Guitar Manufacturers and Makers
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www.froggybottomguitars.com
In 1970, founder Michael Millard (a.k.a "Froggy") began building
his own guitars on the side while working as a shop foreman for Gurian
Guitars in New York City. In 1973 Millard and fellow builder Andrew Mueller
set up their own shop in Richmond, New Hampshire.
They build bespoke instruments of stunning tone and quality. This is
what their website says:
"We build guitars directly for players who wish to work closely with
us to create their own instrument. We also sell our instruments through
a select network of dealers around the world chosen because they are
experienced, knowledgeable, friendly, and committed to helping you find
the perfect guitar for your needs".
Froggy Bottom Guitars
198 Timson Hill Road
Newfane, Vermont 05345
phone: (802)
348 - 6665
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www.caguitars.com
Beautiful, beautiful instruments - a joy to touch, play and own. Here's
what their website says:
"Composite Acoustics( the "C. A." of CA Guitars) was
started as a technology company with the mission to create the best sounding,
most consistent and durable acoustic guitars ever made. What equipped
us with the ability to pursue such an ambitious course? The mastery of
a technology which allows us to reproduce the sound characteristics of
the finest wood instruments, and an unquenchable appetite to innovate
based on the needs and desires of players".
CA Guitars
3403 Moss St. Lafayette, LA 70507
Tel; 337.233.4119
email: info@caguitars.com
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www.berkowitzguitars.com
Berkowitz Guitars are designed and built by luthier David D. Berkowitz
in his workshop in the Washington, DC neighborhood of Eastern Market
on Capital Hill.
Berkowitz's interest in building guitars came early at the age of four
and was fostered by his discovery of the works of David Russell Young,
and Irving Sloane, both who wrote the early modern treatises of guitarmaking
in the 1970's.
In 1985, Berkowitz attended the Roberto-Venn School of Lutherie. Berkowitz
continued his lutherie education on his own, eventually training with
luthier Charles Fox, at the American School of Lutherie in Healdsburg,
California.
Berkowitz began building professionally in 1993, and continues to build
fine acoustic guitars baritones and acoustic basses for the professional
musician.
ddb@berkowitzguitars.com
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www.jsbguitars.com
Guitars for the professional who knows quality when he/she sees it and
wants the best. Here's what the website says:
"My guitar is based on the Hauser/Torres body shape. The bracing pattern
is my own design which has evolved over the years to capture the sound
I am striving to achieve. I think you will find the instruments powerful
and rich in tone color, enabling the performer to easily produce a full
pallet of tonal shadings to accommodate the entire range of repertoire.
The standard guitar comes with Indian Rosewood back and sides, spruce
or cedar soundboard, ebony fingerboard, headstock laminated on both sides
with Indian Rosewood, traditional rosette, and Sloan tuners".
J.S. Bogdanovich Guitars
14 Kirkland Drive
Ashville, NC 22805
phone: (828) 299-1097
email: johnb1097@bellsouth.net
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www.manzer.com
Linda Manzer makes truly remarkable and sweet sounding guitars. Everything
from steel and nylon string through to baritone and 12 string guitars.
Here is one specification from one of her guitar models:
"This is my most popular flattop model. Using only highest grade aged
European Spruce or Cedar top. Indian Rosewood back and sides with an
Ebony fingerboard and bridge. Scale length of 65 cm (25 1/2")".
email: linda@manzer.com
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www.bcguitar.com
From sunny Hawaii comes a range of guitars that are just gorgeous. Here's
what their website says:
"Our
guitars are played and endorsed by Bob Brozman, world renown traditional
Hawaiian steel player. "The Bear Creek is beautifully crafted and
captures the mysterious sound of the original Weissenborn, but with greater
volume, depth, and clarity."
Bear Creek Guitars
Kula, Maui, Hawaii
phone: Toll Free 1-877-622-8216
email:
bcguitar@bcguitar.com
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www.rainsong.com
Now here's something different - graphite guitars. A unique guitar -
RainSongs are the only all-graphite acoustic guitars in the world: body,
neck,
fretboard and bridge are all made out of pure graphite.
With their iridescent black graphite weave, the all-graphite soundboards
on these instruments make them gorgeously different. Whether played on-stage,
at a campfire amongst friends or in the privacy of your bedroom, these
breathtaking instruments will never be mistaken for traditional wooden
guitars.
