Guadalupe Makes Custom Strings the Old Fashioned Way, By Hand
Gabriel Tenorio explains how and why he and his small crew at Guadalupe Custom Strings wind their strings one at a time.
Republic of Texas Offers Affordable Resonators Steeped in Tradition
Republic Guitars has caught the attention of the late Texas blues legend Johnny Winter, as well as members of the Eagles and the Doobie Brothers.
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Brooklyn Luthier Dan Krugman Specializes in Archtop Artistry [VIDEO]
“I’m drawn to archtops because each maker puts his fingerprint on each individual instrument,” Dan Krugman says. He’s speaking from the Brooklyn workshop of DDK Guitars, the company he launched in 2011. “Design elements seem less agreed upon. Everyone has their own style of F-hole or bridge configuration.” He likens…
Met Acquires Two Ken Parker Guitars
The Metropolitan Museum of Art has acquired two guitars hand built by Ken Parker—who joins Paul Reed Smith as one of the few custom-guitar makers in the prestigious New York City museum’s Musical Instruments collection.
The Big Gun: Martin Dreadnought Celebrates 100 Years
In 1916 C.F. Martin & Co. created the biggest six-string guitar ever built. Here's a look at how the dreadnought has played a singularly unique role in the shaping of popular music.
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The Legend of ‘The Tree,’ a Mythic Source of 500-Year-Old Mahogany Coveted by Slash, Andy McKee, and More
Saul Hudson was eager to see his new guitar, but he wasn’t expecting manna from heaven. After all, Hudson, better known as Slash, is the celebrated former Guns N’ Roses guitarist who’s owned some of the finest instruments in his neck of the rock ’n’ roll woods, from big-name vintage…
A Conversation with C.F. Martin IV, the CEO of Martin Guitars
After 27 years at the helm of America’s oldest and most storied guitar maker, Chris F. Martin IV has learned a thing or two about preserving a legacy. Unlike his father, C. F. Martin III, who headed the company through the disco era and resulting acoustic guitar market crash, Martin…
American Companies are Producing Higher-quality Affordable Acoustics in China
For many American consumers, the words “made in China” elicit feelings ranging from skepticism to outright disdain. Given the rash of headlines in recent years documenting the darker side of Chinese manufacturing—from lead paint used on Chinese-made toys, to a string of suicides at an Apple computer plant in Shenzhen—that…