With a design dating back to 1917, the Martin D-18 Dreadnought has been one of the bases of the Martin line since its official launch in 1931. The Martin D-18 Dreadnought shares a number of core design elements with all other Martin Dreadnoughts, a large body with Mahogany neck. What changes from model to model is the wood selection and appointments.
Guitars
Here is a classic Wine Red Gibson Les Paul Standard built during June of 1995, in good clean original condition with no weight relief and only minor wear. Following the design of the late 1950’s models, the 1995 Gibson Les Paul Standard features a carved Maple cap on a solid Mahogany body, with Mahogany for the back and Indian Rosewood for the fingerboard.
Now discontinued, the Taylor GS8E Natural uses the non-cutaway Grand Symphony body and pairs a Sitka Spruce top with Indian Rosewood for the sides, back and head plate. The neck and body blocks are Mahogany, with Ebony for the bridge and bound fingerboard. The top also sports an Abalone rosette ring.
Built by one of Spain’s larger makers, the Alhambra Crossover CS3-S-E8 is aimed at players generally from the steel string world who need a cutaway, crowned fingerboard and a pickup system. The ‘Crossover’ concept is a relatively new development for the nylon-string world and appeals to many players, particularly those in Latin Jazz genres who need to amplify their instruments.
The Heritage H-575, built at the historic Parsons Street plant in Kalamazoo, Michigan takes visual cues from the classic Gibson ES-175, but there are major differences in construction and materials. When Gibson introduced the ‘ES’ or ‘Electric Spanish’ designation, archtops were the most commonly used models on bandstands because of their superior volume and projection.
The Ampeg ASB-1 Devil Bass, and its fretless sibling the AUSB-1 was built by Ampeg designer Mike Roman from late 1966 to 1967. It featured the typical Ampeg ‘Scroll Head’ design, heavily influenced by traditional upright acoustic basses. However, that’s about as far as similarities with acoustic basses went.
This David Nichols OO style guitar demonstrates Nichol’s high degree of familiarity with pearl inlay – it looks like it was easy for the builder to do, a sure sign that it isn’t. This David Nichols OO style guitar is a great example. Dave Nichols has spent decades doing custom inlay work, including a lot for the Martin Guitar company, and he’s chosen the classic designs and here, the ‘Style 41’ inlay set executed in Mother of Pearl and Abalone.
Built from 1999 to 2007, the PRS Santana II updated the Santana I model introduced in 1995, and was succeeded by the Santana III. All followed the same basic formula of a carved Maple cap on a Mahogany body, with a set Mahogany neck and 11.5 inch radius Rosewood fingerboard. The PRS Santana II has been the most expensive of the three models, with Artist-grade matched flamed Maple tops, high grade and Brazilian Rosewood for the fingerboard and head plate.
The Fender Eric Clapton Signature model first appeared as a production model in 1998, though the first were built for and used EC himself in 1986. This model is based on Clapton’s ‘Blackie’ Strat which he’d put together from several Strats, but it’s not a slavish copy.
Here’s a fun bit of history – an SS Stewart Model 44 solidbody electric guitar in metallic Gold finish, from 1955! SS Stewart was founded in 1878 in Pittsburgh, and became a prominent banjo builder. Stewart died in 1898, and in 1904 his sons sold the company to B&J (Bugellsein & Jacobson).
Seen here is an M G Contreras Guitarreria classical guitar from 1969, bringing with it some Spanish guitar history. Manuel G Contreras – Manuel I – was born in Madrid in 1928 and developed good woodworking and cabinetry skills. In 1959, he received and apprenticeship invitation from Jose Ramirez III, which he accepted. By 1962 he had learned enough to set up an independent shop at Calle de Mayor 80 in Madrid, where he earned a reputation for excellent quality, creative and innovative work, introducing early double tops and backs.
The Gibson Memphis ES-339 was built from 2007 until the Gibson Memphis plant closed in 2019, and the 339 is now built in Nashville with some small changes. In 1996, Gibson launched the short-lived ES-336, a scaled-down version of the classic ES-335. This model retained the key playability elements of the 335 in terms of scale length, fingerboard width and hardware selection.
Here’s something we see fewer of – a Fender Pre-CBS Stratocaster in Sunburst, with a body date of 9/63 and neck date of March 1964. This type of ‘date mismatch’ has been common in some periods of Fender production. The factory would build and finish a larger number of bodies and store them, with the necks built closer to the sale and delivery date. The potentiometers date to 1963.
This Cervantes Rodriguez PE from the Studio Series is built with Palo Escrito for the sides, back and headplate. Solid Red Cedar is used for the top and Spanish Cedar for the neck and an ebony fingerboard. This is a superb, handmade guitar built and fan-braced in the traditional style of Manual Rodriguez II, with a smooth and balanced tone.
Amalia Ramírez has created the new Ramirez 130 Anos model as a Limited Edition which will be built during the five years from 2012-2017, celebrating the 130th Anniversary of the Ramirez workshop! It is based on the model E series guitars, originally conceived by Jose Ramirez III. This instrument features all solid wood construction, a complex asymmetrical 6-fan top strut pattern, a unique custom soundhole mosaic rosette, custom top marquetry perimeter and custom Ramirez label.
Here we have a Russell Lackey LT1 T-Style guitar, built near Toronto by a former craftsperson at The Twelfth Fret Repair shop. The Russell Lackey LT1 shown here is Russ’s interpretation of a great classic. The LT1 strongly resembles the guitar that inspired it, but with a few changes, feeling that the market didn’t need another vintage reissue.
The Gibson L-7 Archtop Guitar appeared in 1934 as a plainer, “workingman’s” version of the L-5, Gibson’s very popular archtop used by many artists including Maybelle Carter. Its first appearance in catalogs and price lists was during 1934. In 1928, the L-5 sold for around $275, which translates to around $4000 in current prices, so these were serious investments during the Depression years. This motivated Gibson to produce lower priced models like the L-7.
The Fender Jazz Bass V, as an American Standard version, was built from 1998 to 2000, then from 2008 to 2016. The American Standard name was dropped in 2017 to be replaced by the American Professional line. Despite being listed in catalogs as the “Jazz Bass V”, the “V” does not appear on the headstock logo of this instrument. The five-string bass seems to have appeared in 1965 as the short-lived Fender Bass V.
Here we have a Schecter C1 Apocalypse hardtail model sporting a Rust Grey finish on a carved top Swamp Ash body. The neck is Maple with Padauk layers plus carbon fiber inserts, and an Ebony fingerboard with 24 Stainless Steel frets! Built in Incheon, South Korea during 2017, this Schecter C1 Apocalypse is a very solid and versatile guitar, oriented towards a heavier sound. As a hard tail, it’s built for stability. The body is Swamp Ash with a carved top, and the neck uses three sections of Maple with two layers of Padauk.
Now discontinued but based on the classic 14-fret OO sized body, the Larrivee OO-05 pairs a Sitka Spruce top with tropical Mahogany for the sides, back and neck, with Ebony for the fingerboard and bridge. This fine example dates to December 13, 1993 and was built in Victoria, British Columbia.
The Gibson Les Paul Classic first appeared in 1990 and with a number of variations and finishes has been a part of the lineup ever since. The GoldTop finish has been around since 1952 as the first and only finish offered on the Les Paul model; this was the case until 1954 with the appearance of the Les Paul Custom in gloss black. Sunburst finishes were not offered on Les Pauls until 1957, paired with Gibson’s new Humbucking pickups.
Here is a spectacular rarity – the Martin D-42 Purple Martin, #38 of 50 built during 2018 and featuring a fantastic inlay set. Based on the classic Dreadnought design and pairing a bearclaw-figured Englemann Spruce top with Katalox for the sides and back, this is an example of Martin’s work at its finest. Katalox, sometimes known as ‘Mexican Royal Ebony’ and formally named ‘Swartzia cubensis’, is a hardwood sourced from southern Mexico to northern South America.
The Boucher HG56 OOO 12-Fret is a spectacular guitar, featuring a torrefied AAAA grade Adirondack Spruce top and Indian Rosewood back and sides. This example dates to 2019 and was built at the Boucher shop in Berthier-sur-Mer, on the south shore of the St. Lawrence River and just east of Quebec City.
Here is a lovely PRS Custom 22 P90 10-Top in Translucent Teal finish, with Maple neck, dot position markers and regular neck profile. Built during 1999 in Stevensville, Maryland, this PRS Custom 22 P90 is in overall good condition with light wear. The Custom 22, introduced in 1993 and still part of the PRS lineup, features a carved Maple cap on a Mahogany body, and here has an optional Maple neck with Maple fingerboard.
From 2013 and in great condition, here is a Fender American Special Jazzmaster in Sunburst with a hard-tail bridge and tailpiece setup in place of the original trem unit. It also has Jazzmaster style humbucking pickups and simplified controls; he preset switches and thumbwheels are gone. It’s straight ahead playing.
The Martin D-35 Dreadnought first appeared in 1965, partly as a way to use the remaining stock of Brazilian Rosewood sections that were too small for a two-piece back. Drawing from the very successful D bodied Dreadnought, the Martin D-35 was placed between the venerable D-28 and more expensively decorated D-41 and D-45 models.
Here is a lovely Rickenbacker Model 330 FireGlo thinline hollow body electric, in very nice original condition, dating to the first week of December 2014. Like all other Rics it was built at the Santa Ana, California facility.
The Rickenbacker Model 330 is one of my all time favourite guitars, with a dramatic yet practical design – it’s hard to get a successful combination of those two aspects!
From 2011, the PRS Artist V was the latest in the Artist Series and was based on the Custom 22. The Artist series debuted in 1991 as a showcase for new concepts and highest quality materials. Here we’re looking at a spectacular PRS Artist V in Translucent Amber, built during 2011 at the PRS plant in Stevensville, Maryland.
Crafted for Fender Japan, this Fender Antigua Telecaster dates to 2002-2004 and was built by Tokai Gakki in Hammamatsu. Not many of these were built, and some carried a factory Bigsby. The heel carries the serial number and the ‘Crafted in Japan’ logo, and these reveal the builder.
The Gibson CS-336 P is a plain-top version of the CS-336, which replaced the ES-336 (introduced in 1996)in 2001. The name change also indicated construction changes. The back, sides and body supports of the CS-336 is carved from a Mahogany blank, and a carved Maple top is placed on top.
Here is a lovely, turn of the millennium Emerald Green PRS Custom 24 built during 2000 in Stevensville, Maryland. The PRS Custom 24 is at the very center of the PRS ‘Core’ line – it is the guitar that started PRS, and which influences many of their other models.
The Guild Starfire III Thinline first appeared in 1960, as a single-cutaway, thin but fully hollow archtop, with a Bigsby tailpiece – the Starfire II was the same guitar but with the Guild harp tailpiece. It was available with either maple or mahogany laminate body.
