Here we have a very rare transitional L-1/L-00 from 1929 with the Robert Johnson specs. Only about 200 of these were made with these specs. The gorgeous dark brown sunburst is absolutely breathtaking. This beauty has been recently renovated by master luthier Bill Tippin so it should not need any work for a few more decades. The tone is simply magical, it’s as light as a feather and the notes fly out on wings.

Our latest Wayne Henderson also happens to be one of the first! #35 was built all the way back in 1976, when Wayne was still working out of Rugby, VA. This Dread has been lovingly played for countless hours: run your hand along the neck and feel how the years have smoothed till it shines. The original owner came to Wayne with some Walnut that he wanted to be used for a guitar. Wayne agreed, and put it to use for the back and sides on this dread, as well as the neck, making this Wayne’s first Walnut guitar! Appalachian Spruce on top, herringbone trim, a V neck with rounded tip, and a slim 1.625” nut for deft lefthand work.

A well-played-in dread is worth its weight in gold; even more so with a Henderson. There’s no telling how many hundreds of hours this guitar’s been singing for, but our repair team went over it with a fine-toothed comb to make sure everything was on the up and up. With that clean bill of health in mind, we’re offering this Henderson Dreadnought as an incredible deal. Not only has it already been broken in, the Walnut gives the guitar a crisp, focused projection and midrange punch that sets it apart from other Hendos.

common misspellings: hendreson, hendersen, hendresen, wayn, waine, wain, dreadnaught, dreadnot, walnot

This is the rarest Henderson guitar available today. This is the third ever Henderson guitar from 1966. Wayne Henderson owns #1 and #2, this is the very next #3. It is crafted from Indian Rosewood and Spruce and features unique appoinments Wayne only used on a few instruments, like the tapered Henderson logo and half moon inlays in abalone on the headstock and hexagonal fret markers also in abalone. These rare appointments and killer tone make this not only a most collectible, but also a most enjoyable guitar.

We’ve got special treat for all you Larson brothers devotees: a 1938 Euphonon Dreadnought! Occasionally, the Larson brothers would label their instruments with Classical or American motifs (see: Prairie State models), but this Dreadnought is a Larson through and through. Brazilian Rosewood back and sides, Spruce top, and more crisp, fat tone than you can shake a pick at make this an instrument of incredible value. If you then consider how infrequently one finds a Larson Dreadnought (under any label), you can really appreciate the unique flavor of this particular guitar. The voice is immense, wide open and fierce, with juicy bass notes that hang in the air. The trebles are well-balanced and offer a subtle range of overtones which help fill out this Larson’s trademark resonant tone. The pickguard is original, along with all hardware, the bridge, nut, and saddle.

Until several years ago, this Dreadnought has remained in the Larson family, who have taken pains to keep it as pristine as possible–and by the looks of things, they did a wonderful job.

Although they never once put their own name on their instruments, the Larson brothers have left us an extraordinary legacy with a different kind of signature: superb craftsmanship, powerful tone, and an astonishing number of different designs. This 1935 Larson Brothers Prairies State 15″ is an excellent example of their forward-thinking: the braces are actually Ebony and Spruce laminates, making them much more rigid than the purely Spruce equivalent, there’s a metal reinforcement rod that runs from the heelblock to the tailblock to help preserve the guitar’s shape, and finally the Larsons implemented an early neck angle adjustment system with a thin bar of metal that travels from the bottom of the guitar at the end pin, through the interior of the body and heel, and wraps around the outside of the heel of the neck: one twist of a flathead screwdriver, and the theory goes, you can tighten the tension on the heel, pulling it back and into the body of the guitar, thereby achieving a lower neck angle. Add to that a rare “Chocolate Top” finish and a period reproduction pickguard added by Tony Klassen (of New Era guitars fame), and you’ve got a legend of living wood in your hands!

The voice is warm, yet articulate, with rich overtones from the crisp bass register. Now that our repair staff have cleated and stabilized all cracks and restored the original bridge (which was suffering from the string slots tearing into the saddle slot) to full functionality, this Prairie State 15″ is in peak playing condition.