Rainsong Graphite Guitars
12604 NE 178th Street,
Woodinville, WA 98072
phone: 800.788.5828
Fax: 425.485.7274
email:webinquiry@rainsong.com
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www.beyondthetrees.com
Fred Carlson, co-founder of Beyond the Trees, has been hand-building
original and traditional guitars and other stringed instruments for over
30 years. If you like beautiful, unusual instruments and you're not familiar
with Fred's work, you're in for a treat. A unique combination of discipline,
skill, whimsy and innovation, along with an intuition finely honed by
years of experimenting, makes Fred's work stand apart from that of other
luthiers.
Rather than viewing the guitar as a collection of separate components,
i.e. body, neck, bridge etc., each of Fred's instruments is conceived
of, from the design stage on, as a coherent piece of sculpture. This
attention to how details combine to make the whole is carried through
in the sculpting of the instrument's voice as well.
An important focus for Fred is that of insuring that the unusual design
features add to, rather than detract from, the instrument's function.
In the end, all these factors- tone, playability, visual and tactile
effect- are intertwined in the creation one of Fred's guitars.
Fred Carlson, Beyond The Trees
2026 Back Ranch Road
Santa Cruz, CA 95060
phone: (831)423-9264
email: wildsols@BeyondTheTrees.com
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www.heritageguitar.com
Heritage Guitar Inc. was
incorporated on April 1, 1985. The company is going on 20 years old and
it has achieved the status of one of the premier guitar companies in
the
world today.
It is, in many instances, the new guitar line handled
by countless vintage shops throughout the world. This indicates it
is thought of as the collectible guitar of tomorrow. Based in Kalamazoo,
the former home town of another well known maker of guitars and mandolins
(Here's a hint, it begins with a "G" and ends in an "ibson") these
guitars
are something very special indeed.
Lane Zastrow, born September 14, 1943, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is the
President of Lasar Music Corp. Lasar is the exclusive sales and marketing
company for Heritage Guitars Inc.
Heritage Guitar Inc.
225 Parsons St.
Kalamazoo, MI. 49007
Phone 269-385-5721
Fax 269-385-3519
SALES & MARKETING
Lasar Music Corp.,
500 Wilson Pike Circle, Suite 204
Brentwood, TN. 37027
Phone: (615) 377-4913
Fax (615) 373-4986
email: heritageguitar@kalamazoo.net
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www.robinguitars.com
These really are beautiful guitars to play, own and touch. Made by a
master craftsman with decades of love and experience - someone who eats,
sleeps and breathes guitars.
Here's what the website says:
We get up each morning with one thing in mind... to make a better guitar.
Just as a musician creates his music for others to listen to, we at Robin
build guitars for people to play. That is the ultimate reward!
Every day
we receive calls from people wanting to know about an "old" Robin
guitar they have bought or are thinking about buying. What model is this?
When was it made? How much did it cost new? This is the greatest! Where
is the nearest Robin dealer? Please send more information!
It's responses
like this that motivate us to be a better guitar company. Not always
easy, but always gratifying. Keep your calls, letters, and
emails coming! They keep us going! Thanks!
Robin Guitars
3526 East T.C.
Jester Blvd.
Houston,
Texas 77018
USA
phone: 713-957-0470
Fax: 713-957-3316
email: sales@robinguitars.com
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www.novaxguitars.com
Now these are something WAY different. Probably one of the most exciting
guitar concepts since the electric guitar began. Here's what the website
says:
The NOVAX® Fanned-Fret® concept evolved from a desire to produce
an instrument with balanced tone and string tension. As a guitar player
and professional repair technician with extensive experience, I had grown
dissatisfied with the performance of instruments as they existed. Lack
of definition in the lower frequencies, harsh, percussive trebles, and
general "muddiness" of tone seemed pervasive, even when the
performance of these instruments was optimized. Experimenting with composite
materials and state-of-the-art electronics only made matters worse by
highlighting these problems. My repair experience led me to examine scale
length as a possible solution.
Novax Guitars
920 A Estabrook,
San Leandro,
CA 94577
phone; 510-483-3599.
email: novax@netwiz.net
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www.pickardacoustics.com
Pickard Acoustics offers a range of handbuilt steel-strung guitars,
and mandolin family instruments, all featuring a unique bracing system
which produces a bright tone and even response. Each instrument is built
using solid wood construction and employing a variety of tone-woods and
spruce tops.
These really are fine, hand-built Guitars, Mandolins and Mandolas.
