TRUEFIRE Holiday Deals

Online Guitar Lessons

Learn More

American Music Furniture

5% Off Deal!!

Learn More

NEW Consignment Rates

Trade up discounts and more

Learn More »

FREE Digital Book Download

Sound Investments: A Guitarist’s Guide to Curating a Valuable Collection

Download Now »

Enjoy FREE Live Demos

Book now and discover your dream sound

Schedule Your Demo »

Tag Archive for: Jim Olson

Bookmark this page for frequent updates. (Please scroll down for additional guitars.)

 

2015 Osthoff Woodstock FS

Higuerilla and Port Orford Cedar

sneakpeek

sneakpeek2

 

2015 Oxwood Carmen

Cocobolo Rosewood and Engelmann Spruce

sneekpeak

 

1997 Collings OM3-BaA

Brazilian Rosewood and Adirondack Spruce

sneakpeek

 

2012 R.E. Phillips Single Cone Resonator

sneakpeek

 

Bookmark this page for frequent updates. (Please scroll down for additional guitars.)

Schoenberg Soloist OMC

East Indian Rosewood and Sitka Spruce

IMG_0484

 

 

Bookmark this page for frequent updates. (Please scroll down for additional guitars.)

 

2011 Tippin Staccato

Brazilian Rosewood and Moonspruce

sneakpeek

 

Collings MT20 Mandolin

Flamed Maple and Spruce

sneakpeek

 

2014 Gaffney OM

East Indian Rosewood and Sitka Spruce

sneakpeek

 

2007 Rick Turner Model 1

Magnetic Pickup with “C” Electronics

sneakpeek

 

2010 Muiderman Steel String

Cocobolo Rosewood and Bearclaw Sitka Spruce

sneakpeek

 

John Kinnaird “East”

Honduran Rosewood and Adirondack Spruce

sneakpeek

 

2007 Ramirez 1a #2 of 125

Madagascar Rosewood and German Spruce

sneakpeek

 

2014 Lame Horse – Jenkins & Son Gitjo

Koa and Flamed Maple

sneakpeek

 

2010 Olson SJ

Pernambuco and Sitka Spruce

P1540762

 

1963 Danelectro U2

sneakpeek

 

2005 Brandt Concert

Brazilian Rosewood and European Spruce

sneakpeek

 

Bourgeois Banjo Killer Slope D

Figured Honduran Mahogany and Bearclaw Sitka Spruce

sneakpeek

 

2003 Carrillo Gabriela

Brazilian Rosewood and Cedar

sneakpeek

 

2010 Lipton “C” – 16″ Body Exhibition Grade Whyte Laydie

Collaboration between Walter Lipton and Bill Tippin. Engraved inlay by Doug Unger.

Brazilian Rosewood and German Spruce

sneakpeek

 

1979 Ramirez 1a Flamenco

Cypress and Cedar

sneakpeek

 

2001 Charles Fox C-Sierra Nylon

Brazilian Rosewood and Sitka Spruce

sneakpeek

 

2002 Bown Stella 12-string

Koa and Spruce

sneakpeek

 

1995 Franklin Stella 12-string

Mahogany and Spruce

sneakpeek

 

1972 Kohno 15

Brazilian Rosewood and Cedar

sneakpeek

 

2010 Petros Yellow Rose FS Cutaway

Ceylon Satinwood Back/Sides, Englemann Spruce Top, Alaskan Yellow Cedar Neck

sneakpeek

 

1997 Klein M.43

Indian Rosewood and Sitka Spruce

sneakpeek

 

Buscarino Grand Cabaret

Black Acacia and Cedar

sneakpeek

 

1932 Gibson L Century

Maple and Spruce

sneakpeek

 

1957 Gibson J-200

Maple and Spruce

sneakpeek

 

1995 D-28S

Brazilian Rosewood and Adirondack Spruce

sneakpeek

 

2005 Tippin Staccato

Brazilian Rosewood and Adirondack Spruce

sneakpeek
sneakpeek2

 

2003 Martin D-45GE

Brazilian Rosewood and Adirondack Spruce

sneakpeek

 

1988 Gibson Chet Atkins CEC

P1540386

 

1933 Martin 00-40H

Brazilian Rosewood and Adirondack Spruce

P1540297

 

2012 Froggy Bottom Special Order C

Brazilian Rosewood and Adirondack Spruce

sneakpeek

 

2002 Doolin OM

Macassar Ebony and Bearclaw Sitka Spruce

sneakpeek

2014 National Dueco Tricone Gold

Steel Body with Gold Crystalline Finish. 1.5 Tricone Neck. sneakpeek

2006 John Walker “Wise River”

Mahogany and Adirondack Spruce sneakpeek

2007 Dupont Prelude

East Indian Rosewood and Spruce sneakpeek

2014 Ennis Unibody

Padauk and Spruce

sneakpeek

2011 Borges L-00

Figured Maple and Adirondack Spruce sneakpeek

Keystone Mod-D

Granadillo and Adirondack Spruce

sneakpeek

 

MacCubbin CS-012 Tulip Magnolia

Sinker Honduras Mahogany and Tulip Magnolia

sneakpeek

 

R. S. Muth S16J

Tasmanian Blackwood and Lutz Spruce sneakpeek

R. S. Muth S15

East Indian Rosewood and Carpathian Spruce sneakpeek

MacCubbin CBG-02 Heron Sunset

Brazilian Kingwood and Sitka Spruce sneakpeek

Wilborn Orchestra/C

Cocobolo Rosewood and Bearclaw Sitka Spruce sneakpeek

 

Bookmark this page for frequent updates. (Please scroll down for additional guitars.)

