Question from a newbie

JoeCharter · #1 01-03-2012, 03:08 PM

Hello everyone,

When people think about production guitars, certain brands come up more than others, for example Gibson and Fender for electrics, and Martin and Taylor for acoustics.

Is there any such thing as a "Big 3" or "Top 4" (that most people would agree on) when it comes to the world of custom built steel string guitars?

redcloud · #2 01-03-2012, 03:13 PM

Joe,

There are soooo many top tier/fine custom builders it is really hard to choose one. There are also quite a few newer builders that do amazing things. If you have a chance to attend the next Healdsburg Guitar Festival or the one in Montreal, you would have fun; and believe me, it is an eye-opening experience. It is also nice to meet these folks in person.

Having said that, I have personally been pleased to have dealt with Olson, Ryan, Greenfield, Shelley Park, Mayes, Nolte, McKnight, Klepper, J. Walker, Schwartz, Berkowitz, Bills & Alembic in no particular order.

Bluemonk · #3 01-03-2012, 03:16 PM

Probably not. The field of high quality production guitars is very limited, so it's not hard to recognize the big dogs. Not so with custom builders, as redcloud has pointed out.

JoeCharter · #4 01-03-2012, 03:20 PM

Thanks guys. I do see a lot of quality builds around that's for sure.

I noticed in doing my research that certain names like Petros, Olson and Ryan come up more often. Or is it because they're easier to remember perhaps?

I find the work done by most luthiers to be so original that it's difficult to compare them.

Larry Pattis · #5 01-03-2012, 03:50 PM

The names you will read about can in fact relate to who might be "popular" or "discussed" on any given forum.

Some of my favorite builders are Simon Fay (I also own one of Simon's recent guitars), Mark Blanchard, Kent Chasson, Rebecca Urlacher, Alan Carruth, David Berkowitz, and Steve Sheriff (Edwinson)....

However, in the steel-string flat-top world the highest-priced builders (or those with long wait-lists) are often those listed as "the best" (whatever that means), and we're talking about Jeff Traugott, Ervin Somogyi, TJ Thompson, Kim Walker and a few others. There are other kinds of "popularity" as well, and Jim Olson is always a name folks would mention for his associations with James Taylor and Phil Keaggy.

High praise is due all of these folks (as they all build the highest in quality), and as is being pointed out, to many, many more builders that may not be at the top of the radar screen at the moment for any group making the recommendations!

Ned Milburn · #6 01-03-2012, 05:04 PM

don't forget Linda Manzer and then perhaps one of the world's top inlay artists, Grit Laskin.

Fsgeek · #7 01-07-2012, 07:49 AM

From the perspective of how much people are willing to pay and wait i'd say:

Modern voicing:
1. Somogyi
2. Traugott
3. Manzer

Vintage voicing:
1. TJ Thompson
2. K Walker
3. Henderson
4. Dudenbostel

From those I own:
1. Somogyi
2. Olson
3. Im not sure if its the Ryan, Traugott, Greenfield or Sheppard for the 3rd spot, lol

There are quite a few up and coming builders like J Kostal, R Kraut, R Schenk etc on the way up..... And Bruce and Matt Petros who create fabulous modern sounding guitars... Merrill, Blazer and Henkes, J Borges, J Slobod great luthiers making vintage replicas w/ their own twist... We truly are in the 2nd golden age of guitar building

roboprod · #8 03-05-2012, 12:15 PM

From experience, after having owned/played most of the guitars from the abovementioned builders, I say Sheldon Schwartz is the absolute tops in every way imaginable. A true innovator and king of responsiveness and tone.

cpabolting · #9 03-05-2012, 12:19 PM

I am in the Olson camp obviously for a multitude of reasons... but there are lots of others that are exceptional.

JoeCharter · #10 03-05-2012, 01:57 PM

Thank you all for your suggestions.

A lot has happened since I started this thread...

My first pick went to Jim Olson. No logical reason but if I could own only one custom build, it would be an Olson SJ, and I wanted to catch Jim before he stops answering the phone.

My second pick was Harvey Leach, for his tremendous skills in creating guitars that are stunningly unique -- and also because tonally his guitars are quite different from Olsons.

And finally upon Larry's suggestion, I opted for Ray Kraut, because I think he's a talented young man whose work will increase in value for the next little while. That's my naive prediction of the year...

Since I always buy guitars in pairs, I intend to re-contact these builders next year to commission companion guitars to my upcoming trio. In the end, I think it's a rather emotional decision as there are a lot of talented builders out there, as evidenced by the various threads on this forum.

I'm really pleased with my selection as the guitars will be very different -- and I really like the vibe that I got out of the conversations I had with all three.

steveh · #11 03-06-2012, 03:26 AM

Wow! 3 pairs of guitars on order = 6 guitars!

I thought I was bad but you take the Gold Medal straight away! No contest.

Congratulations on your choices. I and many others are looking forward to seeing the subsequent build threads appearing on the forum; very exciting times for you.

cheers,
Steve

mikealpine · #12 03-06-2012, 07:36 AM

I don't believe that all 6 guitars could peacefully co-exist in one small geographic location, and might create some sonic resonance that could trigger cataclysmic and tragic anomalies, leading to our sun going supernova or turning into a black hole (my research is fuzzy on this point) and the death of the universe. I will gladly keep one or two in storage for you and cross-ship them to you as needed so that together we can protect mankind, and indeed our galaxy, from such a dramatic and untimely end. I might play them a little while in my posession, but that's just to make sure they feel loved.

Good plan?

JoeCharter · #13 03-06-2012, 08:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by steveh

Wow! 3 pairs of guitars on order = 6 guitars!

I thought I was bad but you take the Gold Medal straight away! No contest.

Congratulations on your choices. I and many others are looking forward to seeing the subsequent build threads appearing on the forum; very exciting times for you.

cheers,
Steve

I've got 3 on order (ok 4, there's a custom SCGC F waiting for me).

The pairs will only be commissioned next year...

Trust me, there's plenty of people worse than me on this forum! LOL

Quote:

Originally Posted by mikealpine

I don't believe that all 6 guitars could peacefully co-exist in one small geographic location, and might create some sonic resonance that could trigger cataclysmic and tragic anomalies, leading to our sun going supernova or turning into a black hole (my research is fuzzy on this point) and the death of the universe. I will gladly keep one or two in storage for you and cross-ship them to you as needed so that together we can protect mankind, and indeed our galaxy, from such a dramatic and untimely end. I might play them a little while in my posession, but that's just to make sure they feel loved.

Good plan?

It sounds good but you'll have to explain to me how you will be safe and the rest of the world won't be...