custom acoustics

[dontstop611]

I'm looking into buying a custom acoustic guitar. While expensive, I believe you get much more guitar for your money (u agree?). I've been playing a lot of HIGH end brand name acoustics ($3000-$4000) and I can't imagine a custom acoustic could cost much more.

I'm looking for small quality luthiers. Suggestions? I don't plan to buy from Martin's, Gibson's, Taylor's, etc. custom shop.

Anyone have any experiences with custom acoustics? Any advice or opinions are welcome.

word

[JamesO]

My experience with these guys is through our friendships, and I'm comfortable with their work having a hobbiest building background myself in acoustics. Without knowing your target price range and what you're looking for tone wise, I'll recommend without hesitating:

Lance Kragenbrink: http://kragenbrinkguitars.com
Paul Woolson: http://woolsonsoundcraft.com
PeterM (who posts here): http://www.cornerstoneguitar.com

Jim Olson recently evaluated some work of Paul's and loved what he's doing. John Mayes and Kevin Gallagher are good friends, but they're booked up for a few years.

They're all regular posters at acousticplayermagazine.com/forum.

[-kk-]

really depends on what you're after, and i wont be too quick to discount martin, gibby and taylor (esp with r taylors around).

in my opinion custom acoustics can and do cost waaay more
than custom electrics. Ive recently gone through the process, and have put a deposit with michael bashkin (www.bashkinguitars.com). his price range is higher than what youve said, but for me and what i need, he's a logical choice.

for the kind of money (3-4k), you'd also want to check out bourgeois, collings, goddalls etc.

id also suggest going over to 13thfrets.com and use the search function like there's no tomorrow.

[Pa'ani]

I'm looking into buying a custom acoustic guitar. While expensive, I believe you get much more guitar for your money (u agree?). I've been playing a lot of HIGH end brand name acoustics ($3000-$4000) and I can't imagine a custom acoustic could cost much more.

I'm looking for small quality luthiers. Suggestions? I don't plan to buy from Martin's, Gibson's, Taylor's, etc. custom shop.

Anyone have any experiences with custom acoustics? Any advice or opinions are welcome.

word

Hey donstop611,

As far as "Custom Acoustics" are concerned I highly recommend these luthiers/builders:

Kevin Ryan Guitars
Jim Olson Guitars
James Goodall
There are many more to choose from it depends on what is right for you!
The prices on the guitars above will definitely exceed the price you stated.
Check out their websites or their Dealers sites.
Good luck.

[papatar]

I just received a custom made acoustic from a small luthier in California named John How. I couldn't be happier with the choice of using John. There are a lot of good ones out there and this is my first custom made but he was the right guy for me for this guitar. Check out him and some others on APM


http://www.acousticplayermagazine.com/forum

Here's a link showing my guitar from the beginning thru near completion http://johnhowguitars.com/Ray_C.html

I do have some completed photos I could send you if you would like to see more

[u12drag]

I would recommend that you check out Del Langejans and Tom Bills. I have instruments from both these guys, and they are incredible. If you are into smaller guitars, check with Guitar Factory in Orlando, FL. They make some of the best sounding OM size guitars I have ever played.

www.langejansguitars.com
www.tbguitars.com
www.guitarfactory.us

[7String Thing]

i would almost never buy anything but a breedlove. i have a custom shop instrument and it is simply amasing. the people there are very nice and have some of the finest craftsmanship ive ever seen. the necks feel immaculate, go for breedlove custom, they are amasing instruments!

[Dave Orban]

Go check out www.13thfret.com.

It's a great discussion board dedicated to all things acoustic. You'll learn about tons of contemporary luthiers there...

[gapple88]

Check these out..
http://www.acousticguitarforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=91981
and this
http://www.thegearpage.net/board/showthread.php?t=197975&highlight=cornerstone

[cornerstone]

Without sounding like a sales pitch, a custom acoustic guitar is a better choice overall... its a guitar built with a purpose (yours) in mind not built for a general use like factory built guitars. Luthiers can address particular aspects of the guitar and concentrate their efforts on the areas that would be more revelant to your particular style of playing...
Besides you can form a relantionship with your guitar from the day its starts beeing built. Personally I offer a digital diary of the process so my buyers can get a glimpse of what I'm doing and see the progression of their guitar transforming from raw materials to a work of art (hopefully :AOK )

I could go on and on into details, but if you need more information a phone call would prove more efficient.

[BigRed51]

I'm looking into buying a custom acoustic guitar. While expensive, I believe you get much more guitar for your money (u agree?).

Quite frankly, no.

If you are concerned with how it looks, or if you desire the exclusivity of a custom build, then fine. Chances are much better of getting a guitar that sounds and plays just how you would like it if you focus on guitars that you can play and hear before you buy. Also, the won't have to wait a year or two while you are on a waiting list to see if it is going to meet your expectations.

I've been playing a lot of HIGH end brand name acoustics ($3000-$4000) and I can't imagine a custom acoustic could cost much more.

You will be surprised. The Olson price list starts somewhere over $12,000. While they can COST much more, only you can decide if they will be WORTH much more.

One guitar store owner has told me that the hardest thing for him to sell is a used custom-built instrument from the minor manufacturers such as Ryan, Olson, and the like.

