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1971 Jeronimo Pena Fernandez Concert Palosanto/Spanish Pine
Powerful, but controlled–this 1971 Concert Classical from Jeronimo Pena Fernandez is one of the finest Classicals we’ve seen from the 1970s in quite some time. Decked out in Palosanto holy wood back and sides with a Spanish Pine top, this Fernandez exhudes the kind of richness of voice and tonal sonority found in guitars twice, thrice, its age. Set your fingertips to the trebles, and prepare yourself for an upper register which is shockingly clear, with immense headroom and expressive shimmer. To complement the agile trebles, the basses are sweet and responsive, but focused, with excellent sustain.Of course, Fernandez is known for more than just the richness of his guitars’ voices–the skill with which he has carved this headstock and bridge is astounding! With shapes and designs which are as extensive as they are delicate, Fernandez has rendered this instrument as much an objet d’art as a powerful tool for the concert Classical guitarist. Perhaps it’s the slow confidence with which Fernandez has rendered these carvings that informs the strength of the instrument’s voice; surely, the expressive, vigorous tonality this Concert Classical exhibits is a mark of his excellent voicing skills as well.Stained umber, but with a voice that spans the dark and mournful to the bright and exhuberant, this guitar is completely opened up and ready for many more years of beautiful music.
2009 Holst 16 Inch Archtop Laminate Maple/Laminate Maple
If you’re looking for a Jazz box ideal for gigging, the Holst 16″ Archtop is definitely worth considering. With a smaller-than-average Maple body, this Holst has all the warmth and round tonality of a full-size Jazz box, but the more compact and comfortable feel of a semi-hollow body. Amped up with an ES-175 Humbucker pickup perfect for fingerstyle, this guitar really lets those 6 and 13 chords ring in all their complexity–and the wider neck with 1 13/16″ nut makes fingering complicated shapes that much easier.The voice is warm and expressive, with lots of drive. Trebles silky smooth; basses clean and articulate. If you’re looking for the big, round sound for fingerstyle Jazz in a more manageable package, try this Holst 16″ Archtop on for size. This guitar also comes with an extra bridge and saddle, and a TKL hardshell case.
2004 Hoffman Jumbo Cocobolo/Sitka
Looking for a guitar which can handle fingerstyle and flatpicks equally well? Looking for a guitar which has a huge voice but a lightweight build that isn’t fatiguing to play? Looking for Cocobolo back and sides and Sitka Spruce top for a bright and responsive voice? Look no further: your search is over: this 2004 Hoffman Jumbo is here to answer all your prayers.Builder Charlie Hoffman was never satisfied with the thud and boom of standard jumbos like the Gibson J-200, but had been interested in building a Jumbo guitar which had the warmth of a larger soundboard and the articulation of a smaller-bodied guitar–hence his decision to build his Jumbos with a thinner body (from 3 1/4″ at the neck block to 4″ at the end pin), to allow for a much more balanced tonality and projection. This particular Jumbo features a gorgeous set of Cocobolo Rosewood back and sides and a Sitka Spruce top, granting the guitar a silky sustain in the upper registers. Fingerstylists will love the articulation between the strings; flatpickers will love the big sound and the crispy nature of the low-end. With a smooth setup for effortless playing and a Cedar Creek hardshell case to provide excellent protection in those rare moments when you won’t be playing this beauty, this 2004 Hoffman Jumbo can handle just about anything you throw its way.
