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Frequently Asked Questions
About Acoustic Guitar
Who Makes Top Quality Acoustic
Guitars...Cont.?
Mid-Size Guitar Companies
These are some of
the more popular companies that produce less than 1000 guitars each
year but are still made in what is best described as a small-scale
production environment (as opposed to a single luthier), but
predominantly with "by hand" building techniques.
These manufacturers also sell their guitars via retail channels rather
than custom orders only.
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Bourgeous
Guitars
With a range of guitars that
starts with the diminutive Piccolo Parlor, includes 0, 00, and
000-sizes, moves through mid-size Jumbo Orchestra and Mini Jumbo
models before arriving at round-shoulder and square-shoulder
dreadnoughts, and finally a full sized jumbo model, Bourgeois offers
a steel-string flattop for every player. And combined with the
nearly limitless possibilities offered by Bourgeois’ stash of
first-grade tonewoods, as well as numerous options for appointments
and custom features, Bourgeois guitars please the eye as well as
delighting the ear.
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Breedlove
 Tighter waisted than most guitars and featuring a
smaller sound hole positioned higher on the instrument, the
Breedlove Guitar's physical characteristics distinguish it from
everything else out there. This re-proportioned design
and interior construction with its unique bracing system (see pics) frees more of the top for vibration
and resonance. It is made possible through the utilization
of a patented support truss under the bridge. The guitar
leaves the luthier's bench with a better voice...built in. Each
guitar is intonated individually. Meticulous attention to
detail is paid at every step, from the shaping of the body to the
polishing of the finish, ensuring an instrument whose sound is as
beautiful as its appearance.
- Collings
Collings guitars
are made in Austin, Texas, USA. They make beautiful and
beautiful-sounding reproductions of some of the classic pre-war
steel string guitars such as Martin D-28, D-18, and OM-28, as well
as several Gibson body styles, such as the L-00.
- Froggy
Bottom
 Froggy Bottom is a small
company in the hills of southern Vermont which has been dedicated
to making fine steel-string guitars since 1970. They recognize that the needs of
guitarists are as varied as the music they play, and go out of our
way to be responsive to that reality. It is with this diversity in mind that they
offer a line of some fourteen different models, from a 13
1/2" parlor guitar with its balance, resonance, and sparkle,
through the concert, grand concert, and auditorium size ranges, to
full 17" jumbo instruments,
an acoustic bass and
even a baritone model. Combine those model choices with half a
dozen options for back and side material, and four varieties of
spruce for top wood, and you've got quite an open array of
possibilities. Add
custom nut width and neck contouring at no extra charge and the
field widens further.
- Huss &
Dalton
Located in the heart of the beautiful Shenandoah Valley of
Virginia, an area rich in the tradition of fine acoustic music, is
Huss & Dalton Guitar Company. Makers of fine hand
crafted instruments which capture the spirit of the time honored
music played here for generations. A
significant difference in Huss & Dalton Guitars is the use of
a 25’ radius top on most models. This is done for several
reasons, the most important of which is structural
integrity. Because a domed surface is inherently stronger
than a flat one, our radiused soundboard helps the guitar top bear
the stress of the steel strings. This helps our guitars to
have a more balanced tone than traditional designs.
- James Goodall
 James Goodall represents an artisan who is at the
pinnacle of his profession. Superb craftsmanship, an
exacting finesse for detail and wood choice, combine with robust,
three dimensional sound character; these are qualities which
embody every Goodall guitar. All Luthiers have certain
emphasis in their craft. Some are talented with tone, some
with decoration, and others with design. But few who endeavor in
musical instrument making are capable of consistently maintaining
a high level of precision and excellence along with superior tonal
character in every instrument. Discerning eyes and ears will
find the substance of all these qualities crafted together in
every James Goodall instrument. Goodall Guitars
offers three fine models which span the widest range of the
guitarists needs, from the sensitive fingerstyle player to the
aggressive flatpicker.
- Lowden
The company’s founder George Lowden originally started out as a
clothes salesman but took to guitar making in 1973 reviving an
interest he had as a child. Demand for his guitars grew, and
during the years 1980-85 he had them built in Japan under licence.
The fluctuating Yen pushed up prices for the European market and
he decided to bring production back to Ireland. Lowden
Guitars was thus established, with George as technical and design
consultant. Since the late 1980s Lowden have built on their
enviable reputation as a supplier of quality guitars to the
discerning player. Their products are now used by musicians
the world over, among them Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, Richard
Thompson and ... Jan Akkerman.
- Santa Cruz
Luthier Richard Hoover began building guitars and carved-top
mandolins in 1972. By 1976 his focus was on the modern steel
string guitar. The task of becoming a master at all aspects
of guitar making is a lifetime pursuit, the pace determined by how
prolific the luthier is. It was and is Richards intent to
translate the skills and sensitivity of the individual luthier to
a small team of exceptional craftspeople each becoming expert in
their specialty. To this end Santa Cruz Guitar Company has
become one of the worlds most respected team of guitar
builders.
- Tippin Guitars
Bill started designing and building his own guitars in 1978 and
later created the Tippin Guitar Company in Marblehead, MA - just a
few miles north of Boston. Bill and his specially trained
craftsmen/artists work full time to produce beautifully crafted
instruments that anyone would be proud to own.
All Tippins are made to
strict standards of excellence. Each Tippin is constructed with
select woods and the finest hardware. Even the lowest priced
instruments receive the same attention to detail as the most
expensive ones. Options such as matched rippled abalone rosette
and trim add elegance to these quality guitars. Each guitar
benefits from years of working, building and listening to each
individual instrument. Each Tippin is balanced, proportional and
tasteful.
- Wechter
Guitar
Abe Wechter has been designing and building guitars for 22
years. It has been a long journey from his first guitar shop
in Seattle, Washington, to his current shop in a rural Michigan
town named Paw Paw. Over the course of his
career, Abe designed and built hand-made guitars for artists like
John McLaughlin, Steve Howe, Al DiMeola, B.B. King, John Denver,
Earl Klugh, and Jonas Hellborg. He spent 9 years building Kasha
model guitars with the late Richard Schneider during which time he
also worked as a model-maker and designer for Gibson
Guitars. From 1984 until 1994 Abe built custom guitars in
his own shop, developing a reputation as one of the world's finest
craftsmen and guitar designers.
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