💾 Archived View for blitter.com › OLGA › MUSIC › RESOURCES › CONSTRUCTION_DOCS › GUITAR_COMPANIES.TX… captured on 2022-06-12 at 05:35:14.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-
From: timothy@sait178.morgan.com (Tim Maggio)
=====================================================================
1. Guitar Companies
1.1 Large Companies
Alvarez
Company profile:
lower-cost line of Alvarez-Yairi
Characteristics of their guitars:
Company address:
Alvarez-Yairi
Company profile:
Characteristics of their guitars:
well-made, mostly copies of traditional American designs. Lately they've
been making good quality new designs based on working with a variety of
pop musicians.
Company address:
Importer is (or was a long time ago) St. Louis Music.
Gibson -
Company profile:
Characteristics of their guitars:
Company address:
Guild -
Company profile:
Guild is an all-american (still?) guitar company that produces
some of the best guitars in their price range.
Characteristics of their guitars:
The construction is robust but the sound is uniformly good. There
are not many 'fancy' details built into these guitars. Solid spruce
tops, solid sides in some cases, laminate backs in all cases. They
also tend to be heavier than alot of other guitars. Prices range
from $450 to $1,500 (USD). Used Guilds make excellent purchases,
and are quite common. There tends to be surface cracks that appear
on older models that extend from the ends of the bridge to the
end of the lower bout, parallel with the strings. Not sure what
causes this, but I have seen it on several older Guilds.
Company address:
Martin -
Company profile:
Characteristics of their guitars:
Company address:
510 Sycamore Street
P.O. Box 329
Nazareth, Pennsylvania 18064
(215) 759-2837
Ovation -
Company profile:
Characteristics of their guitars:
Company address:
La Si Do -
Company profile:
This manufacturer is the largest volume producer of guitars in
North America. These instruments are far more popular in Europe
than in North America, which explains why they are so scarce in
the USA. There are several lines of guitars made including a low
cost hand-made model by Simon & Patrick (Sons of owner Godin).
Prices range from $250 for the A&L's (low end-mass production)
to $900 or so for the hand-made versions. They also have semi-
hollow body acoustic-electrics, and classical guitars.
Characteristics of their guitars:
Company address:
Takamine -
Company profile:
Characteristics of their guitars:
This is probably one of the best Japanese guitars on the market.
They are fairly light-weight guitars, but tend to be well-built.
Some models come with pickup and pre-amp already installed and
the electronics are very good quality. Higher end models have
either solid spruce or cedar tops. There are some other odd
animals, too- check out your local dealer. Prices range from
$500 - $1,200 (USD).
Company address:
Kaman Music Corporation
P.O. Box 507
Bloomfield, Connecticut 06002
Taylor -
Company profile:
Started 20 years ago by partners, then high school friends, Bob
Taylor and KurtListug. Their simple philosophy... "that guitars
should sound good and be easy to play". Taylor guitars are
considered to be right up there in terms of craftsmanship,
quality, tone, balance, materials used, playability.
Taylor was one of the first makers to use high-tech computer driven
machinery to insure consistent shape of their necks from guitar to
guitar. They also build their own top-quality cases to the same
standards.
Characteristics of their guitars:
Taylors come in three basic body shapes: Grand Concert (00),
Jumbo(J) and Dreadnought (D), and their analogues with cutaways.
They vary the woods used, shapes, and level of ornateness such as
intricate inlays, fancy bindings, and touches like gold tuners,
and depending on the model, one of five different bracing patterns.
The basic Taylors have a model mumber xyy, with an extra C
if they are cutaways (with varients for 12 strings).
x = 4,5,6,7,8 or 9
4yy lower priced line, mostly matte (as opposed to glossy) finish
5yy mahogony sides and back
6yy maple sides and back
7yy rosewood sides and back
8yy fancier rosewood sides and back, more inlays, etc...
9yy fanciest series, mostly rosewood, mostly not currently made.
yy = 10 Deadnought
yy = 12 Grand Concert
yy = 15 Jumbo,
In addition there are two signature modes, Dan Cary (a cutaway
6 string rosewood deadnought with special bracing) and the Leo Kottke
(a cutaway Jumbo mahogony 12 string braced for heavy guage strings),
and the various Aniversary models, which are somewhere betwee 00
and 000 in size.