SOLD Read moreScale Length 24.7500 in Nut Width 1.7500 in String Spacing 2.3100 in Woods Spruce - Sitka, Rosewood - Cocobolo 
2010 Forster Guitar Bouzouki Camatillo/Italian
The Irish Bouzouki is the result of constant evolution. What began as a bowl-backed, three-course instrument from Greece has undergone a series of transformations in the past 40 years to become the flat-backed, four-course (or more) instrument we now find in Irish and Folk scenes across the world. A select few luthiers have taken the instrument one step further, by experimenting with using guitar bodies instead of the accepted teardrop shape, in an attempt to create a more dynamically-voiced and easier to play Bouzouki. Nigel Forster, former apprentice of famed luthier Stefan Sobell, is one of these pioneers–and the territories he’s exploring are deep and resounding.This, his Guitar Bouzouki (or Gouzouki, or Gitzouki, if you prefer), is a specialty of his, and this one in particular stands apart from his standard Guitar Bouzouki model with a removable neck, which the original owner conscripted Forster to include, in order for him to remove the standard four-course neck and swap it for a fretless version, or a different profile, or whatever caught his inspiration. Alas, this Guitar Bouzouki only comes with the one neck, but the possibility is still there.Tonally, this 2010 Guitar Bouzouki is fearsome. With a voice characterized by its clarity and depth, and a projection capable of shattering windows, Forster has built an exceedingly loud and expressive instrument. This Guitar Bouzouki is louder than an instrument this size has a right to be–honestly, it can achieve volumes most instruments need to be electrically amplified to achieve. Forster has written extensively on the particulars of his building style which result in this magnificent voice, and you can read his own thoughts on the subject below: http://www.nkforsterguitars.com/blog/loud-acoustic-guitars/ Forster’s use of a “cylindrical top,” based on a Howe-Orme design from the 1800’s, allows the Italian Spruce top to be incredibly light (literally: check out the photos below which show light passing warmly through the top)–and all of that lightness translates into dynamic voicings, projection, sustain, and a well-defined top end.This Guitar Bouzouki, with Camatillo Rosewood back and sides and a Cuban Mahogany neck, has an otherworldly voice, at once persuading, ecstatic, thoughtful yet confident, moving but focused.
SOLD Read moreScale Length 25.7500 in Nut Width 1.5000 in String Spacing 1.7500 in Woods Spruce - Italian 
Applegate C 7-String Nylon Cocobolo/Yellow Cedar
We know why you visit our site and our showroom at Dream Guitars: because we have the best, most unique, original guitars anywhere. Because we are good friends with many of the amazing builders we represent, and connect players with their favorite luthiers to achieve something beautiful together, like this guitar. Brian Applegate and Paul Heumiller have known each other for some time, so when Paul approached Brian with a unique request from a customer, Brian was unfazed. In fact, Mr. Applegate dove headfirst into the challenge of building this fan-fretted nylon string guitar with a low C string and an elongated scale of 26 7/8″ on the low E and 25 5/8″ on the high. As if that wasn’t enough to make a lesser luthier run away in fear, Brian decided to add an arm bevel to the lower bout, a soundport to the upper, and a five-piece neck of Mahogany, Rosewood, and Maple to the already herculean task presented to him. This is his first seven-string nylon string guitar–and folks, it’s a success.
Applegate’s attention to detail is preponderous: observe how smoothly the Rosewood bindings hug the curve of the arm bevel, fading into a thin line before returning to their regular width for the rest of the body. Follow the interlocking lines of his rosette, a series of geometrical shapes traced around the soundhole in perfect symmetry, or the elegant grace of the Yellow Cedar top as the upper bout and Venetian Cutaway tuck in toward that dark rosette, before sweeping outward across the lower bout and Applegate’s understated Brazilian Rosewood bridge, offset to accomodate that great low C string. And the Cocobolo back and sides! Can you find another set so brilliantly figured? Applegate is a master of the craft–and we’d expect no less from a former pupil of luthier legend James Olson.
Of course, all these beautiful examples of fine woodworking are heart-stirring, but they pale in comparison to the grand, orchestral, absorbing tone of this guitar. The multiscale design allows for an amazingly articulate low-end (that low C string sings a somber and resonant song), and articulation across all the registers is crystal clear. The middle and upper registers exhibit smooth separation, and there’s more sustain than a room of slack-jawed onlookers will know what to do with–and trust us, wherever this guitar goes, people will stare. Applegate’s maestro techniques have yielded a guitar which, surrounded by unique and irreplacable guitars such as only Dream Guitars has, still manages to stand alone, a truly singular instrument.
