Custom luthier-made guitars

Stefan · July 25th, 2007, 02:44 AM

Who owns one?
I was reading Acoustic Guitar Magazine the other day and I noticed all these ads from small guitarbuilders who make extremely nice (and pricey) acoustic guitars. Doc Watson has his trusty old Gallagher (and so does Steve Kaufmann if I remember correctly. Anyone around here have /have tried one?
Collings Guitars in Texas is mentioned as one of the best acoustic guitars in the world. Huss and Dalton is another brand I´ve seen. There are a lot out there. If you have a custom luthier-made guitar, please tell me and show pics!

PK · July 25th, 2007, 08:21 AM

I did a side by side test drive with a Huss/Dalton Dread and my Santa Cruz D. I A/B'd em about an hour. The deciding factor? The H/D was a Brazilian and cost about 6, while my SC has the Indian RW @ 3000 out the door. Both guitars were/are amazing. MY Santa Cruz D must be heard to be believed. The top came from a 200 year old dead standing spruce tree, and for that reason already sounds like a 60 year old guitar out of the box. The smaller guys are likely to get better woods as they dont build as many.... more cherry picking IMHO. SC haas a few new D's out there including D-M and D/PW. The prewar has more bass, the mahogany lines arent for me. My D has an incredible bloom as I strum and rings like a bell when I pick, and when I brush the strings softly she goes very very very dark. I love it :)

PK

PS
Pics on my photo gallery :)

Alex W · August 8th, 2007, 07:27 PM

Collings is more a small company, a "boutique brand," than a custom luthier. Huss & Dalton is even smaller.

A really good place to go to learn about custom luthier made guitars is the following web site: www.13thfret.com

A lot of owners of custom-made guitars post there and a few luthiers as well. They have an excellent luthier links section from which you can reach the web pages of many independent luthiers. Some of those luthiers you will discover have a serious backorder, with wait times of several years to obtain an instrument. Others, like Linda Manzer, have stopped taking any new orders at all until they catch up on existing orders. As you might expect, that sort of supply-demand situation drives the prices very high. Happy hunting!

Kathy Wingert guitar

Ervin Somogyi guitar

64Strat · August 8th, 2007, 09:09 PM

My luthier is even smaller than any mentioned here. He's built less than 40 guitars, mine is #34. He studied under Drew Johnston, who studied under Bozo Podunavac. As I mentioned in the Koa thread earlier today, the process of designing and selecting materials was a blast! see here if interested..... http://www.tdpri.com/forum/896113-post9.html

July 25th, 2007, 02:44 AM	#1 (permalink)
Stefan Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Sweden Age: 29 Posts: 1,810 36 Photos	Custom luthier-made guitars Who owns one? I was reading Acoustic Guitar Magazine the other day and I noticed all these ads from small guitarbuilders who make extremely nice (and pricey) acoustic guitars. Doc Watson has his trusty old Gallagher (and so does Steve Kaufmann if I remember correctly. Anyone around here have /have tried one? Collings Guitars in Texas is mentioned as one of the best acoustic guitars in the world. Huss and Dalton is another brand I´ve seen. There are a lot out there. If you have a custom luthier-made guitar, please tell me and show pics! __________________ 1981 Capri Orange Fender Telecaster 1976 Fender Stratocaster 2007 Martin Backpacker 2005 Martin HD-28

July 25th, 2007, 08:21 AM	#2 (permalink)
PK Tele-Holic Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Ventura California Posts: 508 7 Photos	I did a side by side test drive with a Huss/Dalton Dread and my Santa Cruz D. I A/B'd em about an hour. The deciding factor? The H/D was a Brazilian and cost about 6, while my SC has the Indian RW @ 3000 out the door. Both guitars were/are amazing. MY Santa Cruz D must be heard to be believed. The top came from a 200 year old dead standing spruce tree, and for that reason already sounds like a 60 year old guitar out of the box. The smaller guys are likely to get better woods as they dont build as many.... more cherry picking IMHO. SC haas a few new D's out there including D-M and D/PW. The prewar has more bass, the mahogany lines arent for me. My D has an incredible bloom as I strum and rings like a bell when I pick, and when I brush the strings softly she goes very very very dark. I love it :) PK PS Pics on my photo gallery :) __________________ Wharf Rat

August 8th, 2007, 07:27 PM	#3 (permalink)
Alex W Tele-Meister Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Kentucky Age: 40 Posts: 142	Collings is more a small company, a "boutique brand," than a custom luthier. Huss & Dalton is even smaller. A really good place to go to learn about custom luthier made guitars is the following web site: www.13thfret.com A lot of owners of custom-made guitars post there and a few luthiers as well. They have an excellent luthier links section from which you can reach the web pages of many independent luthiers. Some of those luthiers you will discover have a serious backorder, with wait times of several years to obtain an instrument. Others, like Linda Manzer, have stopped taking any new orders at all until they catch up on existing orders. As you might expect, that sort of supply-demand situation drives the prices very high. Happy hunting! Kathy Wingert guitar Ervin Somogyi guitar

August 8th, 2007, 09:09 PM	#4 (permalink)
64Strat Tele-Holic Join Date: Oct 2003 Posts: 592 43 Photos	My luthier is even smaller than any mentioned here. He's built less than 40 guitars, mine is #34. He studied under Drew Johnston, who studied under Bozo Podunavac. As I mentioned in the Koa thread earlier today, the process of designing and selecting materials was a blast! see here if interested..... http://www.tdpri.com/forum/896113-post9.html