to the asymmetrical neck carve (borrowed from Al Beardsell’s necks), laminated saddle, and scalloped nut, this Somogyi stands apart from the already rarified crowd that makes up Ervin’s body of work. Back at Dream Guitars for a reprised role as coolest guitar in the shop, this beauty is available for the next lucky owner to claim it!
Here are some samples of Paul playing this Somogyi in G Tuning, C9 Tuning, and Standard Tuning.
Here’s an additional video Paul recorded to thank Ervin for the guitar when it was first delivered: https://youtu.be/45Gcw7gkQLY
SOLD Read moreScale Length 25 in - 26 in Nut Width 1.81 in String Spacing 2.31 in Woods Spruce - Sitka, Rosewood - Brazilian 
Add to Compare2018 Somogyi OM, Brazilian Rosewood/European Spruce
It’s perfect, really. This 2018 Somogyi OM comes to us as close to new as you can get without the wait list. Ervin’s Brazilian Rosewood stash still has a few quarter sawn gems that hearken back to prewar days, like the set used here. Chocolate-dark, straight and stable. Ervin paired that with a warm European Spruce top, bound it together with Brazilian Rosewood, and ringed in the soundhole with one of his segmented marquetry rosettes. The iconic Somogyi bridge also comes from Brazilian Rosewood, and the 14-fret Mahogany neck has a short, 24.9 inch scale for easy playability.
This Somogyi is a dream guitar, plain and simple. We know you hear that a lot, but there’s something about this OM that feels different, and sound different, than just about anything else. Ervin’s penchant for clarity, bass response, and sustain is here in full strength.
This 2018 Somogyi is a rare and precious guitar, and we can’t stress enough how beautiful it is with this guitar under your hands.Other keywords: lutherie, luthier, contemporary guitar, responsive guitar, orchestra model, brazilain, euro spruce, fingerstyle
SOLD Read moreScale Length 24.9 in Nut Width 1.75 in String Spacing 2.25 in Woods Spruce - European, Rosewood - Brazilian 
Add to Compare2018 Somogyi Modified Dreadnought, Brazilian Rosewood/European Spruce
No one builds a guitar like Ervin Somogyi, period. He’s inspired several generations of luthiers to push the envelope to its furthest reaches, to voice their guitars for maximum resonance and clarity. It’s humbling for us to see one of his most recent builds, to see what kind of guitar stands at the root of our modern luthier renaissance. This Mod D has some of the prettiest Brazilian Rosewood we’ve ever seen (and we’ve seen a lot of Brazilian to make your mouth water), and Ervin adorned the European Spruce top with an intricate chip-carved rosette in the style of a celtic knot, which you’ll also find in the endgraft. Vertical bars of Abalone on the bass side of the fretboard, Rodgers gold tuners with black pearl knobs—and a headstock that’s a study in color and marquetry. Although the label says 2017, Ervin actually finished this guitar this year in 2018.
The tone is 100% Somogyi. Bass response has a warm fundamental with great definition; clear string to string balance to articulate fingerstyle voicings; sustain you can hang your coat on. This guitar has an elegant presence, and a velvet smoothness that’s easy to lose track of time in. Ervin’s Modified Dreadnoughts are in a category all their own. It’s a guitar like this that reminds us of just how far a luthier can stretch their abilities in the pursuit of tone and their individual aesthetic.
Other keywords: MD, brazilain, ervinsomogyi, esomogyi, contemporary guitar, dreadnaught
SOLD Read moreScale Length 25.125 in Nut Width 1.75 in String Spacing 2.25 in Woods Spruce - European, Rosewood - Brazilian 
Add to Compare2007 Somogyi Modified Dreadnought, Brazilian Rosewood/European Spruce
We must be doing something right at Dream Guitars, because we’ve landed another Somogyi Mod D! This 2007 Modified Dreadnought comes to us with a fabulous set of Brazilian Rosewood, chocolate-dark and tantalizing, and a European Spruce top chock full of alternating bands of dark and light growth lines. Ringing in the soundhole is Ervin’s “Patio Stone” rosette (one of the first guitars to feature this style), the stylings of which you can also find inlaid at intervals across the fingerboard.
Somogyi’s Mod D shape was designed with the fingerstylist in mind, one who needed a pronounced, resounding bass that was well balanced with the other registers, and a responsiveness that could be faithfully accessed whether played delicately or with gusto. This Modified Dread has all that and more: with a slinky low setup and Florentine Cutaway, this Somogyi is effortlessly playable. The voice, whether strummed or plucked, is certifiably rich and enveloping, but overall quite focused, so big chords can ring out in all their complexity without any one string outsinging its brothers. Believe us, once you pick this Somogyi up, you won’t want to let it go until we pry it out of your cold, dead hands.