This Martin D-76 Bicentennial No.1443, is a Limited Edition guitar built during 1975 and 1976 in commemoration of the two hundredth anniversary of the United States of America. The first 200 Martin D-76 Bicentennial models appeared during 1975, with another 1,976 completing the run during 1976.
The Guild X-500 archtop electric was a single-cutaway, fully hollow 17 inch wide archtop electric model built from 1953 to 1995, and again for a year or two until being discontinued in 2015. This example dates to 1979 and comes from the Westerly, Rhode Island plant. The Guild X-500 archtop is intended as an electric model, and Guild followed the proven pattern of using laminate woods for the body to reduce feedback.
Crafted for Fender Japan, this Fender Antigua Stratocaster dates to 2002-2004 and was built by Tokai Gakki in Hammamatsum. It is one of about 400 built. The heel carries the serial number and the ‘Crafted in Japan’ logo, and these reveal the builder. When CBS sold Fender Management the company, the deal did not include plant or fixtures, leaving Fender with no US production facilities.
Here’s a lovely Huss & Dalton OM Custom built during 2002 and in very clean original condition, sporting a ‘Stingray’ inlay set and Abalone rosette ring. Built using the well proven Orchestra Model design, the Huss & Dalton OM Custom features an Adirondack Spruce top with tropical Mahogany for the sides, back, body blocks and neck. The bridge is ebony, the fingerboard binding is also ebony , the body binding is tortoise and the head plate is Indian Rosewood.
This CFox SJX, is a ‘Small Jumbo with Vintage X Brace’, production model built under the supervision of luthier Charles Fox in Healdsburg, California. It was sold new in February 2003 at The Twelfth Fret and is in overall good condition. This instrument features a Sitka Spruce top, Indian Rosewood sides and back, Mahogany body blocks and neck, and Ebony fingerboard and bridge. An L R Baggs pickup system has been installed, with the volume control on the bass edge of the sound hole.
This Fender Contemporary Telecaster in Metallic Grey finish was one of the last Made in Japan Fender models, at the end of the period between the sale from CBS and the launch of Fender’s new US plant. Here we’re looking at a Fender Contemporary Telecaster from the end of the Japanese production period. This model was unique to this time period and did not transition to US production. Its design is very much a merge of a Telecaster body and Stratocaster bridge and wiring concepts.
Introduced in 1978 and built until 2006, the Taylor 555 12 String is a Spruce and Mahogany, Jumbo bodied model with a huge voice. Here we’re looking at a Taylor 555 12-string built during 1991 in El Cajon, California. It pairs Sitka Spruce for the top with Mahogany for the sides, back and neck with Ebony for the fingerboard and bridge, but it has no electronics.
Here’s a neat pairing – a Godin XTSA solidbody electric in Cherry finish with a Roland GR-55 Guitar Synthesizer floor unit! The Godin XTSA is a solidbody electric with a pair of humbuckers and a single coil in HSH configuration, and its hardware includes a trem bridge with L R Baggs transducer saddles leading to a 13-pin output to drive a synth unit like the Roland GR-55 included here.
This is a real treat – a Gretsch G6120 FTM Player’s Edition, with a spectacular flame maple body, string-through Bigsby, pinned bridge, and locking tuners! This is a seriously good guitar, and these modern examples are among the best Gretsch has ever produced. Gretsch introduced the 6120 in 1954 and it was an immediate hit, adopted by many of the top players like Chet Atkins and Eddie Cochrane.
The Gibson Johnny Smith archtop electric was introduced in 1961 and built under that name until 1989, and is now named ‘Le Grande’. At 17 inches across, the Gibson Johnny Smith is one of the biggest-bodied guitars Gibson has offered, along with the L5 and Super 400, and sports a rounded ‘Venetian’ cutaway. The top is carved from Sitka Spruce with an X-bracing system, and is relatively thick to reduce feedback when amplified.
Since its introduction as the Broadcaster in 1950 as the world’s first two-pickup, solidbody electric guitar, the Fender Telecaster has gone from strength to strength. It has been used in virtually every musical context that accepts electric instruments, and many musicians have built careers on its use. It’s truly an inspired design. Here we’re looking at a Fender Telecaster Maple Neck in Sunburst finish and largely original condition, built during 1978 in Fullerton, California during the CBS era.
Here is a Halcyon Grand Auditorium Cutaway with a Lutz Spruce top and figured Walnut for the sides, back, body binding and head plate, and built by Ed Bond in East Vancouver around 2020. Aside from the Lutz Spruce and Figured Walnut, the body blocks and neck are Mahogany, with Ebony for the fingerboard and bridge.
Created for the folk boom of the early 1960’s, the Gibson FJN Folksinger Jumbo Natural Finish has a few differences from Gibson’s regular dreadnoughts. While it uses the Jumbo body size found on guitars like the SJ, the FJN has a wide 12-fret neck – the nut is nearly 2 inches wide – and is braced for nylon, Silk & Steel, or very light steel strings. Interest in the FJN faded with the folk boom, and by 1967 the FJN was taken out of production.
Here we’re looking at a Gibson S1 built in Nashville TN, with a date of April 19 1978. This guitar is built exclusively of Maple, used for the three-piece body, three-piece neck, and fingerboard. This example is in largely original condition, except for the bridge pickup. Some time ago, the original single coil was removed, put in the case, and replaced with what looks like a Duncan Hot Rails.
Without a doubt the Don Grosh Hollow Carved Top model in Purple AA Quilted Maple and Korina catches the eye! With a pair of Lindy Fralin P-90 pickups, it was built around 1997 in Broomfield, Colorado.
Don Grosh was Shop Foreman for Valley Arts guitars from 1985 to 1993, when he opened his own shop as Grosh Guitars. His instruments are extremely high quality, using top of the line materials and components.
Here we have a Gibson J185 Original Jumbo bodied steel string in Antique Natural finish, built during 2005 at the Gibson Acoustic plant in Bozeman, Montana. The J-185 is a very good but likely under-appreciated guitar, being overshadowed by the better known and slightly larger J-200. The Gibson J185 and J200 have many similarities and the key differences are not always seen at first glance. Both feature the Jumbo body shape, Sitka Spruce top with Figured Maple for the sides and back, and Rosewood for the fingerboard and bridge.
The Godin 5th Avenue archtop model was introduced at the 2008 NAMM show, it was a surprise hit given that this type of guitar has been seen on fewer stages since the early 1960s. Since then, the 5th Avenue has been seen in a number of variations with different pickup configurations, with and without Bigsby True Vibrato tailpieces, with and without cutaways, and in a host of finishes. Seen here is the Godin 5th Avenue Edition Speciale PT sporting an Indigo Blue finish.
This Fender 62 Reissue Jazz Bass Sunburst was built during 1982 in Fullerton, California and looking like it was used as intended. With a neck date of April 1982, this Fender 62 Reissue Jazz Bass is an early effort to capture the original style of the Jazz Bass. The original models were introduced in 1960 as an attempt to capture the rest of the professional bass player market that hadn’t migrated to the Precision Bass.
The Fender American Series Telecaster was built from 2000 to 2007, renamed from (and then back to!) the American Standard Telecaster. It presents many of the best improvements to this venerable design. Leo Fender’s design, quickly becoming the Telecaster, has arguably been one of the most successful and influential musical instruments ever. It has been in continuous production since the early 1950’s, with really only relatively minor changes and improvements.
The Fender Ultra Luxe Stratocaster is the newest evolution of the classic instrument introduced in 1954 as Leo Fender’s second design.
A great instrument and rarity, the Gibson Collector’s Choice™ #7 1960 Les Paul “Shanks”, based on exhaustive examination of the original piece. From 2010 to 2017, Gibson released 40 Collector’s Choice models, all drawn from original examples. This Gibson Collector’s Choice™ #7 example was one of 300 built during 2013 at Gibson Nashville and is in excellent condition – but as it reproduces a vintage instrument, it does not look like it did when new in 1960!
The Fender Eric Johnson Stratocaster is based on a light weight 1957 model with deep contours, two tone sunburst in nitrocellulose lacquer and a soft V neck profile. Dating to 2006, this Fender Eric Johnson Strat was built in Corona, California. It’s in great condition with little wear of any kind.
From Dmitry Kulakov in Ottawa Ontario, the DK Essence model is based on his slope-shouldered, X-braced ‘Cleopatra’ body, but with a DK custom bridge and tailpiece. The top of the DK Essence is Master-grade Red Cedar with a water-based lacquer finish. The sides, back, headplate, tailpiece and Rosette inserts are figured
Black Walnut.
This William Laskin Short Scale Classical guitar, built during 2020 in Toronto, pairs a Sitka Spruce top with Wenge for the sides and back. In terms of being short scale – the scale length used here is 640mm or 25.19 inches. ‘Standard’ full concert scale length is 650mm, or 25.59 inches. The 10mm does make a noticeable difference in how easy it is to reach for low position fingerings! Aside from extremely high levels of general skill, one of the things William Laskin is known for is his work with engraved inlay, and many of his instruments feature examples, from the simple to the wildly complex.
Introduced in 1980, the G&L L-2000 bass was one of Leo Fender’s last bass designs. The first was the 1953 Fender Precision Bass and it’s hard to overstate its influence on how music is presented. This example dates to 2016 at the G&L shop on Fender Avenue in Fullerton, California, and is in very good, clean original condition. It plays well, and the finish and frets have very little wear.
The Godin Summit Classic HB is derived from a classic design, and offers a chambered Spanish Cedar body with a carved Maple cap. This example was built during 2016 at the Godin plants in La Patrie and Richmond, Quebec. It’s in great condition with very little wear.
This Ramirez 1a Flamenco Blanca is a wonderful rarity, built and signed by Antonio Martínez Ortega, one of Jose Ramirez III’s top craftsmen, during 1969.
From the days when giant archtops ruled the earth, the Epiphone Emperor was one of the largest at 18.5 inches across.
The Bourgeois Slope D Adirondack aims to deliver the sound and feel of pre-WW2 round-shoulder dreadnoughts, an near ideal instrument for flat-picking styles. Dating to 2007 and built in Lewiston, Maine, this Bourgeois Slope D Adirondack dreadnought is in very good condition with just light wear.
This Larrivee L10 12 String guitar with a Dragon headstock inlay was built in Victoria, British Columbia, and dates to the very early 1980’s. Based on their standard ‘L’ body, which is itself based on classical guitar body proportions, this lovely guitar is built using Sitka Spruce for the top Abalone for the top purfling and rosette, Indian Rosewood for the sides, back and head plate, Mahogany for the body blocks and neck and Ebony for the bridge and bound fingerboard.
Introduced in 1949 and until the introduction of Seth Lover’s humbucker in late 1957, the Gibson ES-175 Single pickup archtop electric sported a single P90 in the neck position. The Gibson ES-175 Single and Double pickup models went on to become a workhorse guitar, used on countless stages, studios and performances. It was discontinued in 2019 after a production run of 70 years.