All Taylors are solid wood. Taylor has been in the vangaurd of using
cumputer controled equiptment in the guitar making buiness.
Company address:
1940 Gillespie Way
El Cajon, California 92020
(619) 258-1207
FAX: (619) 258-1623
Washburn -
Company profile:
Characteristics of their guitars:
Company address:
255 Corporate Woods Parkway
Vernon Hills, Illinois 60061
(708) 913-5511
1.2 Luthiers
A list of the more popular and respected names in the art and business
of producing hand-made acoustic guitars.
Anderson-
Company profile:
Steve Andersen is a builder of high-end archtop guitars & mandolins, his
best instruments are his F5 style mandolins, and his various archtop
models. He also makes flattop D and OM size guitars. His manolins
have been ordered by Gruhn's Guitars for resale, and he has also made
some Archtop guitars for Pioneer Music in Portland, OR. Mainly he does
special orders, dealing directly with the customer.
Characteristics of their guitars:
Company address:
Andersen Stringed Instruments
Seattle, WA
phone 206-632-5986
Bozo -
Company profile:
Characteristics of their guitars:
Company address:
Breedlove -
Company profile:
Characteristics of their guitars:
Company address:
Collings -
Company profile:
Characteristics of their guitars:
Company address:
Franklin -
Company profile:
Franklin guitars are built by Nick Kukich of Portland, OR.
The waiting list is currently at 2 1/2 years! Kukich builds
OMs, Jumbos and a replica of the old Stella 12-string.
Nick has an excellent eye for wood color, so that his guitars
are striking in that sense. He has 2 standard sizes, an OM
style and a jumbo style. He also makes a 12 string in the
Stella style. Stephan Grossman is quite a fan of Franklin
guitars, and Nick had/has videotapes of Grossman and Renborn
singing the praises of his work. These are probably available
from Franklin.
Characteristics of their guitars:
Guitars are handmade, to order by Nick Kukich with inlay work
by Jean Munro. These low profile, smooth action guitars are
popular with Stefan Grossman and his buddy John Renbourn. The
OMs I have played have had a very slinky setup and been somewhat
on the quiet side. I have observed finish flaws, glue spots and
rough brace edges as well on a couple of models.
Company address:
Gallagher -
Company profile:
Small company in central Tennesee. Don Gallagher (J.W.'s son) makes
about 100 instruments/year. Dreadnoughts in 12 & 14 fret models,
and Auditorium-size in 12 & 14 fret. 12-strings & cutaways available.
Rosewood or Mahogany bodies. 7-string guitars by request. (How about a
12-fret, cutaway, 12-string for a unique instrument?) They currently
offer 14 models in 4 body sizes. The wait can be lengthy (almost two
years for my last one).
Grandpa Jones, Doc Watson, Steve KAUFMAN (not to be confused with
Steve DIKKERS) all play them.
Characteristics of their guitars:
Volumewise, my month-old A-70 (14-fret,Rosewood, OOO-size) is able
to hold its own with banjos. My 18-year old G-70 (14-fret, rosewood,
D-size) [projects extremely well]. The tone between strings is very
balanced. Fingerpickers should check out the auditorium-size Ragtime
special (14-fret, mahogany)
Great workmanship, and a warranty that can't be beaten: if something
goes wonkers, Don will fix it. Period.
[They have a] Great resale value. I have not seen many on the market,
but typically a used Gallagher will sell for what the current price of
a new equivalent model.
The prices are not out of line: currently about $2K for a top of
the line, hand-built instrument, give-or-take (depending upon
specifics). [Price-wise, they are] basically equivalent to top-of-the-
line, non-pearl Martins. (Yep, Don will pearlize one of his if that is
what you want.)
[Currently], I think they are available only directly from the
company. [The staff are] pleasant people to work with, too.