SOLD Read moreScale Length 25.625 in - 26.8750 in Nut Width 2.2500 in String Spacing 2.6300 in Woods Cedar - Yellow, Rosewood - Cocobolo 
2007 Andrew White F80 Brazilian/German Craig D’Andrea’s Personal Guitar!
We have a special treat here: an Andrew White F80 in German Spruce and Brazilian Rosewood that was sent to us by none other than Canadian fingerstyle guitarist Craig D’Andrea himself! Could you find a guitar with more sweet tunes played through it? We don’t think so. The tone of this guitar is mature and alive, the trebles are crisp with a well controlled bass presence, perfectly suited to fingerstyle. The wood options used here are top notch, the Brazilian is dark with great grain character and the German Spruce is straight and true. If you are looking for a guitar that will sound excellent plugged in, look no further, this F80 has been equipped with a K&K Trinity pickup system that reproduces an articulate and accurate acoustic sound. This is an exceptional guitar that has been broken in by a master, grab it up while you can!
SOLD Read moreScale Length 25.5000 in Nut Width 1.7500 in String Spacing 2.1900 in Woods Spruce - German, Rosewood - Brazilian 
New Manzer Dehlicaster Indian/Spruce
We like to think that our shop contains some of the finest, strangest, and unique guitars on the planet. We’ve got seven-string nylons and 12-string baritones, Somogyi Mod Ds and Matsuda Deconstructions, fan-frets and adjustable necks and interchangeable saddles–but there’s nothing quite like the Linda Manzer Sitar Guitar. Linda’s work spans the length and breadth of what’s acoustically possible in guitar construction, so by comparison this “Dehlicaster” looks almost (almost) like an ordinary guitar with gorgeous Indian Rosewood and Spruce. Take one look at the bridge, however, and all bets are off.Linda’s sole source of information when she was building the first Sitar Guitar for Pat Metheny in the 1980’s was a brief two-page article titled “Djovari: Giving Life to the Sitar,” in which the respectable career of an Indian Sitar saddle carver is explained to Western audiences, perhaps for the first time. Linda scanned the article, and we’ve included it below. In modifying Djovari for the guitar, Manzer has implemented a system of Ebony shims to adjust the height of each string’s long saddle, allowing each string to be adjusted individually to optimize the amount of buzz and shimmer.Haunting and rhapsodic, with single-string leads inspiring sympathetic resonance from adjacent strings, the Dehlicaster is particularly moving. This is an instrument to completely change your perspective on what a guitar can look like, and what a guitar can do. With its esoteric and unmistakable sustain, the Dehlicaster is guaranteed to transport every fingerstyle arrangement or flatpicked solo into uncharted and exhilarating territory.
SOLD Read moreScale Length 25.5000 in Nut Width 1.7500 in String Spacing 2.06 in Woods Spruce, Rosewood - Indian 
2012 Charis Heart’s Home Series SJ Pau Rosa/Cedar
Not a Charis passes through our shop that doesn’t leave our jaws hanging and our hands itching for one more minute with that butter-slick neck and that resounding projection–this “Heart’s Home Series” SJ is no different. Bill Wise’s technique lends each guitar with scientific precision and laser-cut articulation between the strings. Blessed with Pau Rosa back and sides and a Cedar top, what we have here is an SJ with all the expressiveness of a 00 and the power of a Dreadnought–while simultaneously maintiaining a flawless separation of notes. Fingerstylists, of course, will love the articulation and even presence of each register, but there’s also an ease of playability and aptitude for projection and sustain which flatpickers recognize as essential for a guitar to faithfully broadcast chords, leads, fiddle tunes, and overtones. Here’s something on which both kinds of players can agree: this SJ handles dropped tunings like no guitar’s business, lending the guitar an even more full-bodied voice. Packed up securely in a Cedar Creek hardshell case, this Charis is ready to go anywhere and play any tune.
