There have been many notable luthiers in the world designing and hand building some of the finest string instruments ever crafted by human hands. It seems only fitting to pay tribute to some of these artisans by spotlighting their works here – with a calendar spin. We hope you enjoy our monthly acoustic and electric picks!
July 2016 (Acoustic) - Hawkins Orchestra Model (OM)
July 2016 (Electric) - Hawkins Les Paul Style
August 2016 (Acoustic) - Lichty Custom Acoustic Guitar
August 2016 (Electric) - Knaggs Severn T2 HSS Fire Onyx DG2746
September 2016 (Acoustic) - Martin Keith Auriole 16.5" "Black Kat"
September 2016 (Electric) - Martin Keith Elfin 5 - AAA Flamed English Maple "Blonde on Blonde"
October 2016 (Acoustic) - James Olson Brazilian Rosewood SJ "Collector Series" guitar to commemorate the 1400th guitar Jim has made.
October 2016 (Electric) - David Thomas McNaught Vintage Double Cut - diamond quilt maple top with tiger's eye finish, matching quilt maple puzzle piece headstock, built with Dave's own "SET-THRU" NECK® construction.
November 2016 (Acoustic) - Greenfield G3 with Greenfield Guitars proprietary spalted beech and maple rosette, elevated fretboard (negative angle), Palm-A-Way™ design feature, and Laskin Style Arm/Rib Rests.
November 2016 (Electric) - A custom Tennessee Electric Guitar built to match a very cool '27 Roadster.
December 2016 (Acoustic) - The Tom Bills Cremona archtop guitar brings refinement to a new level. From the Cremona's stunning finish to it's many advancements in design architecture, graduation, voicing treatments, body tuning and subtle load balancing - all for more sensitivity and power.
December 2016 (Electric) - The Ken Bebensee 2010 Koa Archtop Guitar is a hand carved arch top and arch back figured koa full hollow body, with pau ferro fretboard, bridge and tailpiece, cherry mid body, Sperzel Sound-Lok friction lock tuners with D-Thing drop D tuner, and a floating Bartolini jazz pickup.
January 2017 (Acoustic) - The Gibson special 70th Anniversary John Lennon J-160E "Imagine" model in a soft white finish was personally requested by Yoko Ono to reflect the sentiment of John's life and music during the recording of Imagine. In 2010, this Custom Shop handmade rendition was limited to 70 guitars - one for every year since John's birth in 1940.
January 2017 (Electric) - The Buckethead Signature Les Paul is "The Ultimate Shredder from Gibson USA". With an oversized chambered Les Paul body, a marker-less Richlite® fingerboard, and Buckethead's choice of Gibson's contemporary ceramic humbucking pickups complete with modified electronics and "arcade" style kill switches - this is a Les Paul like none to have come before.
February 2017 (Acoustic) - The Charles Fox Ergo is a masterpiece of guitar design. Charles incorporated a number of features to achieve both wonderful tone and extreme comfort and play-ability. The Ergo includes a wedge body, elevated fingerboard, compound cutaway and a low-mass/multi-layer top with unique bracing. The result is an SJ size guitar that's very easy to hold all day long. The voice has tremendous power and projection and sublime clarity and balance. The Ergo is something very fresh and exciting in our world of guitars.
February 2017 (Electric) - Fender Custom Shop worked closely with David Gilmour and his longtime guitar technician, Phil Taylor, to create his signature model, a detailed reproduction of the "Black Strat®" complete with its unmistakable look, sound, and feel. The David Gilmour Signature Stratocaster® features a black nitrocellulose lacquer finish, alder body with black pickguard, one-piece maple neck, custom pickups, and Gilmour's own distinctive electronics and shortened vintage tremolo arm. David Gilmour is my favorite guitarist of all space and time.
March 2017 (Acoustic) - In 1933 Martin created a dreadnought-sized version of the top-of-the-line style 45 instruments, and the D-45 was born. The D-45 went on to become the most fabled of the great pre-war Martins. This 1942 specimen (#81578) resides in the C.F. Martin & Co. Museum in Nazareth, Pennsylvania.
March 2017 (Electric) - The 2013 Terry McInturff Carolina Custom Trem Amberburst features a gorgeous eastern maple top, John Mann tremolo bridge, Lollar Imperial humbuckers and so much more. The Carolina Custom is one of the most correct reproductions of the '59 "burst" guitars from Kalamazoo, but as seen through the creative lens of Terry McInturff.