Company address:
J.W. Gallagher & Son
Wartrace, TN
37183
Gurian -
Company profile:
Characteristics of their guitars:
Company address:
Larivee -
Company profile:
Characteristics of their guitars:
Company address:
Lowden -
Company profile:
Characteristics of their guitars:
The sound is very open and woody. Lovely all-wood bindings,
purflings, solid top-side-backs on all models. Very light weight
construction. Prices range from $1,600 - $4,000 (USD). Sitka or
Cedar tops, Mahogany, Rosewood, etc. sides, backs. Custom orders
can be placed so you can pick out the neck width, tone woods, etc
that suit your tastes. Evidently there is no extra charge for such
custom orders, provided the selections come out of their current
stock. Some interesting features on their guitars are: No truss-
rod access via some plate on the headstock. The reasoning beind
this is the hole in the headstock weakens the neck. In order to
access the truss rod you can a) buy a special tool and adjust it
(or have a qualified repairman do the same), or b) drill a hole
in the brace just inside the sound hole. Most doctors prefer (a)!
Additionally, braces are not scalloped. Instead, they are shaved
in lateral thickness. This avoids the weakening of scalloped
bracing, while also lightening up the braces.
Company address:
Maton Guitars -
Company Profile:
Founded in 1946 by Bill May who decided to make his own guitars because
he was unhappy with the quality and price of instruments available in
Australia at that time. Maton is derived from his name and "tone".
By the mid-sixties, Maton had an established reputation throughout
Australia and with many overseas artists.
Notable Australian artists who have played a Maton at some time in
their careers include Bruce Woodley and Keith Potger of The Seekers;
Richard Clapton; Beeb Birtles, Graham Goble and Steve Housden of Little
River Band; Rick Price; Iva Davies and Paul Gildet of Icehouse; James
Reyne of Australian Crawl; and Jack Jones of Southern Sons.
Early in his career George Harrison played an MS500, the first Maton
solid body. Albert Lee owns a Maton. George Golla, Phil Manning and
Tommy Emmanuel have all had their own models designed. Custom models
have been built for Richard Marx, Hank Marvin, Deborah Conway, Colin Hay,
and Andy White of Hothouse Flowers.
Maton now has a modern factory that blends with traditional craftsmanship.
The recently installed CNC router is currently the only one of its kind
in Australia. Face-joining and side-bending presses have been specially
built, as have the internal body clamps and the dovetail router for the
neck joints.
Maton apply the same philsophy today that Bill May set out with - to
build the finest quality hand-crafted guitars at an affordable price.
Characteristics of their guitars:
Maton mainly produces premium quality acoustic and acoustic-electric
dreadnoughts and cutaways. All have solid tops, mostly of sitka spruce
with some cedar and Australian timbers such as Tasmanian King Billy
Unique processes have been developed in the fitting of the dovetail neck
joints, contouring of the neck relief, and hand finishing of the
fingerboard and neck shaping. This, in combination with careful
selection and seasoning of tonewoods, give the instruments a unique
sound and feel. Every instrument is handcrafted.
Australian timbers feature predominantly.
Maton uses Queensland Maple and Walnut, and Tasmanian and Victorian
Blackwood in the back and sides as well as traditional timbers such as
Brazilian mahogany, rock maple and rosewood. Most of the guitars
feature solid timber in the back and sides.
Maton have an alliance with Australian piezo manufacturer
GEC-Marconi to develop Pick-Up Systems that faithfully reproduce the
guitars' acoustic sound.
The definitive instrument is the CW80 dreadnought that has solid
Queensland maple or Brazilian mahogony back and sides, and has been
in continuous production since 1967. The EM325C is an acoustic-electric
cutaway that features laminated Queensland Walnut back and sides, and
is favoured by professional musicians for live work as its characteristic
bright tone provides cut-through on stage while being durable enough
to survive life on the road.
Other designs include smaller body "Bluegrass" and larger body
"Country Jumbo", as well as 12-string acoustics, classical guitars
and electric basses. A range of solid body electrics and arch-tops is
planned for reintroduction in 1995.
Company address:
Maton Guitars
9 - 11 Kelvin Road
Bayswater North
VIC 3153
Australia
Phone +61 3 720 7259
Fax +61 3 720 7273
Olson Guitars
Company profile:
All guitars are handmade by James A. Olson in Circle Pines, MN.