SOLD Sale! Read moreScale Length 25.6300 in Nut Width 1.7500 in String Spacing 2.2500 in Woods Cedar 
2008 Sexauer Companion O Cocobolo Negro/Carpathian
Want a guitar which is small enough to travel with, but as loud, rich, and dynamic as a full-sized guitar? Enter: the Sexauer Companion 0. If you close your eyes while playing it (and trust us, that’s going to happen), you’d think a much larger instrument was making music in your lap than this little gem! Featuring Cocobolo Negro back and sides (a rare and desirable tonewood similar to Brazilian Rosewood) and a Carpathian Spruce top, the Companion 0 has amazing depth and projection, with a warm, expressive bass and trebles with an electric shimmer.And, as if Bruce’s excellent construction methods and tonewood selection weren’t enough, this guitar aso has a multiscale design with 25 3/4″ bass and 25 1/4″ on the treble to allow this smaller-scale guitar to handle lowered tunings like DADGAD without sounding cheap and tubby, and is easy on the hands. Lastly, the strange and beautiful Cocobolo Negro is a rarity in the back and sides department: Bruce himself claims to have only seen one or two such sets, and this one’s coloration probably comes from a submerged log, so you could even call this “Sinker” Cocobolo Negro, and features a clean, bright tap tone.Protected by its Cedar Creek hardshell case, the Companion 0 is ready for the car, the bus, the train, the airplane–and will give you amazing tone and playability wherever your travels take you.
2005 Lucas LD-28 Brazilian/Adirondack (Red)
If you had to list your favorite Bluegrass Dreadnought makers active today, we’d bet good money that Randy Lucas would be one of the highest on your list. This LD-28 that we’ve got in the shop is absolutely top of the class in terms of tone, playability, and sheer fun. Randy’s reputation has been built on years of repair and restoration, and as such his guitars are bombproof and dynamite-voiced–at the same time!This 2005 LD-28, in particular, has a tendency toward explosiveness: the low-end is crystal clear and articulate, with a low E and A string that each have great presence and are perfect for accentuating the bass lines of chords in Bluegrass accompaniment. Add to that trebles which pop like firecrackers and a middle register which is tight, controlled, and crisp, and you have an instrument which fully lives up to the title “Bluegrass Cannon.”Built with a dark-grained set of Brazilian Rosewood for the back and sides, this box is beautiful to behold, and with the expertly voiced Adirondack Spruce top, the LD-28 has huge potential for projection, but doesn’t top out easily. In short, with Brazilian richness and Adirondack attack, this Dreadnought has enough acoustic force to level a room of the fiercest banjos.That said, this Dreadnought also responds easily to fingerpicking, and with a thumbpick it can broadcast Doc Watson arrangements with the best of them. Traditionally-built contemporary Dreadnoughts which play like butter are few and far between: this LD-28 is on the short list of such Dreads, for sure.
SOLD Read moreScale Length 25.1250 in Nut Width 1.7500 in String Spacing 2.2500 in Woods Spruce - Adirondack (Red), Rosewood - Brazilian 
2008 Mustapick Aurora Macassar Ebony/Koa
Every now and then, we get a guitar in the shop which is so staggeringly beautiful, it reminds us of the first time we fell in love with music. This, a custom build from Matt Mustapick which became his standard Aurora model, is just such an instrument. With a huge, bold voice, articulate and finely honed, the Macassar Ebony and Koa body are tuned with depth and sonority in mind.Set up for lowered tunings like DADGAD, the Aurora is perfect for the fingerstylist looking to blow doors down with the force of their arrangements–with a monstrous projection and haunting sustain, the Aurora sounds more like a three-piece band than simply a six-string guitar. The Macassar Ebony provides a clarity to the low-end, and Mustapick’s renowned skills with Koa have yielded a top that evens out the tone and provides the trebles with great body and a clean, invigorating presence.Per the custom build specs, this guitar features gorgeous crimson Bloodwood bindings, rosette, and headstock veneer, with a slight arm rest bevel and a slight Manzer Wedge for ease of playing–and let’s not forget the upper bout soundport to project the bass straight to the player’s ear! As mentioned above, this guitar has a longer-than-average multi-scale fretboard (27 3/8″ on the low E and 25 5/8″ on the high), so we recommend keeping this guitar in lowered tunings, rather than up to standard, unless you use lighter strings.Replete with sumptuous appointments and playability upgrades, this Aurora is your next guitar to expand your definitions of what a guitar is, and what it can sound like.
