Acoustic Guitars

Per the requirements of the manufacturer, McPherson guitars can be shipped to their destination only by UPS Next Day Air or Messenger Service.

The Martin Style 00-21 Grand Concert sized guitar goes way back.  C F Martin was already making them in 1898 when they began serial numbering instruments; we know that they also made the model prior to that.  C F Martin Company produced only 24 in 1942 (it was a wartime year and few guitars were sold) and yet it was one of the finest years for beauty, tone, projection, volume and accessibility of the finest tonewoods.

This is a Grand Concert sized Martin guitar; it fits the same size case as does a classical guitar, but of course we will set it up for light gauge steel strings.   This example is in exceptional condition, not played very much and crack-free. Its top has mellowed to a deep and uniform orange; the headplate, fingerboard and bridge are all Brazilian rosewood.  It plays with great ease and is pleasing in many ways one never typically things of.  It can be your own personal philharmonic – lap sized yet strong and lyrical in performance.

Bill Kraus builds guitars the old fashioned way, by hand, at his shop in Middleport, NY, northeast of Buffalo, described per the town’s website as a quaint little village of about 2,000 residents situated in the Royalton and Hartland regions on the eastern edge of Niagara County.   Kraus guitars are currently offered in two body styles, cleverly named the "OM" and the "D". While the shapes of these instruments are based on the traditional designs, the internal bracing and other design concepts are unique to this brand. It is a trade secret, so don’t even think about asking.

Here’s what Collings Guitars says about their OM model: “'OM' stands for ‘Orchestra Model’ but 80 years after this body shape was first designed it has become the most popular 14-fret model with fingerstyle guitar soloists who choose to play on steel strings. Yet flatpickers also find it appealing, and when the graceful cutaway is added these OMs are often used by lead players who routinely explore all 20 frets much as they would on an electric guitar.

This instrument captures some of the appointments and panache of the prewar version – however it is made from solid Indian rosewood on the back & sides, with the addition of the extremely welcome Adirondack “Red” spruce top.  If we cast our mind back to the grand concert sized guitar that the incomparable Sylvia Fricker played in the group Ian and Sylvia (and who could forget that?) you may envision her playing a guitar that was extremely similar to this.

Per the requirements of the manufacturer, McPherson guitars can be shipped to their destination only by UPS Next Day Air or Messenger Service.

One of our favorite small-bodies, this extremely wonderful sounding, yet smaller sized, instrument is part of the Martin Vintage series which means it has many appointments of the prewar, while retaining the solid Sitka spruce top of the modern era. It is made using bona fide, solid mahogany on the back & sides, and it has 1/4" scalloped braces, a modified V-neck, a bone nut and saddle

The Orchestra Model guitar, as you know, is considered the ideal sized guitar for fingerstyle, with the ideal sound – crispy, clean and clear with enhanced depth of tone and sustain.   Builder Kukich is known internationally for the level of perfection he achieves in making a guitar that conveys the panache and plectral diversification of the prewar, in a modern instrument.  To say that this guitar promotes effortless picking possibilities with a maximum array of tonal colors would be an understatement.  This guitar is a joyous occasion waiting to happen.

We present to you one of the most beautiful (and rare) prewar guitars extant.   For one thing, it’s a natural top and most of the large body prewar Gibsons that circulate, including the Jumbo 35, are sunburst.  Here's a quote from the late Doc Watson:  “I just can’t say enough good things about those old Gibson jumbos.  The old Gibson J-35 that I played was as good a guitar as I have ever played.  Merle learned on that guitar – in fact Merle played that same guitar on the Doc Watson and Son album."

This Orchestra Model is simple and utilitarian and yet elegant and stately at the same time.   The wood is, in our opinion, of "select" status - that Englemann top is wider at the extremes and extremely close in the middle - with a plethora of cross-silking (medullary rays) to prove it.

WAS $3295 WITH A CASH PRICE OF $3195, BUT NOW ON SALE!

Marc Beneteau has crafted another gem, this time an OM with master-grade Adirondack top and ribbon-grain Sapele back and sides. Marc has been building outstanding guitars in St. Thomas, Ontario since 1974; his instruments are of the highest order, acoustically and aesthetically. This is his interpretation of the classic Martin OM, close to the original in shape and size, but incorporating many of Marc’s innovations and built to the highest quality standards. The scale length is 25.4”, nut width is 1-13/16”, and string spacing at the saddle is 2-5/16”; these are very nearly ideal dimensions for fingerstyle playing --  so say persnickety pickers everywhere.

This stunning instrument has been brought back to entirely original specification by the factory that made it.  This guitar provides the experience of walking into a store in 1968 and seeing a brand new D-28 hanging up, pointing to it, and saying "I'll take that one."     This is an ideal guitar – displaying one of the most beautiful examples of straight-grained, quarter sawn Brazilian as we have recently laid our eyes upon.   This is made from wood of a level of quality it is doubtful could even be obtained today on any new guitar.  This is Now on Sale.  It WAS $8763 but is now available for less.

This special, limited edition guitar is in excellent (or possibly excellent plus) condition however it requires a new bridge saddle and our shop is making it a hand-crafted, actual bone, compensated one.   The original saddle (which is frayed on the top and needs replacement) appears be Micarta and our carving it from bone will increase the amplitude, the sustain and the presence.  This is an example of one of the prettiest and most original Santa Cruz designs that Richard Hoover has ever dreamed up.  He limited it to the amount of wood he had available, which comprises a run of only 10 instruments.

We would call this "excellent or even excellent plus" condition, showing only small signs of having been played—a few scuffs, a few small scratches - having a low comfortable action in every fret position.