Jim makes about 40 guitars a year and has been making guitars since
1977. The wait for getting is currently 1 and 1/2 years. He never
has more than one assistant. Some of the best known players who play
Olson guitars are James Taylor, Phil Keaggy, David Wilcox, Sting, Paul
McCartney, Leo Kottke, Pat Alger, Russ Barenberg, and Justin Hayward of
the Moody Blues.
Characteristics of their guitars:
Olson makes mostly what he calls a concert "small jumbo" which are shaped
like a jumbo but smaller than a dreadnaught. The sound is beautifully
clear and balanced from top to bottom and are very easy to play. He also
makes dreadnaughts. His guitars feature east Indian rosewood back and sides,
sitka sruce or western red cedar tops, five piece laminated neck (rosewood
center, maple, mahogany outer) with a carved volute on the back of the
headstock. Tortoise shell binding on body, herrinbone top purfling (3 ring
sound hole rosette, back center strip).
Company Address:
11840 Sunset Ave
Circle Pines, MN 55014
(612) 780-5301
Santa Cruz -
Company profile:
Founded in 1976 by luthier Richard Hoover and repairpersons
Bruce Ross and William Davis. Hoover became the sole owner
of the company in 1989.
Richard Hoover and a small staff (4-6) build each guitar to
order, by hand. SCGC produces a few hundred guitars per year.
Characteristics of their guitars:
Dreadnoughts, OMs, archtops, 000s and a few original designs
compose the SCGC catalog. All guitars are built to Richard
Hoover's philosophy of "stress free" construction - meaning
that top braces are glued in flat, rather than arched, and
braces are split along grain lines, rather than cut. This
relaxed assemblage emulates what Hoover believes to be the
secret in vintage, "opened up" Martins: the fact that time
and usage has relaxed the stress inherent in the construction
process.
The soundboard of every guitar is individually tuned, yeilding
instruments of superb response and resonance. The SCGC sound
is unique, comparing favorably with vintage Martins.
The guitars are impeccably made. Very clean with exacting
inlay work. The SCGC aesthetic is fairly subtle.
1994 list prices range from $2150 to $8500 prior to custom
option selection.
Company address:
Santa Cruz Guitar Company
328 Ingalls
Santa Cruz, CA USA
95060
+1 408 425 0999
Schoenberg -
Company profile:
Characteristics of their guitars:
These guitars are made by Eric Schoenberg, a well-known fingerstyle
guitarist. The guitars are partially made in the Martin factory,
but Schoenberg picks the woods, hand tunes the tops and braces, etc.
Prices are $3000 up. These guitars are really at the top end of the
luthier market.
Rory Block has one. Eric Schoenbery makes appearances on the group.
Eric is involved in the specification of the instruments. The wood-
working on recent Schoenberg guitars was done by luthier T.J. Thompson.
Prior to Thompson, Dana Bourgeois was involved with Schoenberg guitars.
Final assembly at the Martin plant in Nazareth.
[Editors note (reprinted from original poster) BTW - I have heard that
Schoenberg guitars have gone out of production. We should confirm this
with Eric, I suppose.]
Company address:
38 Shore Drive
Concord, MA 01742
(508)369-2272
Thompson -
Company profile:
Characteristics of their guitars:
Company address:
1.3 Resonators
And then there are the Resonator guitars, which vary in construction.
Some are metal bodied, while others are wood.
National -
Company profile:
Characteristics of their guitars:
Company address:
National Resophonic -
Company profile:
Small company in San Luis Obispo, CA. Originally started by two people,
and have grown since.
Characteristics of their guitars:
They make both metal-bodied and wood-bodied resonator guitars. The tone
of their guitars ranges from very raucous (single-resonator metal-body) to
very warm (three-resonator metal-body). The tone of the wood-body single-
resonator guitars is smoother than that of a Dobro. These guitars tend to
inspire fanatical devotion, partly because there is a mystique to them and
partly because they're just fantastic guitars. These guitars are all
capable of incredible volume.