New Greg German Agave Ziricote/Adirondack (Red)
Caramel-sweet and firecracker hot, this brand-new 2015 German Agave has got a voice to strike other guitars dumb. Greg German‘s too kind: he’s given us an enormous amount of tone, and some sweet appointments, for a great deal. Complete with a soundport, gold Gotoh 510s, interlocking fretboard inlays and rosette, Venetian Cutaway, the Agave has more options than you can shake a pick at. That said, wait until you actually have the instrument in your hands–the setup is glass-smooth, and the voice is charged and energetic. Trebles which are bright and talkative, a middle register with lots of power that speaks for itself, and a tight, controlled low-end give the Agave a punchy flavor more commonly found in smaller-bodied guitars–but with all the volume and sustain traditionally found in Grand Concerts or Dreadnoughts.
SOLD Read moreScale Length 25.2500 in Nut Width 1.8100 in String Spacing 2.3100 in Woods Spruce - Adirondack (Red), Ziricote 
2008 Kronbauer SMB Koa/Sitka
It’s got zest! It’s got pop! This guitar’s got energy to spare! Trevor Kronbauer broke the mold when he made this 2008 SMB–but considering the tone is this rich and strong, it won’t break the bank. Decked out with a Koa back and sides and a Sitka Spruce top, this SMB’s got heaps of volume in its smaller body. Fingerstylists who want a more modestly-sized guitar with all the projection and bark of a Jumbo or an SJ wil want to take this one out for a spin–a silk-smooth setup for fast and easy playability, that classic Koa dry richness, and Sitka’s trademark punchiness and volume, all in a petite package.Lively and energetic, this SMB exudes stylishness and ferocious attack. Whether it’s for Blues, Folk, or swanky Jazz, this is one instrument which can, and will, deliver the goods.
SOLD Read moreScale Length 25.6300 in Nut Width 1.7500 in String Spacing 2.3100 in Woods Spruce - Sitka, Koa 
New Montero, Antonio Marin Bouchet Caviuna/Spruce
This brand-new Bouchet model from Antonio Marin Montero sings as though from a forgotten age. Dark and moody, with an absorbing richness and umber fundamental, this Bouchet has a voice at once entoxicating and envigorating.To play this Classical is to engage in an almost spiritual experience. Montero has somehow achieved the impossible: he’s built a new instrument which already sounds as though lifetimes have passed through its Caviuna back and sides, its Spruce top, Cedar neck, nylon strings, Rubner tuners, Ebony fretboard. There are no soft notes across the fretboard, just as there is no attenuation in the trebles–they sing clearly from the nut to the soundhole.We cannot stress enough how hauntingly beautiful this Bouchet model sings. Please, do the right thing and come play it.
New Plazuelo Bouchet Indian/Spruce
Jose Marin Plazuelo has shared a shop space with his uncle, Antonio Marin Montero, since he began building guitars in his youth. Between the two of them, they have produced a number of astoundingly responsive and resonant classicals, and this Bouchet model with Indian Rosewood back and sides and a Spruce top is a fine example of Plazuelo’s mastery of the craft, even compared to his uncle’s own masterworks.The voice is warm and sweet, with a delicate responsiveness that plays beautifully in adagio but doesn’t top out easily in crescendo. Instead, the Bouchet projects fiercely, with great sustain. Set up like silk, the neck is effortless to fret, and the lightweight build is exceedingly comfortable to play.With an easy muscularity and playful expressiveness, this is a powerful example of traditional classical guitar construction at its finest.
SOLD Sale! Read moreScale Length 25.5900 in Nut Width 2.06 in String Spacing 2.2500 in Woods Spruce, Rosewood - Indian