He also makes Bouzoukis, Citterns and Banjos and I am now offering handbuilt Ukuleles (Sopranino, Soprano, Concert, Tenor, Baritone).
Ivor Pickard
Pickard Acoustics
Binbrook
Market Rasen
Lincs. LN8 6BW .
Phone: +44(0)1472399443
email: guitars@pickardacoustics.com
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www.griffinguitars.com
Beautiful hand crafted guitars and mandolins from a master maker. Heres
what the website says:
"Kim Griffin began repairing fiddles and guitars in 1976. In '77 he
attended The School of Guitar Research and Design in Vermont, taught
by Charles
Fox and George Morris. Continuing on from there he built individual
commissioned instruments, hammered dulcimers, banjos, mandolins as well
as repairs.
Currently Kim works in a cozy shop Greenwich NY, building guitars of
5 basic body styles, flat-top mandolins, banjos, and the occasional hammered
dulcimer. He still likes the custom building strategy and resists the
urge to build more than 6-8 at a time . "I will take the (critical)
time, to match up the top with the bracing. We sometimes vary bracing
pattern, size, and even species of woods depending on the characteristics
of the top and the customers requisted tonal preferance. Each piece of
wood has its own unique "fingerprint," both visually and sonicly".
Kim T Griffin (Luthier)
E Mail: griffin.guitars@juno.com
Phone (518) 695-5382
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www.mcknightguitars.com
TONE… Players seek that holy grail whenever they pick up a guitar,
but it often eludes them. But not at McKnight Guitars.
Luthier Tim McKnight masterfully crafts his custom guitars to produce
tone that inspires the heart and touches the soul. He builds each McKnight
guitar with equal measures of hard-earned expertise, unique innovation,
passion and soul. The results are precision instruments of sweeping beauty,
grace … and, most importantly, tone.
A player could ask no more of a fine guitar.
McKnight Guitars
P.O. Box 6
Morral, OH
43337-0006
Phone: 740-465-2371
email: tim@mcknightguitars.com
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www.campbellamerican.com
These really are superbly made guitars that ooze quality.
They are made with meticulous attention to detail. Truly a guitar players
guitar!
Here's what their website says:
"The concept behind Campbell American Guitars is simple: build guitars
here in America - using old New England craftsmanship; utilize sensible
designs, top-shelf components;
and always retain a commitment to quality, integrity and ingenuity.
We
believe the results of this philosophy speak for themselves.
Campbell American Guitars
P. O. Box 460,
Westwood,
MA 02090
USA
Phone: 401-335-3101
Fax : 508-785-3577
Email: sales@campbellamerican.com
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www.baileyguitars.co.uk
Mark started his guitarmaking career at the age of 18 with "Patrick Eggle" guitars working with people like Trevor Wilkinson, Gary Levinson, Rob Williams and Patrick himself.
He learned from masters of the art until 1998 when with his partner Carol Davies, he started his own company "Bailey Guitars", in a double decker bus. With their immensely popular "Build your own guitar" course, Mark set about teaching others to build their own dream guitars
BAILEY GUITARS
PO BOX 8409
Kirkmichael Guitar Village
Maybole
KA19 8YH
Phone:01655 883138 (during office hours)
email: mark@baileyguitars.co.uk
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www.ainsworth-guitars.co.uk
Ainsworth Guitars is based in Lancashire
I first started making classical guitars over 20 years ago.
After starting to learn to play guitar, I was disappointed and frustrated by the quality of the instrument I was using. I decided to try my hand at making my own and set about finding information on guitar making.
Like many guitar makers, my initial information came from A. P. Sharpe's book on Spanish guitar construction. This was followed by McLeod & Welford and Sloane. Both of these books have inspired numerous guitar makers.
email: john@ainsworth-guitars.co.uk
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www.caguitarworks.co.uk
Great guitar builders/repairers. Here's what their website says:
"Trained in the U.S.A at the Taylor guitars factory in California by some of their top repairmen, we are authorised Taylor technicians able to repair and fit ES systems and work on NT necks. We are also able to set up and repair Parker Guitars and are authorised Fishman pickup installers.
As well as being authorised by many more brands we are one of the only repair centres in the UK for Lowden guitars. Over the years we have setup and repaired guitars for many bands and artists including Coldplay, Funeral For A Friend, My Vitriol, Foo Fighters, Elliot Minor and Skunk Anansie. These are to mention but a few."
info@caguitarworks.co.uk
Telephone: 07751 724922