Company address:
Dobro -
Company profile:
Characteristics of their guitars:
Company address:
1.4 Archtops
There's more to guitars than flattop steelstrings. Here's some pointers
to makers of archtops.
1.4.1 Large(er) Manufacturers
Heritage
Company profile:
When Gibson abandoned Kalamazoo, MI for Nashville and Montana,
several Gibson luthiers chose to stay in Michigan. They acquired
the old Gibson factory on Parsons Street and began making guitars
in the old Gibson style. At first they concentrated on solid- and
semisolid-body electrics, but before long they started making
archtops with floating pickups (i.e., no extra holes are cut into
the top for the pickup or controls - they're mounted on the pickguard,
and the jack goes out through the strap button). They make a variety
of cutaway 16", 17", and 18" archtops. They're very nice guitars and
are rather economical as archtops go.
Characteristics of their guitars:
Nice woods, wide, flat necks, traditionally-shaped f-holes, cutaways.
The decorations are on the florid side, but that's typical of
archtops. Most of the archtops are modified versions of traditional
Gibson archtops, specifically the Sweet 16 (16", like the Gibson L-4),
the Eagle series (17", variants on the L-5), and the Super Eagle (18",
similar to the Super 400C).
Company address:
228 (?) Parsons St., Kalamazoo, MI
1.4.2 Luthiers
Here are the names of a few builders of archtops off the top of my head.
A recent issue of Acoustic Guitar had a pretty good list.
Andersen
Nickerson
Benedetto
D'Aquisto
Collings
Santa Cruz
D'Angelico II
=====================================================================
2. Guitar buying
2.1 Beginner
These guitars are priced for the person unsure if guitar playing is
suited for them. They also make great beach or camping guitars.
Features:
Price: $100 - $400
Top: Laminate (few with solid wood)
Side/Back: Laminate
Here are some of the brands that I can think of. There are *loads* of
guitars off the Asian market, and they probably are comparable to any in
this list.
A&L
Fender
Charvel
Ibanez
Yamaha
2.2 Mid-Range
In this range, the issues involved in buying a guitar are fairly
simple: price, playability, and 'bang-for-the-buck' are usually
foremost consideratoins. There are several brands that have guitars
that suit the bill. Following is a list of features that usually
are associated with new low-end guitars:
Price: $400 - $800
Top: Laminate (some with solid wood)
Side/Back: Laminate
Some of the guitars have solid tops. The sound for these
instruments is good. Finish on the guitars are usually glossy.
Any exceptions to the above comments will be noted.
Charvel
Fender
Guild
Seagull (La Si Do) (all w/ solid tops)
Simon & Patrick (all w/ solid tops)
Ibanez
Takamine
Washburn
Yamaha
2.2 High-End
For just about any player, guitars in this range should satisfy
some to all of your guitar-playing needs. Features these guitars
should all have:
Price: $800 - $1,500
Top: Mixed Solid and Laminate (See the FAQ to determine which)
Side/Back: Mostly Laminate, some Solid
Depending on model, maker, or a sale, you might get a real beauty for
alot less than expected. The use of a variety of tone woods is important
in this category. Combinations of woods for a variety of effects
determine the sound and feel of a guitar. These guitars are usually mass
produced, but there are probably a few that have some hand-detailing, and
finishing.
Alvarez
Gibson
Guild
Taylor
Martin
Ovation
Simon & Patrick
Takamine
2.3 Concert
These guitars are usually hand made from the finest tone-woods available.
Individual luthiers work on each model, and attention to detail is
critical to the making of every guitar.
Price: $1,500 - $?,???
Top: Must be Solid
Side/Back: Must be Solid
Expect to pay a pretty steep premium for Brazilian Rosewood, although
there is an unsupported rumor that Thompson Guitars will make one from
Brazilian for under $3,000. (anyone have better facts?) Many (all?) of
these dealers will accept custom orders to mix and match different
dimensions and woods.
Breedlove
Collings
Franklin
Gallagher
Gurian
Larivee
Lowden
Olson
Santa Cruz
Schoenberg
Thompson
--
: Tim Maggio #
: timothy@morgan.com |
: Q
: ".. the sofa has vanished." "Well that's one mystery less." (_)