Fine Guitar Consultants Guitar List 3


2001 Erich Solomon Phoenix Archtop This is the last in a long series of Solomons I've played over the years that has convinced me of Erich's gifts and consistency as a builder. We are very proud to represent Solomon Guitars. Someday, in the not too distant future, only ONE of you will be glowing over your wisdom to buy this top of his line in 2001 for so little money. This totally french polished natural archtop lets the woods speak for themselves. Imagine a longer L-5 style guitar (with more soundboard) a longer scale length (25.98) and light guage strings (Thomastik 11's) to yield a new type of balanced, easy feel for jazz. This interesting approach produces clean and warm results. Longtime Barney Kessel protege Art Johnson, now a 30-years-in-the-making "overnight success," played this guitar some time ago before leaving for France. Says Art, "Erich has made an elegant, light, singing archtop. These trebles have a voice with character. They don't go 'ting'...they say 'pwah'..."Art continues (beaming), "there is a lot of air and articulation between the strings. The tambre is even all across the fretboard.You've put a lot of archtops in my hands, Richard, and this is the finest yet!" $7,500 for this one or call us to place a custom order with a full satisfaction guarantee.

Premiering: 2003 Boaz Elkayam "Jazz Negra" archtop electrified acoustic "Boaz Elkayam's latest achievement is getting immediate notice in the jazz community. The Master Luthier (third generation in his family) has created a new evolution of the violin family for the serious jazz guitarist who seeks new solid ground. With hand knives, chisels and finger planes, noticably without the use of power tools, Boaz sculpted and voiced this instrument slowly over the past 3-years. The braces are the advanced flying braces of his Clarita Negra, applied to this new archtop design. The lightest and oldest seasoned flame maple and a thick slab of very old spruce were utilized well. I cannot describe the lively, yet pretty pianistic notes that spring from this instrument. It is as if the notes are shot from a crossbow and the player can feel the recoil!(Click here to see the March, 2003 Acoustic Guitar article on Boaz) The pickup, appropriately, is a breakthrough device (as yet un-released by the manufacturer, but available through FGC) that is a jazz-fat, well-balanced and quiet single coil that is hidden inside the end of the fingerboard! A mostly-hidden wheel is accessed on the underside of the organically carved pickrest. The 19-piece headstock is decorated with Boaz's signature and wood triangle inlay theme, with variations in the fretboard treatment, and others on the sides, bottom and ebony tail piece. Almost impossibly, the tail piece and pickrest are bound in a blonde hardwood. A delicately airbrushed black ribbon appears to encircle the center laminations at the back of the maple neck. A low-mass 3-footed ebony bridge holds a bone saddle, easily changable for action adjustments (if desired). The action is now set medium-low. The fret work is superb, with close tolerances across the board. Perfect neck pitch. You cannot wrap your thumb easily around the neck for a "country F" due to its fluted shape. With its very subtle v-shape, it is a wonderful design for the trained musician who plays with the thumb behind the neck. Nut: 1.75" Scale length: 25.25", sides measure 2.5"-3" at bottom, but convex sculpting adds another 1/2 inch between the back and top complex carvings. The body looks like it is well-muscled! 16.25" lower bout, 11.5" upper bout. If you are a professional or a musician after hours who is driven by an exciting instrument (who isn't?), call me after you review this material. The few artists that have taken this for a test drive have been floored by this one. Bireli Lagrene and his band "Gipsy Project" visited Fine Guitar Consultants recently while on tour in San Diego. Bireli loved the feel and sound of Boaz's new creation." --Richard $32,000 This model, with the same woods and sound starts at $16,000 with simple adornment.)