[JamesO]

He must not know the right market, because people flock to them.

I understand where you're coming from. It's a lot of money, and you'd like to know what you're getting in to. Try to watch Taylor's shop tour video of bracing the top. They pull some pre-profiled braces out, glue them on, and pass it on.

A luthier will talk to you first. They'll want to know if you strum hard or if you plan on having a very light touch. Whether you want a smoother initial response or a more focused sound. Things like that. Then they'll open or close the angle of the X brace and carve until the top taps with the amount of resonance that accomodates what you're going to do. Maybe they'll do some glitter tests to make sure all the nodes are responding as they should.

Things like that are huge and make the separation more readily apparant when you play them.

[Peppy]

Santa Cruz is worth a look...and a listen of course.

[davess23]

I know this may not gain me any fans among the small builders who post here, but to me, custom built guitars are great alternatives...but they're only great for experienced players who know exactly what they want and can't find an off-the-shelf instrument that meets their needs.

An inexperienced or casual player who isn't well acquainted with the tonal and playing qualities, materials and construction techniques used in the designs common to conventional luthierie, yet insists on custom-ordering can easily wind up with a guitar that's no improvement over a stock production model, may even be of lesser quality and value, and also has quite limited resale potential on the used market.

There are more great guitars out there for reasonable money than ever before in the history of the instrument. The casual to intermediate player can very likely find a guitar that's perfect for them, that they don't have to wait for and won't break the bank, from a major maker or small shop, in any one of the many excellent music stores that specialize in good guitars. Not only that, but they can try before they buy, and know exactly what they're paying for.

Just my opinion, but seems to me that until you've developed firm preferences or requirements based on fairly extensive experience of what's already out there, a custom guitar may not be the best way to go.

BTW, this isn't intended as any reflection at all of Dontstop's experience or knowledge. I have no idea of that...just noticing that a lot of people post stuff asking about how to go about getting custom guitars made, but often their questions indicate that they're fairly new to the instrument.

[stephenT]

I just received a custom made acoustic from a small luthier in California named John How.

papatar, I've seen the completed pictures on the APM forum, absolutely beautiful.

I met John, played one of his guitars and ordered one as well. Here's mine being built. It's John's take on a vintage Stella ladder braced concert.

http://www.johnhowguitars.com/ST_LBCG.html

[Peppy]

There are more great guitars out there for reasonable money than ever before in the history of the instrument.

Es verdad. :AOK

[alanbass1]

Custom acoustics actually cost more than their factory counterparts (like for like). What you get for your money is a guitar tailored to your exact requirements, typically premium grade woods, and in general a level of attention and finish that medium to high volume manufacturers could not compete with.

The downside is that you will be putting money into an instrument on reputation and not on how that particular guitar plays and sounds. We all know how variable the same make/type of guitar can be from one example to another and this is especially so with acoustics where there is little you can do to change the sound once delivered (unlike electric guitars where you can change pickups/bridges/electrics and the like).

I would first start to look at what is available and pay particular attention to the smaller volume manuacturers such as Huss and Dalton, Collings and Santa Cruz (there will be many others). Also, why not Martin, Gibson and Taylor. Only if I couldn't find a guitar that really screamed 'buy me' would I take the step to go to a builder to make a guitar specifically for me.

[dzo]

I had one build for me by John Bolin of Bolin Guitars. Tons of experience and will build whatever you want. It may take quite a bit of time, though.

[royd]

One guitar store owner has told me that the hardest thing for him to sell is a used custom-built instrument from the minor manufacturers such as Ryan, Olson, and the like.

Used Ryans & Olsons sell like hotcakes, often for more or much more than the original price paid. Custom builders with less sex appeal, though, are difficult to sell and often take a big hit (see the example below).

There are good reasons to purchase a guitar built by an individual luthier but price and resale are rarely among the reasons. I would second the recommendations to look at some of the small shop companies as well such as Santa Cruz, Collings, Goodall, Lowden, Breedlove, etc. I think you get the most bang for the buck in these guitars. There is serious attention paid to the details that you don't get from the big manufacturers like Taylor and Martin but price and resale are often more attractive than the individually built guitars. They don't cost a lot more than Martins or Taylors and the resale is better than most individual luthiers.

I can give an example of a guitar that my daughter has... it is a Graziano Lucas model, very similar to a Santa Cruz H, with nice koa sides and back. The guitar has a big fat neck and some crazing in the finish. She has tried to sell it a couple of times without any luck. Who knows Tony Graziano even though he builds nice guitars and very nice ukes? And one time she had it for sale for not a lot more than the upcharge some builders charge for the koa... still no takers. It is a very nice little guitar - much nicer than a Martin or Taylor that would have easily sold for two times the price she asked. So she keeps it even though it hasn't been played in months.

[JamesO]

I know this may not gain me any fans among the small builders who post here. . .Just my opinion, but seems to me that until you've developed firm preferences or requirements based on fairly extensive experience of what's already out there, a custom guitar may not be the best way to go.

No no, this is certainly fair and helpful. I agree with you.

In my opinion Avalons are the best bang for the buck in acoustic guitars. Avalons. Mass produced, inexpensive (relatively!), Avalons.