Here’s a Taylor 814ce LTD Grand Auditorium Cocobolo Natural sporting a Sitka Spruce top paired with Cocobolo for the sides, back and headplate, built in 2018 and in very good clean condition. The Taylor 814ce LTD uses a Grand Auditorium body with a rounded Venetian cutaway.
This Larrivee Long Scale Classical guitar is in natural finish and built while Jean Larrivee’s shop was still in Toronto; his helpers at this point included William ‘Grit’ Laskin, David Wren, Linda Manzer and George Gray. The Larrivee shops have been training grounds for many now-prominent builders.
The Fender Jazzmaster appeared halfway through 1958, targeted at jazz artists, the group Fender hadn’t fully won over. One of the key features of the Fender Jazzmaster was the introduction of a Rosewood fingerboard on the Maple neck. To this point in time, Fender necks had been a single piece of Maple with a rear Walnut ‘Skunk Stripe’ covering the truss rod channel.
The Gibson Les Paul Junior was introduced in 1954 as a single cutaway slab bodied design, essentially a Les Paul without the carved Maple (or Mahogany, in the case of the Custom) cap. Intended as an entry level model, it carried a single P-90 pickup and very little decoration.
This Eastman AR-503ce Archtop Cutaway Electric in sunburst, built during 2014 and in very good, clean condition. Generally positioned as a lower cost model, the Eastman AR-503ce uses a traditional full-depth single-cutaway design with arched solid, carved Spruce top, but with laminated Maple for the sides and arched back.
The Santa Cruz PW/D is a reproduction of the very influential Pre-War Dreadnought models that are so hard to come by now. Built during 2017, this Santa Cruz PW/D is in very good, clean condition and features a Sitka Spruce top with an amber tint, Indian Rosewood for the sides, back and head plate, Mahogany for the body blocks and neck, and Ebony for the bridge and unbound fingerboard.
The concert-grade Ramirez Traditional Professional 1a Model is the “benchmark guitar” for tone and quality for Maestros, performers and Master-Luthiers world-wide. Considered by many to be the Ultimate Concert guitar, the traditional is available in Red Cedar top and by special order in German Spruce top. The Ramirez 1a Professional is built with Indian Rosewood back and sides. We also offer it in artist-grade Madagascar Rosewood back and sides.
Here is a rare Candy Apple Red finish, is a Gibson Les Paul Standard from 1983! It’s equipped with Tim Shaw Shawbuckers, and weighs in at about 10.7 pounds. This example uses what appears to be its original Chromed hardware; gold-plated hardware was available on some versions.
The Fender Kurt Cobain Jag-Stang is merging of two guitars used extensively by the artist. It’s a professional grade, 24 inch scale solidbody featuring an Alder body, Maple neck and Indian Rosewood fingerboard. For hardware, the Mustang tuner, bridge and vibrato bridge setup was chose, but the pickups include a humbucker in the bridge position and Mustang wiring
The Taylor 514ce-N, now discontinued, was a ‘crossover’ instrument, aimed at delivering the tone and touch response of nylon strings to the steel string player. Typically, crossover guitars have a cutaway body, narrower crowned fingerboards, pickup and preamp systems, and lower action than concert-style classical models. Some models have ‘thinline’ bodies as the volume produced by the body is exceeded by a supporting sound system.
Here we have a very nice Harrison GB Custom with Sapele Pomelle top, built at Douglas Harrison’s shop in Toronto Canada during 2013. Originally the outgrowth of a guitar custom built for the late Gary Benson, a well known Toronto jazz guitarist and educator, the Harrison GB has proven itself popular with an increasing number of players – including Harrison himself at his own gigs!
Here we have a real rarity – a Gibson Nick Lucas Special with 12-fret neck built during 1928; this model was built in a variety of forms from 1927 to 1938. During its first two years of production, the Gibson Nick Lucas Special was built with a 12-fret neck, Spruce top and Mahogany for the sides, back and neck.
The Harmony Comet Semi-Hollowbody in Trans Red represents the very first semi-hollow electric guitar in our lineup of cherished musical instruments, inspired by the original Harmony H72 of the ’60s. This double cutaway guitar has an immaculately carved genuine mahogany top and back for warm, well-rounded and acoustic-like tone. The addition of a center block minimizes feedback, and the long-tenon set neck construction increases sustain.
This Harmony Jupiter in a cool Champagne nitrocellulose lacquer finish is a retro solidbody guitar built in Kalamazoo, Michigan. The Jupiter marks the return of what was at one time of the world’s largest instrument manufacturers. The Harmony Jupiter’s classic looks and well-rounded tonality make it a perfect match for any style or genre.
We’ve just received a brand-new Gibson SJ-200 Studio Walnut, a slightly slimmer version of the classic SJ-200.
This beautiful Flammang 000-35 is a custom built model from David Flammang in Greene, Iowa during 2020, and is in excellent condition.
This Taylor GS Custom Maple Sunburst dates to March 30, 2009 and is in very good condition with very light play wear. The “GS” represents Grand Symphony, and is Taylor’s second largest “Jumbo” body design, following the Grand Orchestra.
A wonderful rarity – a Gibson Les Paul Triumph Bass in natural finish! Introduced in 1971, the Triumph bass followed closely the Les Paul Bass, introduced in 1969. The construction of the Gibson Les Paul Triumph bass is perhaps closest to the original Les Paul Custom, in that aside from the fingerboard, it’s entirely Mahogany including the carved top. No Maple cap! However, that’s where the similarities end, as the Les Paul and Triumph basses have low-impedance pickups and extra controls.
Built at the De Jonge shop in Chelsea, Quebec during 2013, this Sergei De Jonge 7-string cutaway fine instrument is in exceptional condition with very little wear. It features a cutaway body with spruce top and Indian Rosewood for the back, sides, bridge and headplate, and an ebony fingerboard on a mahogany neck. The original TKL tweed case is included, and a Small Dog insulated case cover is available for $189. CITIES documentation is included in the case.
Here we have a brand-new Sergei de Jonge classical guitar, featuring an elevated fingerboard, Torrefied Spruce top and Bolivian Rosewood sides and back! Sergei de Jonge has been building and teaching guitar building for many years and like a number of premiere Canadian builders, was one of Jean Larrivee’s early apprentices.
The Eastman T59 V is a take on one of the most successful and influential of Ted McCarty’s innovations, the thinline, semi-hollow archtop electric guitar. Around 1957, Gibson was looking to update its product line to address a number of issues, one of which was the rise in amplified stage volumes causing feedback. While the engineering team is credited with most of the design, it was apparently president Ted McCarty’s idea to put a solid Maple block through the center of the guitar.
Here is a lovely Rickenbacker 330 Ruby Red thinline electric, in very nice original and complete condition (including the bridge cover!), dating to the third week of April 2014. Like all other Rics it was built at the Santa Ana, California facility.
The Rickenbacker 330 design dates back to the late 1950’s when Roger Rossmeisl created a number of forward-looking designs including the Cresting Wave chambered body and slash soundholes. On this Rickenbacker 330 Ruby Red, the finish really stands out and shows off the contours, without being overly dramatic or flashy; it’s really quite well done.
Introduced in Nashville during 2002, the Gibson ES-137 thinline is intended to combine two of Gibson’s most successful designs – the resonance of the thinline archtop ES models, and the solidity of the Les Paul classic. However, this instrument is thicker than a thinline model, and uses mahogany instead of maple for the center block. Bringing together the Florentine cutaway, arch top body with the solid mahogany center block, and using most of the hardware from a Les Paul including the pickups, tune-a-matic bridge and stop tailpiece, the ES-137 thinline is a very versatile guitar.
Here is a wonderful rarity – Epiphone FT27 steel string flat top, built around 1937 as one of Epiphone’s earliest forays into flat top guitar designs. Epiphone as a brand name first appeared in 1924, though the Stathopoulos family had been building instruments for decades in Smyrna, Turkey. Persecution caused Anastasios Stathopoulos to move his family to the USA, landing in New York City; Anastasios died in 1915 and his son Epi took over.
The Gibson Byrdland appeared in 1955 as a custom order for Billy Byrd and Hank Garland. These two were top Nashville session guitarists who wanted full archtop tone, but in a more comfortable thinner body and a shorter scale length – 23.5 inches, rather than Gibson’s standard 24.75 inches – to allow easier access to complex chords fingerings. The Byrdland was the first of Gibson’s thinline archtop guitars, with many more to follow. The design was so successful that it was quickly promoted to production status.
The Boucher SG-41 Studio Goose uses the OM (Orchestra Model) Hybrid body shape, modified to work better with fingerstyle playing. A locally harvested Adirondack Red Spruce top is paired with Brazilian Mahogany to provide clear, crisp tone and immediate response. The neck is South American Mahogany, and Ebony is used for the headplate, fingerboard and bridge. Bindings are Maple with Herringbone purfling.
Here’ s a new, old stock 2015 Hofner Gold Label Club Bass in solid red! The Club Bass is also known as the 500/2 – the 500/1 is the iconic violin shaped ‘Beatle Bass’. This is a ‘Gold Label’ model, one of a limited edition in custom colour. These models are built at the primary Hofner plant in Hagenau, Bavaria and are not always easy to find available for sale.
This Larrivee LV-09E was built during late 2006, and is in great shape with a factory-stock L.R. Baggs Anthem pickup system! Drawing from classical guitar building roots, the L-body provides a full, even harmonic representation with plenty of volume and articulation. The ‘V’ indicates a rounded Venetian style cutaway. The top is Sitka Spruce, paired with Indian Rosewood for the sides and back. The body blocks and neck are Mahogany, while the bridge and bound fingerboard are Ebony.
Here’s something rare and discontinued from the now-closed Memphis plant, the Gibson ES-275 thin hollow body archtop in classic cherry lacquer. The Gibson ES-275 was new for 2016 and The Twelfth Fret received and sold one of the few in Canada. It’s a fully hollow, laminate maple body with a pair of longitudinal braces and f-holes. The neck is mahogany with rosewood fingerboard.
Introduced in 1998, the G&L SB-2 bass represents a blending of Leo Fender’s two major bass designs into what’s now called a P-J configuration. The P-J concept appeared in the 1970’s as bassists, guitarists and third party companies sought ways to extend the sounds of their instruments. For bassists, an obvious step was to give a Precision Bass a Jazz Bass bridge pickup, hence the P-J designation. This setup was immediately popular and has worked its way into many production and custom instruments.
Introduced in 1980 as one of the first instruments in their new company, the G&L L-2000 bass is still in production. Bearing obvious influences from Fender’s earlier work, this 1981 L-2000 features a two-piece Mahogany body, Maple neck and Rosewood fingerboard. The electronics include a pair of passive humbucking pickups with active volume and tone controls.