2001 Diego Huerga "Rex" S.N.#28 This luthier was a great discovery for me at the 2001 Healdsburg Guitar Festival in Sonoma CA. Diego is an intense and serious maker. This is his life passion. He hand-fashions these instruments without the aid of jigs and fixtures. With total hands-on carving, careful fitting and voicing of this fully french polished 17" archtop, Diego has full tactile control of the process. Spruce over flamed maple, this is a traditional rhythm box. A big, powerful sound that is responsive for quiet passages as well. A 1 11/16" nut has 6 perfect break angles. The 25.8 scale utilizes a set of 11's to create normal tension that is nicely playable. There is a sweet clarity and power that sets Diego's guitars apart. Koa bindings, hand bound guard and tailpiece...Diego used his fine jewelry design background to create a hinged tailpiece that adds art to function. A medium thicknessed neck is perfectly proportioned. We are honored to represent Diego Huerga in this country. His guitars will be well celebrated on the world jazz scene. For now, this instrument is available at a modest price for its level of architecture. $14,500 with hard case.

1997 Gary Zimnicki Acoustic Archtop with pickup Blue Spruce is so hard to come by. The high altitude trees are narrower by nature's design, and the wood can be cosmetically quirky. There is a bit of nature's coloration on this otherwise almost white wood. The tone of this soundboard is so lively, crisp, and well balanced. It is warmly complemented by gorgeous Claro Walnut back and sides. A Selmer style cutaway and slotted head make for a distinctive design. It is a flat top lover's archtop. Generous sustain and an airy presence underlay its full-bodied archtop charachter. 25.6" scale length, 1 7/8" nut, and a flatter D-shape neck profile with a flatter radius also make this an archtop for a classically trained jazz explorer! String response and flexible string selection is acheivable with its double row adjustable Kent Armstrong floating pickup. $6,800

1996 Cremona Custom Leach 6-string FGC "Make-over!" A very old bearclaw figured Sitka Spruce top was refitted by Harvey Leach to update this guitar. The new top reflects Leach's improved construction and voice bracing techniques. This guitar deserved the update. Almost nobody has Brazilian Rosewood of this quality anymore. If you could find it--the upgrade cost for the Brazilian would likely be as much as $4-5,000 alone. The neck is nicely laminated for stability and is capped with an ebony fingerboard. Gold Grover tuners. Narrow wood marquetry edging compliments a like treatment circling the rosette. Spalted wood purfling adorns the player's side view, matched in the handmade truss rod cover and bound bridge. The finer points of string to string volume balancing and even tambre are so critical in seperating the good instruments from the great ones. Even after Leach's update, this guitar was still a bit choked and uneven. Believing in its high potential, off it went to Scott van Linge to re-shape the braces and bridge, bringing out the great tonal qualities only promised by these beautiful tonewoods. Now it sings and has a very jazzy feel. WOW! The hours that went into this beautiful guitar that sounds and plays so nicely belies its price. Sweet, even projection. If you are a tonewood lover, let's hear from you! Also, keep in mind that a guitar you own might be choked and not free to sing with an "open throat." We represent Scott van Linge's services proudly. Client after client has been thrilled with what Scott has done for their favorite sentimental "keepers." Now those guitars are getting played and enjoyed! Call Richard to discuss Scott's Parabolic Brace Shaving services. $6,800

2000 Michael Lewis flattop 7-string s.n. #141 Englemann Spruce top over Indian Rosewood back and sides. The instrument's neck is hand carved from African Mahogany and is topped with an ebony fingerboard. Gold Waverly tuners. Scale length is 25.4". This is one of the last two flattops that Michael will be making for a long while. Michael is focusing on his archtops, D'Angelico family-authorized replicas, and his award-winning mandolins. This is a terrific opportunity for jazz and advanced fingerstyle players to explore playing genuine, non-transcribed bass lines on the bottom 4 strings of this guitar while doing melody line and rhythm accompaniment. Enjoy the low action and pursue this great extended range for the guitar! The bottom note will stir your soul. $5,800

2000 Michael Lewis flattop 6-string s.n. #ORC145 If the 7 strings on the above guitar are one too many for your playing style, you can still have the Cadillac-smooth sustain of a Michael Lewis flat top in a 6-string version. Bearclaw figured Englemann Spruce top with a soft peach mineral stripe over Black Walnut back and sides. The instrument's neck is hand laminated in a walnut/mahogany/walnut combination and is topped with an ebony fingerboard. Gold Waverly tuners. Scale length is 25.4". Beautiful narrow edging in hand placed Paua Abalone shell, matches double rosette treatment. This is the last 6-string flattop that Michael will be making for a long while. The other (a 7- string) is listed above. Michael is focusing on his archtops, D'Angelico family-authorized replicas, and his award-winning mandolins. $5,900 with deluxe hard case and warranty

