First Thread About Your First Time with a Handmade Guitar

[Don54]

It was pretty amazing. Memorable. It was a Mark Geiger. Never heard of his guitars. We were wowed at first strum. After a few minutes, my buddy bought one. I saved up for a few months and followed suit.

[Pickinslow]

I was fortunate to find a mint Trevor Kronbaeur on my local Craigslist. Someone was selling 1 of 2 guitars. I had the choice of the Mini Jumbo or another high end guitar. The Kronbaeur felt like it hade been made for me. I contacted Trevor to compliment him on his workmanship and a little later asked him to make a dreadnought with my specs. He helped me choose woods, listened to what I wanted to play and set me down the road of custom guitars. I was so impressed with the genuiness of Trevor and his commitment to the purchaser I would recommend him to anyone. I wanted a guitar with volume and he produced just that.

I'm currently waiting for the call to say my 3rd Kronbaeur is ready for collection. Went for the smaller bodied OMJ model with aridondack top, western hog b&s and a maple neck for a contrast. As per dreadnought I've had build photos sent and discussion on progress. He has fitted K&K pen to all models as well as my Larrivee for me.

[Mycroft]

Originally Posted by Steadfastly

True, but some are.

And your point is?

The OP asked about experiences with handmade guitars, not custom guitars. You want to talk about custom guitars, start your own thread.

[Mycroft]

Originally Posted by AndrewG

Eagles and Poco I think.

Them too. I was yanking on Raf's chain.

[Dave T]

I don't think I could appreciate a hand built, or in my case a small shop built guitar until I had been playing off and on for 50 years and seriously for about 5 years. For those five years I had been buying and trading/selling various Taylor and Martin guitars while playing mostly on a classical student grade Alhambra.

One day I went to visit my favorite guitar shop (Acoustic Vibes Music in Tempe, AZ) and in the classical/nylon room I found a used James Goodall classical. I hadn't known he even made a classical guitar but there it set, in virtually new condition. The first time I played it I knew it was an entirely new experience for me and I would never feel good about the Alhambra again. Trouble was it was way, way out of my price range.

So, I visited that guitar for almost a year, taking it down from the wall and playing it for a bit every time I visited the shop. It really spoke to me. The sound but perhaps even more the fit. It just felt right in my hands. The nut width, the neck radius, the string spacing, every thing.

It got to where I had visited it so often and talked about it so much my wife finally convinced me to make them an offer, considering it had been there for a year without selling. So I buckled my swashes and headed to the shop to make my offer.

At the front desk I asked to talk to the owner Jeff when he had a moment. Then when I got to the room where it hung and took it down one more time, I didn't even look at the price tag, having memorized the too expensive price marked there. I played a few things, waiting for Jeff to finish with another customer. Just before he got done and came to talk to me I happened to look at the price tag hanging from the head stock. Much to my shock they had taken $1000 of the price. That left it priced below what I had intended to offer them. When he finally got around to me all I said was, "I'll take it!"

It is the most expensive guitar I've ever bought and at that, the price I ended up paying was about 55% of the original asking price when brand new. After 3 years I haven't wanted or needed another guitar and I like the Goodall classical as much today as the first time I picked it up. Probably a bit more to be honest.

Hand built, or luthier built, or small shop built, call it what ever you prefer, these guitars are a clear step above "factory built" guitars. I don't think 15 or 20 years ago I had the ear to hear the difference, or the playing experience to feel the difference. I count it a blessing from God that I stumbled upon this delightful guitar when I did...and for that long year of me watching it, no one else bought it. (smile)

Dave

[Picking Moose]

I own 3 hand-built guitars and they are also all 3 custom built to my own specs.
The first one was a Bill Dinsdale guitar (UK).
It was 1981 and a friend suggested Bill when I mentioned I wanted a guitar hand built for me. I went to Bill's place up in Yorkshire and the young luther had 3 or 4 guitars there he had recently built. I tried them all and they all sounded amazing.
Never had I played a guitar with such beautiful sound so I commissioned 1 for me right away.
We talked woods, shape and cosmetics and I gave him a tape (cassette) with some recordings of guitars that I liked.
Bill built a guitar for me with a sound and look well beyond my expectations and, to this day, the Dinsdale is still my favorite guitar (and I have many).

[AndrewG]

Originally Posted by Picking Moose

I own 3 hand-built guitars and they are also all 3 custom built to my own specs.
The first one was a Bill Dinsdale guitar (UK).
It was 1981 and a friend suggested Bill when I mentioned I wanted a guitar hand built for me. I went to Bill's place up in Yorkshire and the young luther had 3 or 4 guitars there he had recently built. I tried them all and they all sounded amazing.
Never had I played a guitar with such beautiful sound so I commissioned 1 for me right away.
We talked woods, shape and cosmetics and I gave him a tape (cassette) with some recordings of guitars that I liked.
Bill built a guitar for me with a sound and look well beyond my expectations and, to this day, the Dinsdale is still my favorite guitar (and I have many).

Very nice; sort of OM-ish?

Originally Posted by jab.phila

SWhat was it like the first time you played or owned a handmade guitar? What was the guitar? How did it change your playing or how you thought about guitars? I wouldn't be on the AGF if my first time didn't change the way I thought about guitars.

Gibsons are hand-made so that counts. I thought for a couple years that they were thuddy and dull, until I played one with new strings. It was an eye-opener. I've been playing Hummingbirds, J-45s and Songwriters now for years.