Here’s something special, a lovely Romantic Era guitar built by Francois Tachet in Mirecourt, northeastern France, during the 1830s or early 1840s. Mirecourt has long been known for making musical instruments and lace; instruments from the area are often referred to as from the Mirecourt School. Louis Panormo was a contemporary, working in London. This Francois Tachet romantic guitar – at approximately 185 years old – is in good working order, and has had some expected service over the decades.
Here’s a beautiful piece of functional art – from 1960, a Guild X-500 Archtop electric in original condition and very playable! The Guild Guitar company was formed in New York 1951 by jazz guitarist and musical retailer Alfred Dronge and George Mann, ex-Epiphone executive. Most of the staff were also ex-Epiphone employees who did not follow the company from New York to Philadelphia, a move sparked by a four-month strike.
Built from 2006 to 2008, the Dean USA Soltero MHG is a single-cut, sculpted top solidbody with Mahogany for the body, top and neck, and an Ebony fingerboard. Dean Zelinsky founded Dean Guitars in 1997 (at age 17) and in 1997 sold the company to Armadillo Enterprises run by the late Elliott Rubinson. In 2008, Zelinsky founded DBZ guitars.
Here is a nearly-new Taylor 912ce Builder’s Edition steel string guitar, built during 2021 at El Cajon, California, sporting a shaded burst top! This example is in great condition with very little wear. The first Builder’s Edition guitar from the 900 Series blends the style and sound of a rosewood/spruce Grand Concert with inviting, player-friendly features. Built to the exacting specifications of comfort and tone developed by Andy Powers, the Taylor 912ce features back and sides of solid East Indian rosewood paired with a Lutz spruce top.
The Gibson ES-350T (or ES-350TD to the early 1960s) is a thin-bodied, single cutaway fully hollow archtop electric built from 1955 to 1963 with a 23.5 inch scale length, and from 1977 to 1993 with a 25.5 inch scale. It started as the full-bodied, single-cutaway, 25.5 inch scale length single P-90 ES-350 Premiere in 1947. The ES-350 models were used by a number of top artists in the 1950s, most notably Chuck Berry. At introduction in 1955, the Gibson ES-350T shared several things with the also-new Byrdland, particularly the 23.5 inch scale length.
Here’s a real beauty! This is a Larson Bros Prairie State steel string guitar, likely a Model 425 with a OOO sized body, Adirondack Spruce top paired with Brazilian Rosewood for the sides and back. It is likely that the bridge is a replacement – the original would have had engraved, inlaid stars on each of the bridge ‘wings’. The Larson Brothers, Carl and August, began working for the Robert Maurer guitar company in 1893. In 1900, Maurer decided to retire, and the Larsons and investors purchased the company. Over the years, Carl bought out the investors giving the brothers full control.
The Ibanez S61AL Axion Label is a slim double cutaway guitar with curvy lines and a fast playing neck. In contrast to the sharper lines of the Ibanez RG line this guitar takes more cues from other classic double cutaways. However, the reverse headstock, arched top and black mirage gradation finish certainly provide a modern aesthetic as well. The body of the Ibanez S61AL is made from Nyatoh which is often used as cost effective substitute for mahogany and it has a warm tone with full lower midrange. The flame maple cap adds a little bit of brightness and looks killer with the black mirage gradation finish.
Next is an American Archtop 7-String Dream fully hollow archtop electric model in Amber tint, built during 1999 at Stroudsburg PA, just north of Nazareth where American Archtop now operates.
This Bruce West Classical, built during 2021 in Sterling, Ontario features a hundred year old Spruce top and Brazilian Rosewood sides and back. Bruce West has been involved in musical instrument building for most of his life, starting at age 12 with a bench at Geo. Heinl’s workshop in Toronto.
Here we have a Bruce West Cutaway Classical, built during 2016 in Sterling, Ontario with a hundred year old Spruce top and Brazilian Rosewood sides and back. Bruce West has been involved in musical instrument building for most of his life, starting at age 12 with a bench at Geo. Heinl’s workshop in Toronto. In his teens he also played guitar for Ronny Hawkins! Friends with Jean Larrivee, Bruce built relationships with all the now-prominent builders who went through the Larrivee Toronto shops.
Here is a ESP LTD EC-1000 Duncan, and it’s an impressive instrument, well designed, built and equipped. Drawing from the traditional single-cutaway, arched top solidbody concept, the EC-1000 moves beyond it with comfortable contours and shaped heel for easy access to all 24 stainless steel frets. The ESP LTD EC-1000 Duncan uses Mahogany for the body and neck, with Macassar Ebony for the fingerboard. The name ‘Duncan’ refers to the classic pairing of a Seymour Duncan ’59 model in the neck position and a JB in the bridge.
The Alhambra Luthier Aniversario is at the top of the line, featuring Ziricote for the sides, back, bridge and head plate, and either Red Cedar or Spruce for the ‘Japanese House’ braced top. The Alhambra Luthier Aniversario line was introduced in 2015 for Alhambra’s 50th anniversary. Built in Muro de Alcoy alongside other models, the Alhambra Luthier Aniversario is built in the traditional Spanish style, with the Ziricote sides tying into the Spanish Cedar (Cedrela odorata, which is neither Spanish or a Cedar) neck block.
This excellent Bruce West Spruce top classical guitar is new, with an Alpine Spruce top and Indian Rosewood back and sides. It’s built using traditional Spanish construction, with solid linings and tailblock made from black willow. The finish is a beautiful, tonally transparent and hand applied oil varnish.
This is one of our all-time favourites – a Louis Panormo guitar from 1841 with original, period-style coffin case and in fully playable condition! Louis Panormo was born in 1784, one of four sons of violin-maker, Vicenzo Panormo (1734-1813) who emigrated to England from Sicily. Vincenzo’s father was an apprentice of the Maestro himself: Antonio Stradivari. Louis became the most famous and respected of the Panormos, though all four brothers and nephews built guitars and violins for several decades, while others became respected musicians.
The Collings C100 is a full size steel string acoustic with ‘Parlor’ type dimensions, providing great representation throughout the sonic range. Available in two versions, the Collings C100 series starts with the model seen here, pairing a Sitka Spruce top with Honduran Mahogany for the sides, back, body blocks and neck. The head plate, fingerboard and bridge are ebony. The Collings logo and position markers are Mother of Pearl.
The Collings 002H 14 Fret delivers one of the finest medium-body guitar experiences available, pairing Sitka Spruce with Indian Rosewood for a detailed, rich tone. Collings guitars exhibit a consistently high level of build and finish quality. In the world of production guitars, it’s hard to think of anything better built, and that can be extended to custom guitar builds as well. These guitars are pretty much as good as it gets.
Here is a brand spankin’ new Collings OM2H ESS – an Orchestra Model with Engelmann Spruce top, 24.875 inch Short Scale guitar. Based on the classic Orchestra Model design developed at the end of the 1920s and in the Martin catalog for 1930, the Collings OM2H ESS is pretty much as good as it gets. Collings quality is consistently very high, from wood selection to nitrocellulose lacquer finish, setup and everything in between. These are some of the finest instruments available anywhere.
The Collings OM1ESS is based on the traditional OM – Orchestra Model body design, but with an Engelmann Spruce top and a 24.9 inch (632mm) scale length. The OM body has been favored by performing fingerstylists since its introduction by Martin in 1930 as a 14-fret adaptation of the 12-fret OOO models. Collings builds some of the finest instruments available, and this Collings OM1ESS, built during 2019 in Austin Texas is an excellent example of their work.
Here’s a Gibson Les Paul Standard Cherry Sunburst dating to October 17, 1980, sporting a Cherry Sunburst finish and a non-weight relieved, non-pancake body! The Les Paul model was introduced in 1952 as Gibson’s entry into the then-new soldibody ‘Spanish’ electric guitar field, where ‘Spanish’ refers to the way the guitar is held. Solidbody Hawaiian models had been available for some time, and Gibson had been producing electrified archtop guitars since the 1936 ES-150.
The Godin Multiac Nylon Duet Ambience offers a fuller body depth and simpler electronics than the synthesizer-ready models. Like other Multiac models, the Nylon Duet Ambience uses a Cedar top on a chambered Mahogany body, Mahogany neck and Richlite for the fingerboard and Rosewood for the bridge.
The Seagull S6 Classic is a Canadian-made Dreadnought model with a solid Cedar top, Birch laminate back and sides, and Cherry neck with and Indian Rosewood fingerboard. The nut is of Tusq XL, for smooth tuning. Aside from the Rosewood fingerboard, the woods used on these guitars are sourced in Quebec. We’re overstocked on Seagull S6 Classic EQ models, which add a built-in pickup and preamp system.
The Epiphone Texan FT79N – the N indicating a Natural finish on the top rather than Sunburst – was built as a slope shoulder dreadnought from 1958 to 1970 when Epiphone production ceased in the USA. The Epiphone FT79 was originally built from 1941 to 1958 as a square shoulder dreadnought with Walnut back and sides until 1949, and then with laminated Maple until the company was sold to Gibson in 1958.
Charvel DK24 guitars are known for their fast playability, wild finishes and pro features at a great price. The purple burst finish on a quilted maple top is sure to stand out as you blaze up and down the 24 fret speed neck with its smooth satin finish. Here we’re looking at a gently used Charvel DK24 HH QM built during 2018 in Ensenada, Mexico – at the same plants where Fender does their Mexican production.
The Ibanez MM1 Martin Miller Signature model is part of the Prestige line and features a Flame Maple cap on a Mahogany body with a Roasted Maple neck and stainless steel frets. Ibanez Prestige models are built in Japan from the highest quality components and materials, and it’s hard to find any better production guitars anywhere. Here we’re looking at an Ibanez MM1 Martin Miller Signature model in Translucent Aqua Blue, dating to April 2018 and built for Ibanez by FugjiGen Gakki at Nagano, Japan.
The Fender 70th Anniversary Esquire reproduces one of the earliest production electric guitars, the single pickup Esquire. This seminal instrument sparked an explosion in electric guitar production, particularly solidbody guitar production. Like the original run, the Fender 70th Anniversary Esquire uses a Roasted Pine body. Pine was readily available, inexpensive and easy to work, making it ideal for development of both the guitar design and production techniques.
The Bernhard Kresse Modern Classical guitar blends elements of modern guitar building with traditional practices and techniques, delivering a superior concert grade instrument. This example was built during 2003 at Kresse’s small shop in Köln, Germany and features a Spruce top paired with Indian Rosewood for the sides, back, head plate, backstrap and bridge. Mahogany is used for the body blocks and back braces, Maple for the neck and Ebony for the fingerboard.
Here’s something special – a Boucher LTD OMH built with Flamed Black Walnut for the sides and back, and Adirondack Spruce in a Moonwood form for the top. Moonwood is not a specific variety of any kind of wood species. Rather, the name refers to when it was harvested; at varying seasons and phases of the moon, sap content is higher or lower. During autumn and winter, when the tree is moving to hibernation, and just before the new moon, sap content is at its lowest.