SOLD (another coming) 2001 Kiso/Klein DK-1 This is the fingerstyle dreadnaught. Designed by Steve Klein for Kiso Guitars, Fine Guitar Consultants is happy to have high integrity instruments like this one at a very affordable price. Like its smaller brother, the OM, thanks to the Klein bracing design, this is a wonderful fingerstyle guitar. The Kiso team of luthiers visited us on a trip to the US from their native Japan. I did not need an interpreter to see the passion and dedication these men have for building fine instruments. This Spruce over Rosewood guitar is a nice addition to a well rounded collection or a perfect step up from a larger manufacturer type instrument. It is well balanced and reverberant without overpowering the individual clarity of the notes. $3,300 with case SOLD (another coming)

2002 Stefan Hahl Gitano DeLuxe Years of extensive education, apprenticeship, and experience are required before one is permitted to take the formal title of Gitarrenbaummeister. Having served his apprenticeship under the likes of Henning Doderer and the traditional German guitar companies of Hofner, Hanika. and Hopf where he was trained in the traditions of the European instrument builders, Stefan Hahl received his diploma from the Violin and Stringed Instrument Making Academy in Mittenwald. The diversified background and careful attention to detail has equipped him well. Bireli Lagrene and Gipsy Project is currently touring America with his Hahl guitar. During his San Diego visit, Mr. Lagrene and his band were the guests of FGC on a day off. It was a day of jamming, consulting, and great fun. The Hahl guitar is made in the Selmer tradition. Guitar virtuoso Django Reinhardt made them known. This instrument offers tonal and visual authenticity. Powerfully voiced, it is clear and distinctive as a solo instrument, while well balanced and smooth for rhythm playing, as well. The guitar is outfitted with a laminated multiple-piece Mahogany neck, Schaller tuners, and Ebony fingerboard with Selmer style pearl dots. The tailpiece is an exact copy of the Selmer original. The bridge height is adjustable and is equipped with bone inlays for better intonation and improved playability. The scale length is 25.35". A Rosewood bridge, bone nut, and bridge inlays of bone are used. A pickup is laminated into the lower bridge position. The seasoned Class A European Alp Spruce and Flamed German 3-piece laminated Maple back and sides have been aged for over 40 years. Thinly applied lacquer finishes the inside as well as the exterior of the guitar. This guitar has been carefully handed around to some pro guitarists, and they agree that this is an outstanding Selmer style guitar. Bireli Lagrene, one of the living Gipsy Jazz treasures today played this particular guitar at FGC (see Acoustic Guitar Magazine - August, 2003) and loved it. Bireli chooses to play Hahl guitars much of the time. He has several. Coming soon: Stefan Hahl's Django Memorial Guitar, serial #1 0f 6. Achieving rave reviews in the German press, this new exciting limited edition is made with the most precious materials: 50 year aged German Spruce of top quality and 50 year aged European Maple. This limited edition with personal number and certificate, commemorates the 50th Anniversary of Django's death. $5,500

SOLD (Now taking orders) 2001 Kasha/Boaz Elkayam Steel String These are exciting times in the development of guitar acoustics. Applying principles of his famous Clarita Negra concert classical, Boaz and Dr. Michael Kasha have collaborated on 2 steel strings. These 2 instruments feature Kasha's newest patented bridge design, controlling the disbursement of energy to specific zones on the well-seasoned Spruce soundboard. The quarter-split old growth Brazilian Rosewood back center triangle and sides are sister cuts, matching a Brazilian neck from the same log! All the clear blonde back wood is honey-toned spruce adjacent to the triangle of Brazilian. Boaz builds his guitars without the aid of power tools. He is involved from the sawing and splitting of the logs seasoned over the years in his storage facility, to the cutting, forming, and fitting the guitar with hand knives and chisels. The sound of this guitar is profoundly rich; it is piano-like in charachter. The notes are round and full across the board. A singing sustain with natural overtones is fully present. The guitar is well balanced from string to string, with full clarity. The volume is loud with plenty of dynamic headroom; its projection is excellent. The value of the art, science, and woods in this guitar far exceeds its price. This is a superb recording instrument as well. $9,700