April 2017 (Acoustic) - French luthier Julien Gendre created the Bambou for musician Nguyen Lê following the initial Tao guitar project. Julien's work offers the musician a sensitive instrument, comfortable, and aesthetically harmonious. For more information and photos visit http://www.juliengendre.com/en/production/nguyen-le-guitars and https://www.nguyen-le.com/Site_Nu/Bamboo_photos.html.
April 2017 (Electric) - French luthier Julien Gendre created the Tigre for musician Nguyen Lê following the initial Tao guitar project. Julien's work offers the musician a sensitive instrument, comfortable, and aesthetically harmonious. For more information and photos visit http://www.juliengendre.com/en/production/nguyen-le-guitars and https://www.nguyen-le.com/Site_Nu/Tigers_Tail_gt.html.
May 2017 (Acoustic) - In the 60's, Egmond was the largest luthier in Europe and they were more known for quantity than quality. George Harrison and Brian May begun playing on an Egmond guitar. Brian received an Egmond Toledo (Egmond 105/0) parlor size guitar for his seventh birthday. During 2003, luthier Andrew Guyton restored Brian May's first guitar to better than new. More on the restoration of Brian May's Egmond guitar at http://www.guytonguitars.com/brian-mays-egmondacoustic.html.
May 2017 (Electric) - The Red Special is the home-made electric guitar that was designed and built by Queen's guitarist Brian May and his father Harold when Brian was a teenager in the early 1960s. May has used the Red Special almost exclusively, including on Queen albums and in live performances, since the band's advent in the early 1970s. The name Red Special came from the reddish-brown color the guitar attained after being stained and painted with numerous layers of Rustin's plastic coating. The Red Special is also sometimes referred to, by May and by others, as the Fireplace or the Old Lady. The material for the guitar came from all kinds of sources, including an 18th century fireplace mantel which was used to make the neck, and a piece of oak table which served as the middle piece of the block board semi-hollow body. For a complete history of the Red Special, visit http://www.theredspecial.com. To read more about Brian May, visit his official biography page at http://brianmay.com/brian/biog.html.
June 2017 (Acoustic) - The Froggy Bottom K is long our most popular full-sized guitar, with its tight-waisted Gibson-inspired curves, offering a well-balanced, overtone-rich voice across its entire dynamic range. Responsive and clear, the Froggy Bottom K is a versatile, articulate instrument suitable for many different styles of music. Michael Millard celebrates forty years of Froggy Bottom Guitars, where Michael has built something on the order of 5,000 different guitars. The history of Froggy Bottom Guitars is an interesting read at http://www.froggybottomguitars.com/about/history.html.
June 2017 (Electric) - For NAMM 2017, a one of a kind Suhr Modern Pro, custom built and autographed by John Suhr. Beautiful and resonant Koa body with hand-selected figured Koa top. The neck is Koa with a Pau Ferro fingerboard. This is the warmest Suhr Modern Pro you'll ever play, set up to perfection! See more information and features at http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-Suhr-Modern-Pro-Custom-Koa-Electric-Guitar-John-Suhr-Built-NAMM-2017-/292014962178.
July 2017 (Acoustic) - This Harmony Buck Owens "American" F-70 acoustic guitar was played by Pat Smear on Nirvana MTV Unplugged in New York and belongs to Krist Novolselic. Buck played the famous Red, White and Blue guitar on the TV series Hee Haw.
July 2017 (Electric) - The McSwain Guitars "Red, White & Bullets" model is 100% American Rock 'n' Roll! Each RW&B build is hand-crafted to showcase it's own unique finishes and touches. Distressed aircraft aluminum and .357 magnum shell casings bound to rich sounding mahogany scream "Don’t Tread On Me!" See more information and features at http://www.mcswainguitars.com/red-white-bullets
August 2017 (Acoustic) - Ervin Somogyi is a professional luthier and woodworker of forty years' standing, whose work is known and respected internationally. His guitars are increasingly recognized as the best recording instruments available and are sought by professional acoustic guitarists who wish to make and preserve the highest quality of recorded and performed sound. For the fingerstylist, there isn't a finer guitar, and all manner of altered or open tunings intonate beautifully across the Japanese Maple Leaf adorned fretboard. Between the Rodgers tuners at the headstock and the carved celtic knot on the endgraft, few guitars could hope to exude timelessness like this OM does, and almost no other guitar is so blessed with straight-grained Brazilian Rosewood or Bearclaw Sitka Spruce, finished with French Polish for maximum resonance. Ervin probably broke the mold when he built this 2010 OM, number 429.