The Huss & Dalton TDR is, as the name breaks down, a Traditional Dreadnought design with Rosewood for the sides, back, and head plate. This Huss & Dalton NOS TDR Custom is a New Old Stock model but still covered as new! Built in Staunton, Virginia, the Huss & Dalton TDR evokes the best of the traditional Dreadnought design. Extremely well built and finished, the TDR seen here – a Custom version – uses a Thermo-cured Adirondack Spruce top, paired with Indian Rosewood for the sides and back.
Here we have a Nash T63 in a ‘Relic Olympic White’ treatment which was built during 2018 in the USA by Bill Nash and team. Drawing from the original 1963 production T guitars, this Nash T63 features a lightweight Ash body, paired with a ‘Slab’ style Rosewood fingerboard on a C-profile Maple neck.
Here’s a real beauty – a Collings I35DLXS Thinline Custom with a carved, solid Flame Maple top and single Lollar Imperial pickup in the neck position. This wonderful example was originally custom ordered through The Twelfth Fret during 2008, and has been used professionally. An interesting note about its use and condition is that it’s really only been used in a seated position. Collings supplied a pair of strap pins, which are in the Ameritage case, but as part of the custom order did not drill holes for them or install them.
Part of their Traditional Series, the Collings OM2HT replicates highly sought-after pre-war (WWII) Orchestra Model guitars by way of careful wood selection bracing patterns and appointments. This is one of the best expressions of the OM design available at any price. The Collings OM2HT is sold with its original Collings branded, arched top hard shell case.
Built in San Luis Obispo California, the National Resolectric Revolver blends the resophonic and solidbody electric guitar concepts, to great success. Very similar in design to the ResoLectric, the National Resolectric Revolver uses a solid Mahogany body that’s routed for the resonator and electric pickups, and a bolt-on Mahogany neck with Rosewood fingerboard. The headplate is a faux pearl covering.
Built in San Luis Obispo California, the National Resolectric solidbody guitar Sunburst blends the resophonic and solidbody electric guitar concepts, to great success. Very similar in design to the Resolectric Revolver, the National Resolectric uses the familiar pairing of a flame Maple top on a Mahogany body that’s routed for the resonator and electric pickups, and a bolt-on flame Maple neck with Rosewood fingerboard. The headplate is a faux pearl covering.
The Alhambra Luthier Rio Concert Classical Guitar is an excellent instrument, available only on special order. It features a Master Grade cedar top and solid Brazilian rosewood back and sides. The name of the model, ‘Rio’, comes from the Spanish name for Brazilian Rosewood – Palosanto de Rio. The Alhambra Guitar Company of Muro de Alcoy in Spain have built a reputation for crafting high quality nylon string guitars used extensively by students, educators and professional musicians.
The 1983 Fender Telecaster Natural Finish seen here is from the closing days of CBS ownership of Fender and the end of production in Fullerton, California. This 1983 example of the Fender Telecaster Natural is in overall good condition, with a few non-original components. The original pickups were replaced with Fender Noiseless models, and the tuners have been swapped for modern Fender tuners.
The Schecter C6 Plus is a straight ahead, no-nonsense model providing great looks, playability and tone at a reasonable price. Combining the proven ingredients of a Maple neck with 24-fret Indian Rosewood fingerboard and a Basswood body, the Schecter C6 Plus also sports a top ‘image’ layer of Quilted Maple, finished with a very nice Charcoal Burst finish.
This is a real treat! One of only 275 built during 2006, here is a Fender EC Blackie Tribute Custom Shop Stratocaster, complete with Duck Bros flight case, Certificate of Authenticity and all of the related materials. The Fender EC Blackie is based very closely on Clapton’s original ‘Blackie’, itself pieced together by Clapton from three 1950’s Strats. That guitar was ultimately sold at auction to Guitar Center by Christie’s on June 24, 2004, in support of Crossroads Center Antigua, the addiction recovery center Clapton helped found in 1998.
Part of the Larrivee Recording series, the Larrivee L03R is an American made instrument with excellent craftsmanship, tone and value. Back in the early seventies a young Jean-Claude Larrivee created the L body shape which has become a staple of the Larrivee guitar line. This body shape is similar to a classical body design and features a Symmetrical Parabolic X-Bracing pattern.
This Epiphone Zephyr Deluxe was built around 1947 based on the middle-position pickup type and location, control layout and the serial number. The serial is ‘75194’ with the 75 being a prefix for this model and the ‘194’ its production rank; this serial scheme was used from 1944 to 1950. The top is Laminate Spruce, the back and sides Laminate Maple and the neck a five piece layup of Maple and Walnut.
Introduced in 2008 and built until 2011, the Ibanez SDB1 is the signature model for Sharlee D’Angelo of the Swedish Metal band Arch Enemy, based on the Iceman body shape and available in Flat Black! The SDB1 was replaced in 2012 by the SDB2 and in 2013 by the current SDB3, in Flat White. Here we’re looking at a great condition, first year Ibanez SDB1 built during June of 2008 at the Cor-Tek plant in Ngoro, Mojokerto Indonesia.
The Fender American Professional II Telecaster with Rosewood fingerboard and Dark Night finish features rolled edges on a deep C profile neck, narrow-tall frets, heel contour, V-Mod II single-coil Telecaster pickups, and a stock treble bleed circuit to preserve highs when the volume control is turned down. A new bridge design with three compensated brass saddles can be strung either from the top, or the traditional rear-load.
The Brand new Fender Ultra Luxe Stratocaster has arrived! This is one of the first Fender production models to bear Stainless Steel frets. It also has other helpful features like locking tuners, a push-in trem arm and noiseless pickups with the S-1 switch, giving access to all pickup combinations.
Here’s a great deal on a New, Old Stock (NOS) Taylor Custom GA in Spruce and Figured Walnut, dating to early 2015 and at a significant price reduction! As the name suggests, the Taylor Custom GA is from Taylor’s Custom programme, sometimes known as BTO or ‘Build To Order’. The GA stands for Grand Auditorium, one of the larger body sizes but smaller than a Jumbo or Dreadnought.
Here is the new Fender American Ultra Telecaster Rosewood Board in seen here in the new Texas Tea finish, with new body contours, stock noiseless pickups, new electronics, biflex truss rod, and a compound radius fingerboard!
Here’s a Ramirez Conservatorio Abeto Concert classical guitar, built during 2014 in Madrid, Spain and featuring the ‘Abeto’ or Spruce top.
This example is in overall good condition, with one small pressure mark on the top. It has no cracks and wear is minimal. The original Ramirez-branded Hiscox lightweight flight case is included. The Ramirez Conservatorio Concert Classical guitar represents a major development in classical guitar design from Amalia Ramírez, with unique use of ‘fiddle edge’ construction.
The Boucher SG51 OM Hybrid melds simple yet elegant visuals with an inspiring rich balanced tone. Each AAAA Adirondack red spruce top on the Boucher SG51 OM Hybrid is handpicked by Robin Boucher for looks and tone. Red spruce has a high ceiling for tone production which means you can drive a lot of energy with a flat pick or your fingers to produce lots of volume and tone.
The National M-14T Thunderbox is the latest version of National’s standard M-14 and features a 4″ deep body, delivering more low end and applied volume.
The National M-14T Thunderbox is the latest version of National’s standard M-14. The newly improved M-14T features a 4″ deep body, improving the low end response and creating a louder, punchier instrument. The National M-14T Thunderbox body is composed of laminate top and back, and solid mahogany sides. This instrument also features a mahogany neck, ebony fretboard and mother-of-pearl position markers.
The Rickenbacher Electro Model B ES was not the first electric guitar, as it’s based on a Hawaiian version, but it is one of the very first Electric Spanish guitars produced for retail sale. Introduced in 1935, the Model B Electic Spanish is based on the Model B Lap or Hawaiian model introduced in 1931. At the time the Rickenbacher Electro Model B was launched, the only other Electric Spanish model in production was also a Rickenbacker product – the 1935 Ken Roberts model.
The Boucher HG56 is crafted for the best tonal results. It will deliver mids and bass depth while finger picking even using a capo at the 7th fret. Evenness and richness of sound will surprise the most accomplished players. The ability of this instrument to adjust to your musical style will elevate your playing to the point of your finding it difficult to put it down. Many fingerstyle players have told us that they feel immediately became better musicians as soon as they played our Heritage Goose. This gives us at Boucher Guitars a great sense of pride to help you accomplish your full musical potential and to boost your creativity.
The AZ line of guitars from Ibanez is all about high performance machines with a perfect balance of classic and modern style and packed to the nines with features. The Ibanez AZ226PB Premium adds another high quality guitar to the lineup. The premium series from Ibanez has the same features as the Prestige line but they are manufactured in Indonesia to offer them at a lower cost. These guitars are very impressive and the quality is very close to the ones made in Japan at the Fuji-Gen plant.
Built in Melbourne, Australia, the Cole Clark FL1A/12 features solid wood construction with sustainably sourced, local wood species. Cole Clark, like Maton, typically use indigenous woods wherever possible. The company was founded in 2001 by Brad Clark, who worked for Maton from 1990 to 2001. The company offers a number of unique instruments including the Violap, a lap steel guitar influenced by the Weissenborn design.
Here we are looking at the Thomas Malapanis Classical numbered 26, and dated to 2004. The top is Red Cedar, while the sides, back, headplate and bridge are Cocobolo. The sides are lined with a Cypress or Sycamore facing, not the same as ‘laminate’ woods, a technique pioneered by Jose Ramirez III to help increase clarity, and still used on some higher end Ramirez models.
The Ramirez FL2 Flamenco Blanca is a traditional Flamenco Blanca model, built to provide brilliant, percussive and loud rhythms at brisk tempos. This model, and its new replacement the Estudio Flamenco “Serranito” are the only ‘Student’ Flamenco guitars offered by Ramirez. Flamenco is now very professional and formalized, but is at its roots a folk style combining highly expressive, rhythmic percussion and melody using voice, dance, hand claps, finger snaps and guitars.
Here we have a brand new Taylor GT Urban Ash, part of Taylor’s new Grand Theater line of compact body acoustics! These are built using Shamel ash from California for the sides and back. Shamel Ash is native to Mexico and Central America, and is often planted along streets in southern California.
The new Fender American Professional II Telecaster Deluxe in Mystic Sea Foam Green and sporting new V-Mod II Double Tap™ pickups! This guitar is also available in Olympic White, 3-color sunburst, Dark Night, Mercury, and Miami Blue. The original Fender molded hard shell case is included.
