Here is a beautiful rarity, a real treat – a Gibson Les Paul GoldTop from 1954, and not just with a gold top but fully gold finished! This was known as the ‘Double Gold’ finish. This beautiful piece has clearly been used as intended over nearly seven decades, and the gold finish has worn where the player’s hands and clothing contacted it.
Brazilian Rosewood
Here we have a lovely 1972 vintage Yamaha GC-20D classical guitar with a spectacular Brazilian Rosewood set for the sides and back. The ‘GC’ stands for ‘Grand Concert’ and these models were the top of the line for Yamaha classical guitars, and are seriously good instruments. As the GC-20D, this model was built from 1971 to 1973.
Built in a tiny corner of the USA, this Darren Hippner Romanillos style classical guitar illustrates why its maker has such a good reputation. This slightly short-scale guitar – 25 inches or 635mm- was built during 2012 and no longer appears in his listing of available models.
The Gibson Les Paul Junior DC – Double Cutaway – appeared in 1958 as a modification of the 1954 single-cutaway version. The next modification came partway through 1961 with a complete redesign of the body as Gibson shifted to what’s now known as the SG.
The Orpheum Imperator Style C archtop was the top of the line for the brand when introduced by Lange, a prominent instrument builder, in 1933. Featuring a carved, X-braced Adirondack Spruce top, Flame Maple for the sides, back and neck, Brazilian Rosewood for the multi-bound fingerboard and headplate, Ebony for the bridge and Mother of Pearl for the logo, this was an impressive instrument.
This Yamaha GC-30A no.829 Grand Concert Brazilian Classical, dating to 1982, reflects the upper end of Yamaha guitar production in a concert grade instrument, featuring a pairing of a Red Cedar top and Brazilian Rosewood back and sides. This fine instrument was built during 1982 at the Yamaha home facility in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture and is signed by master luthier Mr. Toshio Kato. The GC or ‘Grand Concert’ line was conceived during the mid 1960s, when Yamaha arranged for three luthiers – Hiroshi Harada, Hideyuki Ezaki and Toshio Kato – to learn from Spanish master Eduardo Ferrer.