August 2017 (Electric) - The Paul Reed Smith NS-15 sports a slightly larger body than the NS-14 model along with a spruce top and maple back and neck for big, clear, airy tone. Neal Schon was involved in nearly every aspect of designing this guitar, from the stylized f-holes to the inclusion of a Floyd Rose tremolo system. Other specifications include, a 25" scale length mahogany neck, an East Indian rosewood fingerboard with Neal Schon "S" Dragon inlay made of black lip mother of pearl, gold mother of pearl, and paua heart, and 57/08 pickups with an optional sustainer for added texture and versatility.
September 2017 (Acoustic) - The Breedlove Exotic VI is a Masterclass acoustical instrument combining a concert body with a soft cutaway. This Masterclass guitar has a highly figured Stripped Ebony body matched with a Adirondack Spruce top and accented with contrasting Bloodwood binding. The neck is Mahogany with Gotoh Gold and Black tuners. The fretboard is Ebony with Mother of Pearl wings inlay and more of the beautiful Bloodwood binding. The top has Abalone purfling and Abalone rosette with a Bloodwood rim. The Ebony winged pinless bridge on this guitar has a nice streak of heartwood running through it. The combination of an Adirondack Spruce top and Stripped Ebony body combine to generate a powerful sound. It has great volume and lots of bass with an enhanced midrange and highs while producing stunning harmonics and sustain for days. It is all you would expect in a Masterclass guitar from Breedlove.
September 2017 (Electric) - This Breedlove Custom Shop Mark I Calendar Series limited edition model is one of only ten made. This Custom Shop guitar comes with a highly figured Myrtle wood top and dark Walnut back. The body shape of the Mark I Series is an asymmetrical single cutaway that takes its design from the famous Breedlove CM acoustic. The top has a significant carve to it that further accentuates the Myrtle wood figuring. Like all Mark I guitars from Breedlove it has a chambered body design that limits the weight to less than 7 pounds. The neck is made from solid Maple, fast action with unlimited access to the higher frets, and equipped with Gotoh 510 Gold and Black tuners. The fretboard is Ebony inlayed with Mother of Pearl stylized custom lightning bolts unique to the Mark I Calendar models. The figured Myrtle top is equipped with complementary gold hardware and Jason Lollar Imperial pickups. This guitar plays, sounds and looks amazing - it's everything you would expect from a Breedlove Custom Shop guitar.
October 2017 (Acoustic) - Originated by aeronautical pioneer Charlie Kaman, Ovation guitars were created with the idea that aviation technology could improve the design of the acoustic guitar. The idea of the roundback, a semi-parabolic body made of synthetic composite material called Lyrachord, came from the structural arch with the goal of eliminating the need for braces inside the guitar. The shape was designed to reflect the sound towards the soundhole, which has created substantially greater projection and volume than traditionally designed guitars. The Custom Legend 1619-4 was made in the years 1974-1984 and is a fine example of New England craftsmanship as you're likely to find. The Sitka Spruce top is hand selected from Ovation's best AAA grade woods and is carefully calibrated to produce the richest tone and the fullest volume. With over 200 individual pieces of Abalone hand inlaid around the top, the Custom Legend pleases the eye as well as the ear. The Custom Legend 1619-4 features a Optima preamp with onboard equalization and piezo pickups, Mahogany/Maple 5-piece neck, 20-fret bound Ebony fingerboard, inlaid Abalone purfling and position markers, carved Walnut bridge, and 24K gold plated machines with Pearloid buttons. Pink Floyd used an Ovation Custom Legend 1619-4 on all acoustic parts for the recording of Comfortably Numb.
