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Old 05-27-2020, 08:22 AM
mont_sly mont_sly is offline
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Default Which Canadian Luthier would you purchase a custom acoustic?

Hi all,

Which Canadian luthier would you order a custom steel string acoustic, spending no more then $7000 US or $9,000 Cdn? (Note, this would exclude many of the premier Canadian luthiers - you know the ones....)

I own a Kronbauer, great guitar, though I bought new, it was not a custom order...
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Old 05-27-2020, 08:32 AM
Earl49 Earl49 is offline
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The name that pops up here often is Ed at Halcyon/Tinker, a forum sponsor. No direct experience myself, but lots of good reports.
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Old 05-27-2020, 08:33 AM
llew llew is online now
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I'm not sure who you consider a "premier" luthier but for my money I'd go with Robin Boucher. I have his Studio Goose (SG-42-MG) dread with the Master Grade package. AAAA Adirondack top over Brazilian Mahogany. Phenomenal guitar. And somewhere around 60% of your $7000 ceiling.
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Old 05-27-2020, 08:42 AM
mont_sly mont_sly is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by llew View Post
I'm not sure who you consider a "premier" luthier but for my money I'd go with Robin Boucher. I have his Studio Goose (SG-42-MG) dread with the Master Grade package. AAAA Adirondack top over Brazilian Mahogany. Phenomenal guitar. And somewhere around 60% of your $7000 ceiling.
By "premier" luthier, I basically meant those that charge more then $7000 US as a base price.
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Old 05-27-2020, 08:47 AM
bsman bsman is offline
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Easiest question ever: Linda Manzer. Duh!



OK - maybe not THAT one!
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Old 05-27-2020, 09:01 AM
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Acousticado Acousticado is offline
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Take a look at Sergei de Jonge. His shop is in Chelsea, Quebec (in the Gatineau Hills across the river from Ottawa), so not that far from you. Until last year when I moved from Chelsea after 35 years to west Ottawa, Sergei was my neighbour...I lived about 100m down the old train tracks from him. Sergei is world class, apprenticed under Jean Larriveé. Some of his six children are also luthiers. David Wren, a member of this fine forum is another preeminent luthier to consider. He posts often in the Custom Shop subforum including profiles of his guitar builds.

Check out this thread created a while ago by David Wren which chronicles The Group of Seven Guitar Project. Sergei and David are two of the great Canadian luthiers who participated in that project. Any of the luthiers in the project would build you a fine guitar. There was also a documentary film made with that title that showed in theatres, at least in Canada. At a late evening showing a couple of years ago, my wife and I and the de Jonge family attended and were the only ones in the theatre which made for a real neat evening.

Good luck and have fun!
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Old 05-27-2020, 09:05 AM
Bax Burgess Bax Burgess is offline
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In the OP's neck of the woods, Michael Kennedy's Indian Hill.
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Old 05-27-2020, 09:07 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Acousticado View Post
David Wren, a member of this fine forum is another preeminent luthier to consider.
David immediately came to mind: http://www.wrenguitarworks.com/ Many years ago at the Montreal Guitar Show, David liked my playing and asked me to sit behind his table with him and play. It's a fond memory. Very nice person to chat with and he makes top quality guitars.
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Old 05-27-2020, 09:35 AM
Mycroft Mycroft is offline
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Hard to go wrong with Marc Beneteau...

http://www.beneteauguitars.com/
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Old 05-27-2020, 09:39 AM
Dbone Dbone is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by llew View Post
I'm not sure who you consider a "premier" luthier but for my money I'd go with Robin Boucher. I have his Studio Goose (SG-42-MG) dread with the Master Grade package. AAAA Adirondack top over Brazilian Mahogany. Phenomenal guitar. And somewhere around 60% of your $7000 ceiling.
+1 Boucher

If you could magically double your budget I suppose Greenfield is an option ;-0

For a more budgeted approach I guess you could save some cash with Halcyon

Having a budget like yours is a good problem to have. Good luck!
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Old 05-27-2020, 09:39 AM
EverettWilliams EverettWilliams is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bax Burgess View Post
In the OP's neck of the woods, Michael Kennedy's Indian Hill.
Big +1 here - check out the custom shop section for a thread showing my ongoing build with him. He’s a great guy and really pleasant to work with.

Joel Michaud has also built a guitar for me and he’s a wonderful person and artist, but is a little more than you want to spend.
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Old 05-27-2020, 09:48 AM
charles Tauber charles Tauber is offline
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When I first started making guitars in the late 1970's, you could count on two hands the number of guitar makers in Southern Ontario. But for one or two, all were affiliated with Larrivee and/or his teacher Edgar Monch.

Fast forward to now, and there are far too many to even list in this area, let alone the rest of Canada. Many are newer to the craft - though some have a decade or more of experience - not household names and offer their guitars at much more modest prices than the "premier luthiers" to which you refer. Many of them produce excellent instruments.

You'll need to do some primary research to determine which of them are a good fit to what you want. Asking here is a good place to start, but won't likely unearth the lesser known ones.
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Old 05-27-2020, 09:55 AM
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Joel Michaud https://www.michaudmade.com/

Amazing guitars and a super nice guy to work with.

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Old 05-27-2020, 10:15 AM
guitar george guitar george is offline
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I highly recommend David Iannone of Morgan guitars in North Vancouver.

https://www.morganguitars.com/

What I like about his guitars is they are good strummers with strong bass and clear mids and highs. His quality of workmanship is very high.

I have this concert model CCQMH from David and it is one of my favorite and best sounding guitars.

Morgan (7).jpg Morgan (20).jpg


From his website: "Attached to his North Vancouver home, at the foot of Mount Seymour, just walking distance to Burrard Inlet, David is humbled by the fact that he is able to create each guitar in his one person work shop which, he has built from the ground up since 1985.

To keep the hours and costs down while sustaining impeccable craftsmanship, David has dedicated years to reinventing the design of his workshop, making the process extremely efficient. After three decades, he considers it a dance where no movement is wasted.

Over the years he has had some company–three shop dogs and one free roaming budgie. In and out whenever they pleased, his children grew up watching him work while doing their homework on the table saw top and drawing on his shop walls."
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Old 05-27-2020, 10:20 AM
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Teleplucker Teleplucker is offline
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Hard to beat Tony Karol, his baritones are played by Tommy Emmanuel and Stephen Bennett among others.
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