The Martin 0028 has been built for over a century, with the first known example appearing in 1898. The first mention of the 00 body size dates to 1877! Martin’s 00 body was considered enormous when introduced, and was the largest size until the first 000 sized guitar appeared in 1902, followed a decade later by the D body size built for the Ditson company.
Here’s an unusual, beautiful and spectacular piece – a Tony Karol Belair Harp Guitar, combining salvaged Bearclaw Spruce and Cocobolo with a fan fret fingerboard! Harp guitars date to the early years of the 18th century and the first true harp guitar appeared in Paris in 1773, built by Naderman. He called this instrument a ‘Bisex’, meaning double six – six harp strings and six regular strings. Over time that term has taken on a rather different meaning.
Here we have a Huss & Dalton L-13 Standard in Rosewood, based on the classic Nick Lucas models made by Gibson from 1927 to 1938. The L-13 is part of the Huss & Dalton Crossroads line. Featuring a Sitka Spruce top and here with Indian Rosewood for the sides and back, the Huss & Dalton L-13 Standard is also available with Mahogany for the sides and back, while the L-13 Deluxe uses figured Maple and sunburst on the back as well as the top.
Drawing from the roots of the single-cone resophonic guitar, the National Style O Steel 14 Fret definitely has a vintage appearance with all the quality of modern Nationals. Sporting a unique ‘Weathered Steel’ finish over a steel body with rolled F-holes and a Maple neck with Ebony fingerboard, the Style O Steel 14 Fret delivers all the tone, volume and projection that National is known for.
The Eastman Romeo SC is a new limited edition thinline and largely hollow archtop electric design by Otto D’Ambrosio at the Eastman Custom Shop in California. Intended as an imagining of what ‘The Telecaster of the Archtop World’ would be, the Romeo started with defining its balance and player’s hand positions. The body is fairly small at 14.75 inches across, and the ‘Single Cut’ design gives plenty of access to the fretboard.
The Gibson Super 400 strode above most others when giant archtops roamed the earth, and is still one of the largest production guitars made. Making its introduction in 1934 as the ‘Super L-5 Deluxe’, the non-cutaway model was quickly joined by a cutaway model, initially named the Super 400 P for ‘Premiere’. The ‘400’ designation was originally a reference to the price. These were top of the line for acoustic archtop guitars, and were played by many top artists – Merle Travis being one.
Here we have a Collings OM1 Custom, based on a stock OM1 but with a half inch deeper body providing more bass and fuller sound, filling out an already great tone, and a slightly wider fingerboard. This Collings OM1 Custom guitar was built for The Twelfth Fret, with a 4.5 inch body depth and a 12.75 inch nut width being the only differences from the stock OM1.
Today we are featuring a beautiful OM1 from the workshop of Bill Collings. The OM1 is an outstanding example of the consistently exceptional sounding mahogany guitars from Collings. This piece defines the Collings sound with a crisp attack, strong note fundamental, sweet midrange and lovely overtone detail.
Here we have a brand new C. F. Martin J-40. The J-40 features a tight-waisted jumbo body shape, built from a Sitka spruce top and Indian rosewood for the back and sides. Mahogany is used for the neck, and ebony for the bound fingerboard and bridge. This is one of the few new J-40s available anywhere, and given the world wide and industry wide impact the pandemic has had, they will continue to be hard to obtain.
This is a beautiful brand new Huss & Dalton DM mahogany dreadnought, a great guitar following the traditional pattern of Mahogany D style guitars. Established in 1995, Huss & Dalton began when Jeff Huss and Mark Dalton had the idea to build the guitar they wanted to play. While always appreciating the traditional design, both had a vision of a guitar that paid homage to tradition while incorporating improvements in the structural design and cosmetics of the steel string guitar.
The Seagull S6 Original is a small revamp of the award winning Seagull S6, first introduced in 1982 and which has become the flagship model for the Seagull line which features excellent quality and value. The Seagull line, like Art and Lutherie and Simon & Patrick, are all products of the Godin companies based in southern Quebec, Canada. The revamp of the Seagull S6 Original features a pressure tested solid cedar top, laminate wild cherry sides and back and a thin yet durable semi-gloss finish. The combination of the dreadnought body shape and the solid cedar top produces a tight bottom end, crisp midrange and smooth top end.
Designed in collaboration with Mike Dowling, the National Resophonic El Trovador is patterned after the famous National guitars produced from 1932-1933. Similar to its venerable predecessor, the new National ResoPhonic El Trovador guitar features a large, 14.5 inch wide, 4 inch deep body built of mahogany. The body is bound in multi-layer celluloid, with a matching purfling border around the coverplate.
Here we have a brand new guitar that caught our eyes, then our ears – a Gibson 60s J45 Original built during March of this year in an Ebony finish. This exceptional guitar comes from the Gibson Acoustic shop in Bozeman, Montana and we’ve seen a number of other truly outstanding pieces come from them in the last while.
The Boucher SG21S comes from Boucher Guitars, who make very high quality hand crafted guitars in the heart of Quebec and their calling card is their use of locally harvested Adirondack Red Spruce. Simple elegance and outstanding quality control are on display when you first observe these fine instruments.
The Martin D-45 has been the top of the line in the Martin Guitar Company’s line of regular production instruments since its initial introduction in 1933, and its re-introduction in 1968.
Built in Berthier-sur-Mer Quebec, the Boucher BG152 is a rich, lively and loud dreadnought from the Boucher Bluegrass Goose series of guitars. This impressive dreadnought pairs an AAAA Adirondack Red Spruce top personally selected by Robin Boucher with a lovely set of Madagascar Rosewood. Red Spruce has a high ceiling for tone production which means you can drive a lot of energy with a flat pick or your fingers to produce lots of volume and tone.
The Seagull Entourage Autumn Burst is a slope shouldered dreadnought featuring a solid spruce top. The new autumn burst finish really pops on this guitar with the addition of the white body binding, redesigned pickguard and rich shaded finish on the back and sides. The slope shouldered dreadnought body and solid spruce top provide lots of projection and clear treble frequencies that will cut through most acoustic situations.
The Eastman DT30OM is the second model in Eastman’s new Double Top line, bringing high end classical guitar technology to the steel string world – here in a classic Orchestra Model body design. The double top concept aims to allow a very thin, light and responsive top but with superior strength and stiffness. Here, thin layers of Sitka Spruce are bonded to a honeycomb Nomex core. Nomex is a Kevlar polymer and helps provide significant improvements in stiffness to weight ratios.
Here is an Eastman SB55DC /V Solidbody in Vintage Varnish! This definitely evokes the mid 1950’s slab bodied models, and with top quality hardware. Introduced in mid 2020 and now making its way to us, the Eastman SB55DC /V features a slab body and neck of lightweight Okoume Mahogany, sourced from Gabon, Central Africa. The fingerboard, head plate and truss rod cover are Ebony, and that’s it for woods used.
The new Eastman Romeo is a thinline archtop electric designed by Otto D’Ambrosio and features a solid Spruce top on laminated Mahogany sides and back for feedback resistance. Introduced during 2020 but in short supply due to COVID effects, the Eastman Romeo has an almost fully hollow body, but with a Mahogany block from the tail to the bridge. This block provides the necessary support for the bridge and stop tailpiece supports. The top is carved, solid Spruce and the back and sides are formed, layered Mahogany. The neck is Mahogany, with a bound Ebony fingerboard and Mother of Pearl dot position markers.
The Fender American Professional Jazz bass is an update of the Fender Deluxe bass, originally released in 1960 and quickly renamed as the Jazz Bass. Fender believed the narrower neck and single coil pickups would appeal to jazz musicians. This bass became a legend as it caught on to more than just jazz players and it has been heard on countless classic recordings. The Fender American Professional Jazz bass retains much of the character of its ancestor while being updated with modern features to create an amazing contemporary bass.
The Morgan Concert is built in David Iannone’s Morgan Guitar shop in North Vancouver on Canada’s West Coast and shows clear influences from his apprenticeship with Jean Larrivee.
This Morgan Concert was built during 1995, ten years after Iannone’s founding of Morgan Guitars. It shows the clear influences of Larrivee designs, and before him the influence of Edgar Monch. Jean Larrivee initially learned guitar building from Monch during his time in Toronto.
Charvel guitars have a long standing reputation as the guitar for choice for modern players looking for a fast playing feature laden instrument. The new Charvel ProMod DK 24HH 2PT CM model from the Pro-Mod series boasts a feature set and playability that will rival instruments double the price. The first thing you may notice is the lovely roasted maple neck. In addition to the rich visual aesthetic the process of roasting the maple and taking out moisture makes for a more stable neck that won’t shift as much during seasonal and humidity changes. If you do need to adjust the neck there is a heel mounted truss rod adjustment wheel which makes small changes a breeze.
The Martin 00016E is a compact auditorium sized guitar that features a Sitka spruce top and Granadillo sides and back. Granadillo is a tropical hardwood from Central America. Granadillo is similar to Indian rosewood but it tends to be slightly harder and denser. This produces a tone similar to Indian rosewood with a scooped midrange and extended bass and trebles but with an additional bell like chime to the top end.
The Martin 0-18 Standard is a wonderful addition to the standard series from Martin guitars. This parlor sized body features a Sitka spruce top and mahogany sides and back. The small body shape is extremely comfortable to sit with and compact lower bout width helps to decrease strumming arm fatigue. The mahogany neck has a shorter 24.9” scale length and low oval profile to add to the comfortable playing experience.
The Eastman E10 OOSSV has a big sound for a small body and super cool vintage vibe with its antique varnish finish. This body shape is very compact and comfortable with its curvy waist and 14 ¾” lower bout. It sits tight to the body when in a seated position and your strumming arm remains at a very comfortable angle which will allow you to enjoy this guitar for hours of play time. Tonal production on the Eastman E10 OOSSV is provided by the lovely wood pairing of Adirondack spruce and mahogany along with the hand carved scalloped x braces on the top. Adirondack spruce has loads of clarity and a high ceiling of volume.
Though unequivocally drawn from the classic Les Paul design and in particular the most desirable 1959 models, the Eastman SB59V is not a slavish copy. Many visual differences are clear, including the shapes of the headstock and cutaway. The body is constructed of a carved, Flame maple top laminated to a one-piece Mahogany slab body. A Mahogany neck with a bound Ebony fingerboard is attached via a longish tenon joint. The neck has a vintage style ‘V’ profile.
The Eastman E8OM features all solid wood construction and a gloss nitrocellulose lacquer finish. The top, with Herringbone purfling, is Sitka Spruce, the sides, back and headplate Indian Rosewood. The body blocks and dovetail-joint neck are Mahogany, with Ebony for the fingerboard and bridge. Unusually, the fingerboard also appears to have a light coat of clear lacquer. The inlays are subtle, small snowflakes in Abalone. The example seen here is strictly acoustic, but it is available with an L R Baggs pickup system.
