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Having a Steve Klein guitar in the shop is always a treat, and this M-43 is no exception. This monster is still young (having been brought to life only in 1997), but has a voice which seems to come from another place, another era altogether. Thanks to the 16 3/4″ lower bout, this larger-than-life guitar has a low-end which is cavernous and resounding, and yet is paired with trebles that are instantly responsive and crisp as bells. Despite its voluptuous dimensions, the M-43 feels natural in your lap, and is effortless to play–one of but several reasons why Joni Mitchell, Michael Hedges, Steve Miller, Andy Summers, and Sting prefer to play Kleins!

With Indian Rosewood back and sides and a Sitka Spruce top (both Master Grade), you can rest assured that the voice has herculean strength. The top is drum-thin and has a tap tone which resonates wildly. Klein achieves this degree of thinnness with his progressive bracing techniques, which manifest in an arching ply baffle in the M-43 which connects the soundhole to the sides and helps project sound outward. Bundled with a Calton Flight Case and a Highlander IP-1 pickup, this M-43 is the complete package: fingerpicked or strummed, acoustic or amplified, at home or on the road, this guitar delivers the goods.

Here we have a rare and collectable bird from the Martin guitar company, a D-28S 12 fret slope shoulder Dreadnought in Brazilian Rosewood and Sitka Spruce. This guitar is all about the tone – it is sweet and rich thanks to the twelve fret neck, while thundering and powerful thanks to the large body size. If you are looking to play intimate fingerstyle passages or you just want to blow peoples hats off, this is the guitar to do it with. And with its perfect set up you’re sure to enjoy every minute of your playing.

Mario Beauregard was one of the early apprentices of Ervin Somogyi along with Michihiro Matsuda. Mario’s guitars are superbly built, with a little of that Somogyi flare that he picked up during the apprenticeship. This OM in Italian Spruce and Brazilian Rosewood is an all out fingerpickers dream. The tone is decadent, trebles blend perfectly with the bass creating a nice fat sound that is just brilliant. There is a good reason why renowned fingerstyle player Antoine Dufour plays a Beauregaurd as his main guitar, they are responsive and able to produce any tone you can dream up.

Here we have a MacCubbin Heron Sunset model. This guitar was a part of a special project called the “Chesapeake Bay Guitar Project.” This was a project founded to help raise awareness and funds for the preservation of the Chesapeake Bay area. David built six guitars for this project, each highly ornamented, inlaid with scenes of the Bay. Craig Lavin did the expert inlay work on this guitar and it is some of the best we have seen – the colors used are vibrant and well suited to the chosen setting. Built from Sitka Spruce and Brazilian Kingwood, this guitar is as beautiful to listen to as it is to look at. The voicing of this guitar is shifted towards fingerstyle with a clear and articulate sound across the board. This is a highly rare and beautiful guitar that will have players and collectors alike clamoring to own it.

We love getting in guitars from builders we haven’t had in the shop before. It is at once a fun and inspiring experience to see what new ideas luthiers are coming up with. Keisuke Nishi, the man behind Keystone guitars, was an apprentice of Mario Beauregard, who trained under insdustry legend Ervin Somogyi himself. The fact that Nishi worked under such a capable master was a major indicator for us that Keisuke has incredible skill and talent for building guitars, so we were already excited to see his work. Then we heard and played it and couldn’t be happier!

This Keystone Mod-D in Granadillo and Adirondack (Red) Spruce has the build quality and voice we have come to expect from a builder coming out of the Somogyi school of building. This Mod-D sings as sweet as a bird when fingerpicked and has a full, resonant bass that seems to jump at a player’s touch. Pick it lightly and it will resonate with warmth and brilliance. Pick it a little bit harder and it will shine and shimmer. This is a guitar that has a mastery of all things fingerstyle and will surely bring you to new heights as a player.