What’s the most affordable boutique guitar?

[gr81dorn]

Iris guitars are boutique and in your price range and play and sound exceptional. They have an aesthetic unlike what you've specifically laid out, but they have a pretty unbeatable bang for the buck.

[Joe Beamish]

What does “boutique” mean in terms of guitars?

Still haven’t seen a definition in this thread.

[gr81dorn]

Originally Posted by Joe Beamish

What does “boutique” mean in terms of guitars?

Still haven’t seen a definition in this thread.

The OP gives their contextual definition in post #14

[difalkner]

A lot of it depends on your definition of 'affordable', as well. I have friends who think nothing of spending $7k to $10k on a guitar because that's affordable to them. I have other friends who consider anything over $1k to be out of their range.

[rollypolly]

As it means to me, it's probably a little more widely varied. I would consider a Larrivee, especially a unique model, as well as Collings even though perhaps they aren't really technically boutique anymore. I really like the Martin "copies" that Collings , H&D , etc. put out, but sometimes the more cosmetically beautiful guitars, like Webber, are appealing as well. I'm really just in the beginning stages of shopping, as I would need to sell a few first. I might go play some at Lowe Vintage since the are close to me.

[srgprod]

Halcyon Guitars. Ed Bond maker

[Joe Beamish]

Originally Posted by gr81dorn

The OP gives their contextual definition in post #14

He says “everything from small builders up to Collins.”

Still not a definition.

[KevinH]

Originally Posted by rollypolly

...I’d also really be interested in something built with locally sourced woods but that may be a stretch for my budget!

I missed the locally sourced part earlier. In that case you might consider a Breedlove Made in Bend guitar. They use a lot of locally sourced wood. They aren't what I'd call a small shop; their output is about twice Collings. But they are nice guitars, and offer a variety of tone woods, pretty much in the middle of your price range.

[gr81dorn]

Originally Posted by Joe Beamish

He says “everything from small builders up to Collins.”

Still not a definition.

Literally the definition of "definition".

[Br1ck]

Originally Posted by David Eastwood

Define ‘boutique’.

Exactly. I think one could find a new young builder and get a fabulous guitar. Would that be boutique?

I remember not too many years ago, a guy named Rhuland was all the buzz in the mandolin world. His mandolins were exceptional from the start. A year or two later, he was as pricey as many respected luthier brands.

[Dotneck]

Originally Posted by warfrat73

It comes down a bit to how we define what qualifies as boutique. Larrivee are certainly factory made instruments... but, then again, so are Collings. I don't disagree that Larrivee are good guitars, but in my mind, their production numbers put them a bit too high to count as boutique. One google search turned up an AGF post which cites 30-40k per year, but that seems on the high side to me.

30-40K per year? I doubt that very much. I’d expect that number to be closer to 10% of that total. Ill see if I can get Matt Larrivee to respond to that number…

[gr81dorn]

Originally Posted by Dotneck

30-40K per year? I doubt that very much. I’d expect that number to be closer to 10% of that total. Ill see if I can get Matt Larrivee to respond to that number…

That's about 120-160 guitars PER DAY if that number is 30-40k...thats way too high for Larrivee. I'd be surprised if they have 40,000 total instruments since inception, but could be wrong, of course.

For contrast- the biggest acoustic guitar maker in North America, Taylor, makes about 6-700 a day (or did pre-covid). Maybe Larrivee can pump 120+ out a day, but that just feels way off.

[Teleman52]

Eastman Guitars. If they were made in America they would cost 4k and up. Handmade and sound great.

[warfrat73]

Yes. I agree that the number seems high, thus.my comment that it seemed high. Per Wadcutter's post, if that number was 72 per day at one point that would have put it between 18k and 26k, depending on whether it was a 5 or 7 day production schedule. That number is cited at acousticguitar.com. The Larrivee site cites 32 per day at their last facility, but doesn't provide specific numbers for the newest facility, though one would imagine that the capacity is higher.

[SRL]

Whether it's

• Bourgeois (~400/yr)
• Santa Cruz (~600/yr)
• Collings (~1000/yr)
• Breedlove (~2000/yr)
• Larrivee (~6700/yr)

...they all make great guitars but they all use factory production techniques (you can find factory tours of most of them on YouTube, listen to them talk production methods on podcasts, read interviews, etc).

That is, one guy makes necks all day, one guy hammers in frets all day, one guy cuts bridges and fretboards all day, etc. It's just more efficient that way—division of labor, one of the oldest economic concepts known to mankind.

To me, "boutique" means that you want something made by one person, start to finish.
If that's the case, you need to find a "one man shop" (or one woman shop)—because as soon as they hire a second person, you can bet they're going to divide up tasks to capture those economic benefits of division of labor and specialization.

My choice for a small shop would probably be Goodall, a three-person family company making <100 guitars a year, but still well known and widely respected. Hard pressed to find one of their guitars under $4k used, but occasionally they do come up. They make both traditional and more modern designs.

Another good choice is Bob Thompson, also a one-person shop and a skilled builder. Sometimes you can find used guitars in the $3k range but most are $4k+.

As for sustainability, I think Breedlove has done a great job carving out that niche. Since 2017, they only use sustainably harvested wood (plantation, repurposed, natural treefalls, etc) for their Oregon-built models, and they actually lay out the rules clearly, specifying the material and national origin of every part of each guitar. Starting this summer (2021) they applied the same rules to all their import models as well. I am not aware of any other builder that has made that commitment to both sustainability and clear disclosure of sourcing.