 

2010 Olson SJ

Pernambuco and Sitka Spruce

P1540762

 

1963 Danelectro U2

sneakpeek

 

2005 Brandt Concert

Brazilian Rosewood and European Spruce

sneakpeek

 

Bourgeois Banjo Killer Slope D

Figured Honduran Mahogany and Bearclaw Sitka Spruce

sneakpeek

 

2003 Carrillo Gabriela

Brazilian Rosewood and Cedar

sneakpeek

 

2010 Lipton “C” – 16″ Body Exhibition Grade Whyte Laydie

Collaboration between Walter Lipton and Bill Tippin. Engraved inlay by Doug Unger.

Brazilian Rosewood and German Spruce

sneakpeek

 

1979 Ramirez 1a Flamenco

Cypress and Cedar

sneakpeek

 

2001 Charles Fox C-Sierra Nylon

Brazilian Rosewood and Sitka Spruce

sneakpeek

 

2002 Bown Stella 12-string

Koa and Spruce

sneakpeek

 

1995 Franklin Stella 12-string

Mahogany and Spruce

sneakpeek

 

1972 Kohno 15

Brazilian Rosewood and Cedar

sneakpeek

 

2010 Petros Yellow Rose FS Cutaway

Ceylon Satinwood Back/Sides, Englemann Spruce Top, Alaskan Yellow Cedar Neck

sneakpeek

 

1997 Klein M.43

Indian Rosewood and Sitka Spruce

sneakpeek

 

Buscarino Grand Cabaret

Black Acacia and Cedar

sneakpeek

 

1932 Gibson L Century

Maple and Spruce

sneakpeek

 

1957 Gibson J-200

Maple and Spruce

sneakpeek

 

1995 D-28S

Brazilian Rosewood and Adirondack Spruce

sneakpeek

 

2005 Tippin Staccato

Brazilian Rosewood and Adirondack Spruce

sneakpeek
sneakpeek2

 

2003 Martin D-45GE

Brazilian Rosewood and Adirondack Spruce

sneakpeek

 

1988 Gibson Chet Atkins CEC

P1540386

 

1933 Martin 00-40H

Brazilian Rosewood and Adirondack Spruce

P1540297

 

2012 Froggy Bottom Special Order C

Brazilian Rosewood and Adirondack Spruce

sneakpeek

 

2002 Doolin OM

Macassar Ebony and Bearclaw Sitka Spruce

sneakpeek

2014 National Dueco Tricone Gold

Steel Body with Gold Crystalline Finish. 1.5 Tricone Neck. sneakpeek

2006 John Walker “Wise River”

Mahogany and Adirondack Spruce sneakpeek

2007 Dupont Prelude

East Indian Rosewood and Spruce sneakpeek

2014 Ennis Unibody

Padauk and Spruce

sneakpeek

2011 Borges L-00

Figured Maple and Adirondack Spruce sneakpeek

Keystone Mod-D

Granadillo and Adirondack Spruce

sneakpeek

 

MacCubbin CS-012 Tulip Magnolia

Sinker Honduras Mahogany and Tulip Magnolia

sneakpeek

 

R. S. Muth S16J

Tasmanian Blackwood and Lutz Spruce sneakpeek

R. S. Muth S15

East Indian Rosewood and Carpathian Spruce sneakpeek

MacCubbin CBG-02 Heron Sunset

Brazilian Kingwood and Sitka Spruce sneakpeek

Wilborn Orchestra/C

Cocobolo Rosewood and Bearclaw Sitka Spruce sneakpeek

 

James Olson, Larry Robinson, Kevin Ryan, and Michael Keller

Clearly, luthiery requires a diverse set of finely honed skills, but it also requires a deep aesthetic understanding. Do you consider yourself more of an artist or a craftsman?

I definitely consider myself a craftsman with a very strong artistic sense. I had always been fond of arts of all kinds — decorative, interpretive, pre-modern, impressionist, surrealistic. I am fond of many types of art. But I’m also very fond of many types of crafts, pottery, jewelry and knife making, and furniture. This is the world of my imagination.

MICHAEL KELLER

MICHAEL KELLER

When you’re starting to build a guitar and you’re trying to picture it in your visual mind, many artistic considerations come into play that go beyond crafting a fine sounding guitar. Different colors of wood, different colored shells, colored purflings, bindings and shapes, all become a pallet that is available to you to compose a beautiful looking instrument.

One must also realize ultimately you’re making a tool for a musician. No matter how beautiful or arty a guitar looks, if it doesn’t play well and sound great I don’t care how arty it is. I would much rather have a guitarist tell me, “I love the sound of the guitar”, rather than “the sound is OK but the inlays are great”. It’s really totally about the sound and playability.

Recently, flying back from a guitar festival I noticed one of the editors of a guitar magazine on the plane who had been at the show. We started talking, and he mentioned that he had played a lot of very expensive heavily inlaid guitars that didn’t play or sound very good. He said exactly what I was thinking from my own experiments at the festival. A lot of the guitars at the show were designed to be eye catching, but a lot of effort had not been put into making them play well. So the artistic side of guitar making is a field that one should embrace carefully, making sure the instrument sounds and plays well first. After that, as far as I’m concerned, anything goes.

Read more