SOLD Read moreScale Length 25.125 in Nut Width 1.75 in String Spacing 2.25 in Woods Spruce - European, Rosewood - Brazilian 
Add to Compare2014 Somogyi OM, Brazilian Rosewood/Cedar
In what ways will the guitar’s sound change, given a different species of wood for the soundboard? Faced with one of the oldest questions in the business, Ervin Somogyi embarked on a project to build three guitars for a client in an attempt to answer that landmark question. In order to isolate the different tonal properties of Sitka Spruce, European Spruce, and Cedar, Ervin controlled for the other variables by using matching Brazilian Rosewood sets which were sequentially flitch cut from the same log, and using the same neck dimensions and scale length.
Once built, Ervin knew that a musician of a certain calibre would need to bend their ears to The Trinity in order to best glean the differences, if such they were, or their similiarities. Enter: Michael Chapdelaine, the only guitarist to win first place in GFA International Classical Guitar Competition and the National Fingerstyle Championship. Chapdelaine was so enthused by the prospect that he recorded a series of videos and an entire album worth of material highlighting the nuances of The Trinity, titled The Somogyi Incident (but there’s nothing incidental about the rigors of this project).
The Cedar OM, #455, was predictably the warmest of the three, but in addition to that warmth the bass and middle registers had a dark tinge that seemed to color the overall tone with a brooding, emotive force. Not as loud as the other two, #455 nevertheless had an easy projection and sustain. The treble overtones in particular were fat and lingering. The Sitka Spruce OM (#457) was drier than we expected, and that also meant that the bass response had an aggressive bark. The trebles cut very well, and boy would the Sitka top howl if you dug in with a heavier attack! Lastly, the European Spruce OM (#456) also featured a dry tone, but this one erred more on the side of breathy and mellow. While quieter overall when compared to #457, the European Spruce OM offered the best note separation of the three, and we found that the string-to-string balance was the best for fingerstyle arrangements in lowered tunings. The bass response was more focused and defined than the other OMs as well.
The Trinity, The Somogyi Incident, and our own videos stand as a unique opportunity to observe firsthand the particulars of these time-tested tonewoods from one of the world’s finest luthiers. Alas, the Sitka and European Spruce OMs have already found new homes! But the Cedar is still available.
SOLD Read moreScale Length 24.88 in Nut Width 1.81 in String Spacing 2.19 in Woods Cedar, Rosewood - Brazilian 
Add to Compare2007 Somogyi Modified Dreadnought, Brazilian Rosewood/Sitka Spruce
Ervin Somogyi perhaps more than any other luthier from the past several decades has helped define the contemporary fingerstyle guitar. When solo artists began recording unaccompanied steel string guitar, they came to Ervin for a more responsive guitar. From this need Somogyi created the Modified Dreadnought, or Mod D, that has now become ubiquitious in the modern fingerstyle world.
Here the dimensions of a regular Dreadnought are tightened up just a bit, and the top is voiced for maximum response at even the lightest touch. While at first glance it may appear to be just another Dread, Somogyi’s Mod D is a creature far removed from the tonal parameters of its traditional predecessor. You’ve got an enormous, enveloping bass response, sure, but the other registers don’t suffer like you find with a traditional dread. Instead, the voice is consistently responsive across the fretboard, so complex chord voicings and tunings ring out with the added clarity you’d normally only find in a smaller, quieter guitar.
Mod D #400 is a powerhouse. Juicy trebles and a profound sonority. Great strummed, but absolutely shines under fingertips. Brazilian Rosewood and super tight Sitka Spruce, a combination Ervin is known for championing. It’s had a few years to open up since we first saw it, and we’re happy to report the voice has only improved with age! This is a unique chance to own one of the best guitar designs ever created, from one of modern lutherie’s most revered makers.
SOLD Read moreScale Length 25.125 in Nut Width 1.75 in String Spacing 2.25 in Woods Spruce - Sitka, Rosewood - Brazilian 
Add to Compare2000 Somogyi Modified Dreadnought, Quilted Mahogany/Sitka Spruce
It’s hard to imagine what the state of contemporary guitar-building would be, if Ervin Somogyi hadn’t decided to take up the chisel and carve a new trajectory for luthiers everywhere. We’re excited to offer another powerful example of his prowess with this 2000 Mod D, featuring quilted Honduran Mahogany back and sides and a Sitka Spruce top. This Mahogany could be easily mistaken for a set from The Tree, so thoroughly figured are the grainlines–and the Sitka has opened up beautifully after over 16 years of music.
As with all of Somogyi’s instruments, all it takes is one strum for this Mod D to fill a room with its sumptuous voice, and it sings particularly well in lowered tunings (try Cadd9 or DADGAD for an experience in rapture), where the low-end really opens up, but maintains a well-defined edge from the Honduran Mahogany. Regardless of the style in which you play, this guitar’s clean tone and pronounced articulation will render even simple arrangements lush and orchestral–there’s practically no ceiling to this Mod D’s projective powers. What’s more, this guitar was sent to Ervin just this year for an evaluation, and while it was in his shop Somogyi also re-voiced the Sitka Spruce top, combining his newest techniques with this guitar’s already fully opened-up voice. As such, this Mod D has the best of both worlds–you’ll want to jump on this one quickly!