More recently I was quite surprised at how really, and I mean really, good, Lowdens are. I came across an o32 I really loved, but decided to not let impulsiveness control me; came back three days later and it was gone.

I've played some SGGC guitars and haven't been as jazzed by them as others seem to be. I haven't also ever considered pulling out my wallet over the couple of Bourgeois and Collings I've played, but I keep an open mind because those could have been less than ideal examples.

[patrickgm60]

If the definition of hand-made is that one person did all the work, then Gibsons don't count.

I've played two AGs that were "handmade" under the one-set-of-hands definition. One was wonderful, but too expensive for me, the other was underwhelming.

[zombywoof]

Originally Posted by patrickgm60

If the definition of hand-made is that one person did all the work, then Gibsons don't count.

I think it is the build process whether it be many or one pair of hands that comes into play. I would say that Gibsons, as many others, are hand finished rather than hand crafted. Since the early 1990s they have been using some pretty sophisticated machinery in Bozeman like CNC routers and band saws. A far cry from the days when Gibson kiln dried their own wood and did not even own a router.

Nothing wrong with CNC machines though. Guitar building is a precise process and the CNC is a precision machine. It does destroy the romantic image of some guy sitting alone working at a bench though.

[Bax Burgess]

Originally Posted by jab.phila

...I am dumbstruck by how profoundly different a high quality handmade guitar is from anything else. The first time I played my Northwood, it was a fairly overwhelming experience. It was like I had never played a guitar before.

Jake

Analogous to this was when I first tried a Bass Ale. Until then I had only drunk pilsners. A 'wowza' moment.

[lweb10]

I have four guitars in this category. The first I won in a contest in 1976, the second I ordered through a retailer and had built in 1979. The last two I bought in 2003, both from the same luthier, both times not sure if I would make a purchase but realizing I had to do it because the guitars (which were already built) were such compelling instruments. I had spent two or three years before this developing a relationship with the luthier and I value the experience very highly. By that time he knew what I liked and certainly had his own ideas about what would work for me. In this society we seldom get the chance to have a direct relationship with the individual who creates an important tool for us. I'm sure it was a more common relationship in earlier times. I'm sure that thousands of years ago some poor harp maker had to put up with some silly players like me, endlessly hanging around the shop and making dumb suggestions.

Each of these guitars is as unique as the person who built it. I can sense a bit of their personalities in the guitars they made. I own and use factory made guitars too but I'm very happy that I've had the experience of dealing with a guitar builder so closely.

[BluesKing777]

I went to my luthier's to pick up a repair and played a guitar he made, and then another with different woods and said: "Can I buy this one?" No - the new owner was just pulling up in a real hurry! So the luthier said he had started to make the body in the same woods of the one I tried, so I ordered it with wider nut and bridge spacing - so a Cargill custom guitar, back and sides Gabon African Ebony in gloss in a Gibson Nick Lucas 00 wide body shape, top Italian Spruce with thin matt finish on the top, Mahogany 5 piece neck ala Lowdens. And a panicky order of the only Hiscox classical medium Pro ii case for it to live and travel in! Wonderful, wonderful guitar!






BluesKing777.

[jmagill]

Originally Posted by jab.phila

Luthiers work solo, in small shops and in factories. If using "handmade" doesn't distinguish, what term does?

While there may be some highly-skilled workers at a guitar factory like Martin or Taylor that know all the steps to assembling a guitar, I would hesitate to call them all luthiers. A luthier can craft not just an instrument but a sound. A luthier knows how to manipulate each set of materials in the manner necessary to meet the client's sonic goal. 'Luthier-built' is the term I always prefer.

For me, the experience of a luthier-built instrument is as much about my relationship with the builder as it is the guitar. I've always shopped for the right builder, rather than a particular guitar. When I found one whose signature sound appealed to me, who I felt really understood what I was looking for in the build and who felt confident in their ability to achieve it, only then did a commission follow.

Luthiers are an endless source of fascination for me. They are wizards of wood, alchemists who turn base materials into golden voices that leave me shaking my head in amazement. Michael Bashkin, John Slobod and Leo Buendia are, first and foremost, my friends, and some of the most interesting people I know.

[Hasbro]

Originally Posted by 815C

Here's my story of the only hand made custom I've owned.

My folks had bought a condo in Fallbrook, CA and I went to see it. They said, "Hey, our neighbor a few doors down builds guitars - you should go meet him." So I walked over and knocked on his door. It was John Kinnard (the west coast John Kinnard - not John Kinnaird on the other side of the county).

As I walked over to his door I had this strong unexplainable feeling in my gut that he was going to give me a guitar. I knocked and he answered. He was a very friendly guy, an ex-hippy who makes jewelry and guitars and who is a pretty good painter. He had also worked at Taylor guitars at some point.

He invited me and let me play the guitars in his place and they were awesome. After awhile he said, "Hey, if I built you a guitar would you play it?" I answered, "Yeah! But I don't have the budget" He said not to worry about it.

Six months later I had this guitar. My first impression was that it sounded beautiful, and that passages that had been challenging for me to play on my Taylor 810 seemed to glide easily under my fingers on this guitar. It's absolutely wonderful and I'll never sell it.

Oh my word that Arrangement the tuning and you're playing sound amazing. Wish I could be in proximity to hire you for a few lessons if you would do such a thing!