October 2017 (Electric) - A radical streamlined speed machine, the Orbit FX returns to the Caparison lineup as an evolved and unique take on the classic high impact stage guitar. A stunning amalgamation of balance and unhindered 27 fret access, the Orbit is the extreme shape you have been looking for – all the attitude and impact but with the superlative handling and screaming tones that you would expect from a distinctive and original Caparison. The Orbit FX features the same neck through design as seen on the limited TAT Special models, which has the gloss finish of the body almost seamlessly fading into the oil finish of the neck. A fixed bridge and through body stringing along with Caparisons own design pickups makes the Orbit FX an inspired hard rocking power-house! See more information and features at https://www.caparisonguitars.com/products/orbit-fx. Parker Lundgren plays a Caparison Orbit FX and is one of my favorite guitarist. I've watched him in awe live with Queensrÿche from the first row a couple of times.
November 2017 (Acoustic) - The Takamine LTD-2017 Magome is a testament to the artful craftsmanship of the Edo (now Tokyo) to Kyoto region - the very same region in which Takamine guitars are lovingly crafted to this day. A special limited-edition guitar, Magome is an OM-sized acoustic-electric guitar with a solid spruce top and solid Indian rosewood back and sides. It features a mahogany neck with an ebony fingerboard that’s inlaid with an intricate abalone “Legend of the Road” motif. The guitar features Takamine’s renowned Palathetic pickup with a CTP-3 CoolTube preamp, a bone nut and saddle, abalone purfling and rosette, and gold hardware. It’s available in a gloss midnight blue finish with cream binding, and includes a commemorative Certificate of Authenticity.
November 2017 (Electric) - Michael "Whip" Wilton is the co-founder of Queensrÿche, a band that launched in 1982 and crossed into many musical areas from hard rock to progressive metal to hugely popular power ballads, influencing thousands of musicians along the way. His latest LTD Signature Series guitar is the MW-TR1, and it's representational of the killer stripped-down, bolt-on models that Whip turned to often in the band's early days. Featuring a large Queensrÿche "Tri-Ryche" symbol on the guitar's body as well as on fingerboard inlays, the MW-TR1 has a great vibe for serious fans of Michael and the band, and plays like a dream with its comfortable alder body, a thin U-shaped maple neck, and maple fingerboard with 22 extra-jumbo frets. The MW-TR1 offers Grover tuners, a Floyd Rose Special bridge, and a completely awesome set of Seymour Duncan '59 (neck) and Seymour Duncan Distortion (bridge) pickups. Available in Black finish with single Tri-Ryche graphic.
December 2017 (Acoustic) - "The Red Queen" is the creative vision and handcrafted creation of luthier Randy Parsons. The Red Queen was inspired by the artistry of Cirque du Soleil (a big influence on Parsons’ aesthetic) and commissioned by a high-profile multi-millionaire guitar collector whose name Parsons will not disclose. It’s made from exotic materials including African bloodwood and flame maple and required 50,000 or so individual pieces (1000-piece neck, 500-piece top) to assemble, taking a year and a half to complete. Watch the YouTube video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLgjCnlVxZ0. Randy's "Wonderland Collection" of guitars are on the edge of impossible, as you can see at http://www.parsonscalifornia.com/pages/the-wonderland-guitars.
December 2017 (Electric) - Eddie Van Halen's "Frankenstein" guitar is notably one of the most famous guitars in rock 'n' roll history. EVH cobbled together the first Frankenstein (black and white) in 1974 and continued tone chasing and tweaking it to get what worked for him. Eddie Van Halen and his Frankenstein guitar has and will continue to inspire guitar players around the world. See more information at http://www.evhgear.com/frankenstein.
Watch the YouTube videos at:
The original EVH Frankenstein guitar (Not For Sale) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEl8YbrcKzE
Eddie Van Halen's Frankenstein guitar replica (part 1) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2mh7zGfFRM
Eddie Van Halen's Frankenstein guitar replica (part 2) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICXeYawQqFs
Eddie Van Halen's Frankenstein guitar replica (part 3) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9_ZDxoxhoc
Eddie Van Halen's Frankenstein guitar replica (part 4) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rm_RmBnHnHM
Watch the YouTube videos at:
The original EVH Frankenstein guitar (Not For Sale) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEl8YbrcKzE
Eddie Van Halen's Frankenstein guitar replica (part 1) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2mh7zGfFRM
Eddie Van Halen's Frankenstein guitar replica (part 2) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICXeYawQqFs
Eddie Van Halen's Frankenstein guitar replica (part 3) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9_ZDxoxhoc
Eddie Van Halen's Frankenstein guitar replica (part 4) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rm_RmBnHnHM