The Taylor 214ce is super comfortable smaller grand concert body size guitar featuring a Sitka spruce top and Ovangkol sides and back. The smaller body size and curvy waist on this guitar works really well for players looking for a more compact instrument and it also helps to reduce playing fatigue when in a seated position. The new V class bracing from Taylor helps to boost the volume and sustain which is really beneficial on a smaller guitar.
Here is a very cool guitar, the Fender Vintera 60s Jaguar in a classic Sunburst finish, part of a line created for players who want the look and sound of Fenders golden era. The Fender Vintera 60s Jaguar features an alder body with a maple 60’s C shape neck profile with rolled edges for a classic playing feel. The bridge, tremolo and tuners are all vintage style and add to the classic visuals.
The Waterloo WLK TR reproduces a rare, lightweight and responsive depression-era guitar built by Gibson under the Kel Kroydon name from 1930 to 1933. These models are built by Collings at their shop in Austin, Texas. An exceptional instrument, the Waterloo WLK TR features a Spruce top and bracing with Mahogany for the back, sides, body blocks and neck, with an Indian Rosewood 12-fret fingerboard and Ebony bridge.
The Taylor 110e dreadnought guitar features a solid Sitka spruce top which is paired with a layered Walnut sides and back. The body size produces lots of volume and punchy midrange with clear trebles from the spruce top. The very stable maple neck has a slightly narrower 1 11/16” nut width and a satin finish which makes for a very comfortable playing experience. If more volume is needed the Taylor 110e is equipped with the Taylor ES pickup system.
The Fender Vintera 60’s Jazz bass is loaded with features from Fenders Golden era at a more affordable price point. This bass features a mid 60’s C shaped neck carve and a 7.25” radius. The maple neck has a Pau Ferro fretboard and vintage sized frets. The re-voiced 60’s single coil pickups have more of that authentic grit and growl that made the Jazz bass a legend. The open gear tuners, vintage saddles and three tone sunburst finish top really round out the classic aesthetic on this bass.
The Ibanez RG1027PBF Premium is a seven string version of their very popular RG body shape. This double cutaway body has sleek sharp lines and high quality features. The body is made from American basswood which is a fairly light weight wood with a growly warm tone with good midrange presence. The poplar burl top is very alluring particularly with the Cerulean blue burst finish. The neck is a multi piece neck made from Panga Panga, maple, walnut and purple heart. The multi wood neck adds stability and the Wizard 7 profile has a very solid feel and is fast playing but not too thin.
The Taylor 214ce BLK DLX is an excellent multipurpose guitar with an eye catching all black finish. The grand auditorium body works well for fingerstyle and light to medium strumming with a good amount of volume production. The solid Sitka spruce top of the Taylor 214ce BLK DLX has a great dynamic range and clear balanced tone.
The Larrivee OM 40R Legacy is simple and elegant orchestra sized guitar that features a Sitka spruce top and Indian rosewood sides and back. The squared peghead with open gear tuners and bold rope rosette and top purfling enhance this classic aesthetic. Top it all off with the ebony fret board and bridge and maple body binding and you have an excellent looking instrument.
The Larrivee OM-40 Legacy model is a tonally well balanced orchestra size flat top with classic appointments. It features a mahogany back and a sitka spruce top. This tone wood combination provides rich midrange warmth and smooth articulation.
Here we have a new Huss & Dalton TOMR Custom featuring a Thermo-Cured Sitka Spruce top and Indian Rosewood back and sides! The model name breaks down to Traditional Orchestra Model Rosewood. On this guitar, the Custom refers to the choice of the thermo-cured Sitka top; it’s also available with an Adirondack or Red Spruce top, and without the thermo-cure. Thermo-cured wood is also known as baked, torrefied, and by Martin as part of their VTS (vintage tone system). The process uses controlled, high heat, atmospheric pressure and minimal oxygen and simulates aging.
The Gibson SG Tribute is part of the Gibson Modern line and is an excellent workhorse guitar with simple and classic aesthetics. This guitar features the classic sg rounded and thin double cutaway body shape made of mahogany. This particular version of the Gibson SG Tribute comes in a satin walnut stain for a very earthy and natural look. The neck is maple with rosewood fretboard and fuller rounded profile and a 12” radius. The satin finish on the back of the neck and the 22 medium jumbo frets provide a smooth and easy playing feel. The double cutaway body design provides easy access all the way up to the last fret.
You will find a superb assortment of Michael Messer Resophonic Guitars at The Twelfth Fret. Our selection include Michael Messer’s array of models.
The Seagull Coastline Momentum CH HG A/E is another excellent guitar from the Godin family in Quebec. This precise model has been discontinued but we’ve still got a few of them in stock! The name indicates that this guitar is part of the Coastline Momentum line, CH for Concert Hall body shape, HG for High Gloss finish, and A/E ‘Acoustic Electric’. The CH ‘Concert Hall’ body is an equivalent to the classic Orchestra Model body used successfully by many builders since its introduction in the early 1930s.
The Seagull Coastline Momentum HG A/E is another excellent guitar from the Godin family in Quebec, with a solid Cedar top and laminate Cherry sides and back – and a Fishman pickup system! Since the creation of the award winning S6 model in 1982, Seagull guitars have been known for their excellent quality. The Seagull Coastline Momentum was designed in 2017 and features a solid cedar top and a very thin high gloss finish. This thin finish provides a luxurious accent to the wild cherry sides and back and allows the cedar top to vibrate more freely and that means more volume and tone production.
The Gibson Les Paul Tribute is a guitar that both respects its lineage and uses some modern design elements to produce a cool vibe and playing experience. This particular guitar features a Cherry Sunburst with satin nitrocellulose finish. The satin finish looks great and will help to not show finger print smudges from playing. Another great feature on the Gibson Les Paul Tribute is the Ultra modern weight relief. This process retains a solid core of mahogany under the maple cap while chambering around the perimeter. The provided weight relief is substantial and really lightens the load on your shoulder when playing for longer periods of time. Unlike a full chambered design the solid core limits the effect on the overall tone.
The Eastman E6 OM is a warm and balanced sounding guitar with straightforward classic appointments. The OM or orchestra sized body is a smaller shape dating to the early 1930s with a curvy waist and more compact lower bout. This results in a very comfortable playing experience particularly in a seated position. The smaller body also requires less energy to get the top moving and responds really well to a lighter touch. Fingerstyle playing and light to medium strumming really bring out the voice of this instrument.
The PCH1 D model from Eastman guitars is an excellent choice for players looking for great sounding guitar at an affordable price. One of the main features on this model is the solid Sitka spruce top. The top or sound board is one of the main components in tone production on an acoustic guitar. While laminate tops have more durability they are stiff and don’t vibrate well. The solid top vibrates with the energy of the strings and produces tone.
The all-new Eastman PCH1 OM model really hits a sweet spot for players looking for upgraded features at an affordable price. One of the main features on this model is the solid Sitka spruce top, paired with a laminate Sapele body. The top or sound board is one of the main components in tone production on an acoustic guitar. While laminate tops have more durability they are stiff and don’t vibrate well. The solid top vibrates with the energy of the strings and produces tone, and its ability to do this develops over time with playing. This is a guitar that will grow with you!
Here’s a beautiful new Huss & Dalton T0014 Rosewood, part of the Traditional series and here seen with a Rosewood rather than Mahogany body. The top of the Huss & Dalton T0014 Rosewood is Sitka Spruce and the neck is Mahogany, with Ebony for the bridge and unbound fingerboard. The headplate is Indian Rosewood, and there are no electronics installed – this guitar is entirely acoustic.
The Martin 000-28 is a guitar delivering bold and complex tone in a package with timeless style. The 000-28 is a small-bodied guitar with a tight waist. This smaller body shape works really well for players with a light to medium touch, as you don’t have to drive the top as hard to produce tone. The classic pairing of Sitka spruce top and Indian rosewood sides and back on the Martin 000-28 produces a rich and full-bodied tone with plenty of complex overtones. The x bracing pattern of the top is scalloped which removes some mass and allows the top to vibrate more increasing volume and bass response.
The Eastman SB59 V reflects the classic late 1950s design for a single cutaway, Flamed Maple on Mahogany solidbody with humbucking pickups. While it follows the formula, it’s not a precise copy and Eastman uses their own designs. As a ‘Vintage’ style model, this guitar has undergone an treatment process to simulate the wear of decades of use – except for fretwear.
The Gitane DG-300 Professional Gypsy Jazz Guitar – Modele John Jorgenson is one of the most popular choices for a Gypsy jazz guitar ! It has a steeper neck angle and more top arch than the 200 series Gitanes. These features gives it a more traditional Gypsy sound and feel. It projects nicely with a fair amount of openness to the tone and can get rather crunchy for rhythm playing.
Here is a brand new Huss & Dalton Crossroads 12, a smaller bodied, 12 fret version of the Crossroads line. These “Retro” guitars are great for fingerstyle, particularly blues and folk styles, and work really well with a vocalist. Sold with the original Huss & Dalton hard shell case.
The Fender American Ultra Precision Bass is the most advanced offering in their line catering to discerning players that want the most precision, high quality performance and tone. The Fender Precision bass is one of the most heard and recorded bass guitars in history and this version adds some modern features to this legendary tone machine. The alder body and maple neck combination delivers a familiar thump and fat note fundamental. New features include the new ultra-noiseless pickups in a PJ configuration. This gives you a standard precision pickup and a jazz pickup in the bridge position.
The Art & Lutherie Americana Faded Black is hand crafted in Quebec and pays tribute the century old classic Dreadnought body shape. This guitar features a solid cedar top and laminate wild cherry back and sides. The large body shape provides good volume for strumming and the cedar top adds lovely warmth to the tone. The satin faded black finish is sharp and eye catching with the white body binding.
The Martin 000-17 is a small bodied, easy playing and warm sounding guitar available in either a satin black smoke finish or satin whiskey sunburst finish. This guitar features a solid Sitka spruce top and mahogany sides and back. This classic wood pairing provides a balance of warmth and clarity with a good dynamic range.
The Taylor 214ce Plus is an updated version of their excellent general purpose Grand Auditorium body shape. The narrow waist on this guitar makes it very comfortable to play particularly in a seated position where the guitar sits tighter to your body and doesn’t extend your strumming arm into a fatiguing position. The solid Sitka spruce top used on the Taylor 214ce Plus is paired with layered rosewood back and sides.
The Huss & Dalton TDR is, as the name breaks down, a Traditional Dreadnought design with Rosewood for the sides, back, and head plate. The Dreadnought design first appeared during 1916, built by C F Martin for the Oliver Ditson company. The design was not popular at the time but when Martin re-introduced it in 1931, times had changed. These models went on to great success and are now one of the handful of standard guitar body shapes, built by almost everyone and played by countless guitarists.
