May 2021 Acoustic Guitar Auction Report
A 1943 Martin 000-18 and a 1999 custom engraved National Tricone Style 4 were among the 19 guitars sold in Acoustic Guitar’s recent online auction.
Great Acoustics: A 2021 Santa Cruz OM Custom with a Storied Past
This Santa Cruz OM Custom was made with several storied tonewoods, including Tunnel 13 redwood; Brazilian rosewood; and figured mahogany sourced from the Tree.
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Great Acoustics: 2020 Collings OM3 Alaskan
A visually striking custom OM made from reclaimed old-growth Sitka that spent much of the 20th century floating in Alaskan waters.
Great Acoustics: Preston Thompson Masterpiece #2 Koi Pond
Dedicated to the shop’s founding luthier and namesake, who died in 2019, the Koi Pond guitar is a stunning piece of art that's meant to be played.
Great Acoustics: John Prine’s 1939 Gibson Super 400N
From the November/December 2020 issue of Acoustic Guitar | By Greg Olwell A few archtops were larger and some were glitzier, but all were trying to top the standard set by the stunning Gibson Super 400. Having an 18-inch lower bout and decorated with Gibson’s most premium appointments and hardware, the Super 400 surpassed the L-5…
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Ask the Expert: Vintage vs. Modern Instruments—Do Blindfold Tests Really Work?
Over the years, a number of blindfold test have been conducted, including a pair of widely reported tests administered by a trio of researchers in 2010 and 2012. In the first experiment, 21 contestants from the International Violin Competition of Indianapolis were asked to rate six violins: two Stradivaris, a Guarneri del Gesu, and three violins made by highly regarded contemporary luthiers.
Great Acoustics: This 1930 Martin 000-45 Deluxe is a Rare and Opulent Offering
This beautiful, unique 1930 Martin 000-45 Deluxe is possibly the finest example of the early period of the American guitar.
Great Acoustics: Gurian’s 1973 S3B3H Incorporates Luxurious Nylon-Stringed Guitar Elements
This steel-string incorporates elements from the luthier's nylon-string background, such as the combination of an ebony fretboard and a rosewood bridge.
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Great Acoustics: Bukka White’s 1933 National Duolian
For much of his career, White played this 1933 National Duolian, serial number C7094, which he called “Hard Rock.”
Beyond Flattops: The Magic of Resonator Guitars
In the past 20 years, the resonator guitar has seen a reawakening as builders continuing to refine the basic concept that’s nearly 100 years old.
Revisiting the Acoustic Guitar 10th Anniversary Guitar Collection
To celebrate Acoustic Guitar magazine’s 10th anniversary, we asked 12 top guitar manufacturers to design and build custom instruments incorporating our logo.
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Great Acoustics: Yasmin Williams’ Skytop Grand Concert
This unique Eric Weigeshoff-built instrument is as individual as the music Yasmin Williams creates with it.
Great Acoustics: 1870s Zogbaum & Fairchild/John C. Haynes Parlor Guitar
A couple of years ago, Darren Stewart—Chief of Police at the Stonington Police Department, in Pawcatuck, Connecticut—encountered a particularly sad case. Stewart was visiting the estate of a local celebrity, Eva Franchi, helping her prepare for an annual concert in memory of her late husband, the tenor and actor Sergio…
Recognize These Signatures? Take the Quiz!
See if you can identify the guitarists who helped design these instruments.
Great Acoustics: Shelley Park Modèle Elan 12
The Modèle Elan 12 is based on Maccaferri’s original Modèle Jazz guitar, a 12-fret design from the early 1930s.
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Great Acoustics: Ca. 1927 National Style 1 Tricones
These two Nationals display age and use in a way that museum curators treasure. These guitars were meant to be used, and their accumulated wear and patina reveal a lot about the lives they have led and the people who have played them.
Ask the Expert: Do Vintage Guitars Live Up to Their Reputations?
The best vintage guitars sound pretty dang amazing. On closer inspection, though, the picture can be more complicated.
Brave New World: A Guide to Navigating Online Guitar Auctions
Today, virtually everyone who wants to sell a guitar—even a brick-and-mortar store—lists it on public internet auction sites. The result is that almost every guitar for sale in the world can be seen on your screen, and the potential buyers are practically limitless. If you are not already addicted to online guitar auctions, here is a pragmatic introduction to navigating this brave new world of musical commerce.
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Great Acoustics: Joan Baez’s Circa 1880 Martin Style 0-40
Aside from the association with Baez, the 0-40 is a remarkable instrument in its own right. Martin only made a dozen or so examples of this deluxe parlor-sized guitar, with its Brazilian rosewood back and sides, bound ebony fretboard, abalone purfling and rosette, and brass (or sometimes German silver) engraved tuners with bone buttons.
Great Acoustics: Guild M-20; the ‘Nick Drake Guitar’— or Not?
After Nick Drake appeared seated with a Guild M-20 on the cover of 'Bryter Layter,' the instrument became closely associated with the singer-songwriter.
Great Acoustics: Twin Steve Klein L-45.7s
While the instruments’ bridges might look like art objects, their asymmetry is functional.
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Great Acoustics: 1925 Weissenborn Style 4
The Weissenborn Style 4 is the high-water mark of the acoustic steel-string guitar for lap-style playing. The 1925 example seen here features an all-koa body and a hollow, square neck that contributes to the guitar’s volume and tone.
Great Acoustics: Two 1931 Kel Kroydon KK-1s Reunited After 86 Years
Kel Kroydon-branded instruments were built from late 1929 into 1932 and their remarkably light build and X-bracing make them sound unmistakably Gibson.
Great Acoustics: Bourgeois Custom OMC Soloist
Designed by Dana Bourgeois and Eric Schoenberg to be a fingerstyle guitar, the Soloist's unique look gives it a vibe all its own
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Great Acoustics: Leonardo Buendia Mod.D Cutaway
A couple of years ago, guitar maker Leonardo Buendia was at the Santa Barbara Acoustic Instrument Celebration when he met a retired Southern California luthier who had a stash of rare wood sets from a fallen mahogany tree known for its intense figuring. (Search “The Tree” at AcousticGuitar.com.) “The luthier had bought the…