More Fine Guitars for Sale (a partial listing of guitars on hand... please call for others offered confidentially.) For all types of instruments shipping in soon, click here to read the "New Items Coming In Soon" page.
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April, 1978 John Denver's Yamaha L-53 Custom Fine Guitar Consultants is proud to represent the owner of this thrilling hand made guitar that was ordered and played by John Denver. We are looking for someone who was touched by Denver's music and will also appreciate this guitar as a work of the luthier's art! This guitar is an icon of that era from the late 1970's. Hokkaido Spruce over fine Brazilian Rosewood with "hurdy-gurdy" style paua and ebony alternate diagonal purfling. Tastefully stunning. We custom fit a fine set of white fossilized walrus ivory bridge pins and a bone, compensated saddle. A leather interior sound hole label, cut in the shape of a fretboard inlay (and signed by famed Japanese guitar designer Thierry Nakamoto), says "Made for John Denver...Custom L-53." Nakamoto was head of Yamaha's Research and Development design team at the time the guitar was built. Nakamoto, we understand, also made guitars for John Lennon, Paul Simon, and Neil Young. In a telephone interview by a trusted FGC source, Nakamoto remembered that Denver was offered 3 instruments back stage by Yamaha officials after a concert in Japan in 1975. John picked a stock L-53. Two years later, Nakamoto recalls, Denver ordered a custom 6-string and 12-string with personalized changes. This is that Custom 6-string. The stock L-53 was sold at auction after John's death for $51,000. A full color article appeared in the July, 2001 issue of 20th Century Guitar Magazine. In the November, 2003 issue of Acoustic Guitar Magazine it was featured as the "Great Acoustic." "Three years ago, at the Healdsburg Guitar Festival, Annetta and I met the Japanese contingent from the Yamaha Custom Shop in Japan. In the group of five men, who we spoke with through an interpreter, was the man who made this guitar. He was delighted to see the guitar and know that the sound and power of the guitar has been unleashed by John's own playing and the many years that have passed. Your window of opportunity on this purchase is a short one. It was the seller's intention to offer this instrument at $83,000. After doing comparitive analysis, we prevailed on him to adjust the price to this level. We feel that to many, this can be an heiroom that can be kept with pride in a way that will honor the memory of a gifted songwriter." --Richard $68,000 with original case and full documentation.

2004 Michael Greenfield model G1-L, s.n. #0078 Fine handmade guitars are often very light in weight. But not always. There are other time-proven guitar building approaches that result in heavier (yet well-balanced) instruments. We have clients that appreciate both and don't think much about it other than noting the weight as one of the differences in building style. Ervin Somogyi builds a heavier instrument that has a solid, substantial feel. Michael Greenfield also uses building methods that produce a heavier guitar. I am also reminded of the first time I had an old 1940's D'Angelico in my lap. Solid power. This is that kind of solidity with great sensitivity and responsiveness as well. Michael has physically scaled up his classical guitar model and braced and voiced it for steel strings. The radially braced back works well. The Mahogany, Maple and Walnut 7-piece hand carved neck (carbon graphite reinforced) is topped with Waverly gold plated tuners and Snakewood buttons. Scale length is 25.78". The nut width is 1 3/4". 2 3/16" string spacing at the bridge. Another nice addition is the integrated Grit Laskin designed arm rest. This is an elegant and functional feature that gives the player more comfort for the right arm. The fit and finish are quite beautiful, inside and out. Fine details include double light wood purfling strips on every edge, creating a crisply defined look that is very handsome. A nicely quartered, parabolically shaped Alpine Spruce soundboard over old, quartered Brazilian is a superb combination of woods. It is not easy to come by a new Greenfield these days without the waiting time that is typical of better makers like Michael. Guts and Glory! This is a "lifer." $10,000 with "taxi cab yellow" Calton case. Cool.