The Boucher Studio Goose SG-21 uses the OM Hybrid, or Orchestra Model body shape modified to work better with fingerstyle playing. The very white, locally harvested Adirondack Red Spruce top is paired with African Bubinga to provide clear, crisp tone and immediate response. The neck is Mahogany, and Ebony is used for the headplate, fingerboard and bridge.
The Boucher SG51 is a hybrid style OM guitar that melds simple yet elegant visuals with an inspiring rich balanced tone. Each AAAA Adirondack red spruce top on the Boucher SG51 guitars is handpicked by Robin Boucher for looks and tone. Red spruce has a high ceiling for tone production which means you can drive a lot of energy with a flat pick or your fingers to produce lots of volume and tone.
The Taylor 322ce 12 fret is a very comfortable small bodied guitar with a dark and earthy vibe. This guitar features a Tropical mahogany top and Tasmanian Blackwood sides and back. Both wood sets have a darker complexion and the shaded edge burst finish along with the black pickguard and body binding really tie the whole package together. The Grand Concert body shape of the Taylor 322ce 12 fret is compact and comfortable but still produces a good amount of volume for a small guitar. The blackwood provides a meaty midrange with a little bit of treble sparkle and the mahogany top smooths out the overall tonal range with some natural compression.
The National Style 1.5 Tricone Resophonic guitar is patterned after the original instrument made in 1927 with a functional Art Deco industrial design. It is made of brass, highly polished and plated with either bright nickel plating or a custom Antique Brass treatment! The round, mahogany neck has an ivoroid bound ebony fingerboard. The headstock has the National logo inlayed in mother-of-pearl and vintage-style tuners! To create the National Style 1.5 Tricone, a touch of elegance is added to the Style 1, with hand-engraved double-cut lines encasing a wiggle stroke around the front, side, and back edges of the nickel-plated brass body!
The Eastman E20P SB is the sunburst finish version of a Parlor guitar – close to the ‘Single O’ body size dating to the end of the 19th century. As with many other models from this builder, the Eastman E20P uses all solid wood construction. The top is Adirondack Spruce, while the sides and back are Indian Rosewood. The body blocks and slotted-peghead 14 fret neck are Mahogany, with Ebony used for the pyramid style bridge and unbound fingerboard.
The Taylor 414ce R is built around the popular Grand Auditorium shape which has delighted players with an array of sonic possibilities. This body shape handles everything from light fingerstyle to heavier strumming and flatpicking. The classic wood pairing of Sitka spruce and Indian rosewood used on the Taylor 414ce R provides a complex yet balanced sound.
The C.F. Martin 00-15M model continues the Martin tradition with a 00-14 fret body size, solid all-mahogany construction and a rich satin finish. The Martin 00 body design dates back to 1898 and has been used continually since then. The Martin 00-15M model was introduced in 2009, but Martin has built many mahogany topped guitars in the past, including the 000-18M. Martin’s 15 Series delivers elegant simplicity – a high quality but simply appointed instrument at an affordable price.
The Eastman E10 OOSS is a modern version of a classic – the OO body shape with an Adirondack Spruce top and Mahogany back, sides and neck with Rosewood fingerboard and bridge. This design comes from the 1898 Martin OO18, which was built until 1995, and again since 2006 with a few variations. The OO body is a bit larger and louder than the ‘Parlor Guitar’ size, and closer to the volume of a classical guitar body. These are known as being tonally very well balanced, with good clarity and separation between notes. They make excellent fingerstyle guitars.
The Eastman E10D follows a traditional dreadnought design featuring an Adirondack spruce top paired with mahogany fir the sides, back and neck. Based on the classic square shoulder dreadnoughts introduced to the mass market in the early 1930s and still the basis of many guitar lines, the Eastman E10D gets pretty much everything right. The Adirondack Spruce top produces a full, rich tone that holds up well when played hard, as might frequently happen in a bluegrass context. There’s plenty of bottom, shimmering top end and everything in between.
Now discontinued in favor of a cutaway version with pickups, the Eastman AC122 is a versatile player’s guitar at an affordable price point. Though we can’t resupply this particular model, we have a small number left in stock. The Grand Auditorium style body shape works well for both fingerstyle and strumming. A curvy waist allows the guitar to sit closer to the body when seated and helps to reduce strumming arm fatigue. The warm and dynamic tone is created from the pairing of the solid Sitka spruce top and solid Sapele sides and back.
Here we have the Fender Player Precision Bass – a straight ahead continuation of the classic, ultra versatile, durable and reliable solidbody bass that started it all. The Fender Precision bass, introduced in 1951, has become the most recorded bass and has been used on countless shows, sessions, and recordings in virtually all genres. Built at Fender’s plant in Ensenada, Mexico and following the original materials choice with an Alder body and Maple neck with rear-mounted truss rod and Walnut ‘Skunk Stripe’, the Fender Player Precision Bass offers a great quality bass at an affordable price.
The Taylor K24ce is awe inspiring instrument from its striking visuals to its clear and focused voice! One of the first guitars to be voiced with the new V class bracing system, it features stunning sets of Hawaiian Koa on the top, sides and back. This tropical hardwood is harvested on the big island of Hawaii and has a clear and solid note fundamental with warm and complex overtones that increase over time as the guitar is played.
The Gold Tone EBM-5 is a unique F-style 5-string electric banjo that looks as good as it sounds. The EBM-5, like a normal banjo, has an extremely fast response allowing hammer-ons, pull-offs, and slides to be accomplished with incredible ease. Even unplugged, this electric banjo has an excellent banjo tone due to the hollow sound chamber within the body.
The Fender American Professional Jazzmaster in Mystic Seafoam is part of Fender’s modernization of many of its top end models. Originally introduced in 1958 and marketed towards Jazz guitars the Jazz master quickly became popular with surf rock guitars of the 60’s. It later caught on with all types of players that liked its unique appearance and fat sound.
Traditionally, many players may have shied away from a 12 string guitar due to their large size but the Taylor 362ce 12 string now provides a beautiful compact alternative. The grand concert body used on the Taylor 362ce is one of most compact that Taylor produces. Its curvy waist and smaller lower bout really let this guitar sit in your lap comfortably and it reduces fatigue on your strumming arm.
Part of their recording series, the Larrivee L03 is an American made instrument with excellent craftsmanship, tone and value. Back in the early seventies a young Jean-Claude Larrivee created the L body shape which has become a staple of the Larrivee guitar line. This body shape is similar to a classical body shape and features a Symmetrical Parabolic X-Bracing pattern.
The Taylor 517e Builder’s Edition uses of the company’s newest body shapes, the Grand Pacific. This is a round shoulder dreadnought design, paired with Taylor’s new V class bracing system. This marks a new sound for Taylor guitars inspired by classic acoustic guitar recordings and the sonic improvements of their V class bracing. The tone is warm with powerful clear bass and round full notes that smoothly blend together to create a unified harmonic voice.
This new redesigned ’18’ models with pre-war features included, including this C. F. Martin 000-18. The 000-18 is one of Martin’s most successful models after its Dreadnought line, and delivers a full, evenly balanced tone ideal for fingerstyle players.
The grand auditorium body used on the Eastman PCH3 GACE is comfortable and versatile, and takes cues from another very popular brand; until recently, many guitars were based on classic Martin and Gibson designs. It performs well for both fingerstyle and strumming and the solid Sitka spruce top has good dynamics and clarity.
The Taylor 512ce is a dream guitar for the fingerstyle player. The small grand concert body shape provides a very compact and comfortable playing experience and requires less energy to get the top moving. This allows players with a light touch to get a full sound from a smaller body. The Western Red Cedar top of the Taylor 512ce has lovely touch sensitivity and a warm midrange. Red Cedar is used extensively on higher end classical guitars, as its voice develops faster than Spruce and is very responsive.
The Ibanez AZ220A shares many features from the rest of the AZ line, but with two main differences. Most of the AZ line features an alder body but the AZ2202A has an ash body. Ash is a slightly heavier weight wood with a great balance of brightness and warmth and was used on many of the revered Fender guitars from the 1950’s to today. The other main difference on the Ibanez AZ2202A model is that the roasted maple neck has 22 frets rather then 24.
The Journey Solid Cedar / Pau Ferro Classical Travel Guitar OC520 is an amazing collapsible acoustic classical travel guitar with solid cedar top and pau ferro layered back and sides, and features a sound port in the upper bout. It’s super ergonomic with the thicker Manzer© wedge and a smaller parlor sized body.
The Journey Travel Guitar in solid Sitka and Mahogany (OF410) – overhead collapsible acoustic travel guitar – features a solid sitka top with layered African mahogany sides/back and collapses to carry-on size! It assembles in 20 seconds with the patented detachable neck system that’s guaranteed for life. A full 24.5 inch scale, a versatile 1 3/4 nut width best-in-class components, and a wedged ergonomic design make this the most enjoyable guitar you’ll ever play!
The Taylor 614ce Builder’s Edition is designed to elevate the acoustic playing experience by providing a luxurious feel and tone. Based around the new V class bracing, the Taylor 614ce Builder’s Edition features a torrefied Sitka spruce top and maple sides and back. The process of roasting the Sitka spruce decreases dampening, which in turn delivers a more played in feel and increased touch sensitivity.
Here’s a brand new Huss & Dalton TOM R Custom traditional OM style guitar, with a custom thermo-cured Adirondack Red Spruce top. This wonderful guitar reflects all the features and quality of Huss & Dalton instruments. Based on the Traditional Orchestra Model or OM design that dates to the late 1920s and using Rosewood for the sides and back, this TOM R Custom also sports a ‘Thermo-Cured’ Adirondack Red Spruce top with Herringbone purfling and a vintage-amber tint.
The new Taylor 317 uses one of the newest body shapes from Taylor guitars, the Grand Pacific. It is a round shoulder dreadnought design, paired with Taylor’s new V class bracing system. This marks a new sound for Taylor guitars inspired by classic acoustic guitar sounds and coupled with the sonic improvements of their V class bracing. The tone is warm with powerful clear bass and round full notes that smoothly blend together to create a unified harmonic voice. These guitars can work exceptionally well as accompaniment to a voice
Made in El Cajon California, the Taylor 712ce 12 fret is a beautifully compact and comfortable guitar packed with tone enhancing features. The Grand Concert body size is one of Taylor’s smaller body shapes which is very easy to handle but produces a lot of volume and tone for its size. The Taylor 712ce’s 12th fret neck joint shifts the bridge further down the lower bout of the guitar, enhancing midrange and a warmer played-in type of sound. The new V class bracing pattern designed by master luthier Andy Powers helps to boost the overall volume and sustain on this model.
One look at the small bodied Art & Lutherie Roadhouse Parlor guitar evokes images of the train hopping or hitch hiking musicians searching for their next stage to play on. Today this amazingly portable parlor model makes for the perfect cottage, campfire or perhaps just crash on your couch guitar. It has a solid spruce top which aids in the tone production and has a nice balance of warmth and top end sparkle.