Irvin

Irvin acoustic guitars are made by Wayne Irvin Johnson in Bremerton, Washington. Wayne studied at Sergei de Jonge's school of Lutherie before founding Irvin Guitars. He makes one of a kind hand crafted steel stringed acoustic guitars in 4 body styles. The SJ, (small jumbo), the SP, (signature parlor), the SD (signature dreadnought) and the BABY (or mini-jumbo).

Source: Irvin Guitars website (21 May 2024)

Rob Goldberg

Rob Goldberg made his first guitar in 1973 and became the first apprentice of luthier Bill Cumpiano. He opened his own shop, Empyrean Guitars, in the Berkshires in 1976, making 35 unique guitars before moving to Alaska to become a landscape painter. In 2007, Rob returned to guitar making, setting up a new shop and incorporating innovations inspired by Ervin Somogyi. His recent guitars, known for their responsiveness and musicality, reflect over 20 design changes based on Somogyi’s theories. Goldberg also makes mandolins and violin family instruments.

Source: Rob Goldberg Handmade Guitars website (21 May 2024)

Tom Grant

Tom Grant acoustic guitars are made by Thomas Grant Edwards in Denver, PA. The Tom Grant models include the smaller bodied Series I model, the 000 shaped Series III and the jumbo baritone Series 7. All have a sound-port in the bottom cutaway and use the Halo neck joint system. The Halo system stabilizes the neck joint area while allowing for improved adjustability. This enables the rest of the guitar's structure to be built with the desired stiffness or responsiveness. With a floating fingerboard extension, the Halo neck joint can be assembled quickly and precisely, traditionally only achievable through fine adjustments of the saddle and nut height. The system requires no tools, steam, or heat to remove the neck, reducing risks and costs associated with neck resets, particularly as the guitar ages.

Source: Tom Grant Guitars website (21 May 2024)

Mazama

Mazama acoustic guitars, octave mandolins and mandocellos are made by Jay De Rocher in Bothwell, Washington. There are three Mazama guitar models, two octave mandolin models and one mandocello model, all of which are Rocher's own designs. The guitars include a parlor guitar, an OM-sized model, and a slope-shoulder style dreadnought. One of the octave mandolins is parlor guitar-size and the other is the size of a baritone ukulele. The mandocello can be a four-course or five-course instrument. There are many options in tonewoods, and appointments available. In addition, specifications such as nut width, scale length, string spacing at the saddle, and neck profile are all modifiable to suit the customer.

Source: Mazama Guitars logo (21 May 2024)

Davidge

Greg Davidge has been a Master Craftsman for over fifty years, operating a fine woodworking and design business in Maui, Hawaii for thirty of those years. In 1990, he had the fortunate opportunity to meet renowned luthier Steve Grimes in Kula, who was buying Hawaiian hardwoods from him for his guitars. Steve helped Greg make his first guitar and encouraged his passion for building fine instruments. Greg's second guitar, the "Tiny Grimes," was made with his son Jake in mind, who used it for his lessons with guitarist Tommy Conway. Building guitars became an important side project for Greg.

Brad Corney

Brad Corney began working with guitars as a teenager, training with a local repair technician. On graduation from college he went to work for 5 years with the Santa Cruz Guitar company before relocating to Sonoma County where he opened his own workshop to build and repair instruments. His approach to building is influenced by vintage designs and he uses traditional techniques like French polishing and animal-based glues. Corney makes acoustic archtops inspired by the 1920s to 1930s era as well as flat-tops in the tradition of Golden Era Martin and Gibson. He also makes classical guitars in the style of Torres and Hauser.

Luca Canteri

Luca Canteri is an acoustic guitar maker, based in Fuerteventura in the Canary Islands. Luca was born in Italy in 1974 and trained in construction design before moving to the Canary Islands, Spain in 2000. He began building guitars in 2007, guided by luthiers' books - with the aim of making the ideal finger picker's guitar. With sales of his guitars to customers around the world he was able to go full time as a guitar maker. His instruments are made one by one, by hand - each typically taking around 250 hours to complete.

Source: Luca Canteri website (21 May 2024)

Ibanez The 2000 Piezo pickup

Ibanez The 2000 Piezo pickup (the Bug)

INTRODUCING... THE 2000

No preamps, flat response, versatility. Just stick an Ibanez 2000 on your acoustic guitar, banjo or mandolin, plug it directly into any guitar amp or PA system and away you go!

THE 2000 is a new development in piezo-ceramic pickups from Ibanez. It's complete in itself and requires no expensive extras to get that true acoustic sound.

Need another reason to try THE 2000? How about price — £22.50 at leading music dealers.

Exclusive distribution in Great Britain

Belcat

Belcat was founded in 1988 in Korea as a preamp and pickup maker. In 1996 they opened their second factory in Guangdong China soon followed in 2001 by another Chinese factory which mainly produced guitar amplifiers and magnetic pickups for electric guitars. In 2007 the 2 Chinese factories merged and in 2008 they began manufacturing in Jakarta, Indonesia. Belcat now produce a wide range of products including amplifiers, pickups and effects.

Source: Belcat website (19 May 2024)

Dr Scientist

Dr. Scientist is a Canadian guitar effects company founded by Ryan Clarke in 2005. They started as a 2-person husband and wife team working in a basement and years later they are still a small team who pride themselves in their hands-on approach. Each pedal is meticulously built, tested, and backed by a lifetime warranty.

Source: Dr Scientist website (20 May 2024)

Red Panda

Red Panda is an effects company founded by Curt Malouin, that specialises in DSP-based pedals. Curt was designing software synthesizers, but moved into hardware in 2009 - launching the Red Panda bitcrusher pedal. 2011 saw the release of their pioneering granular delay pedal - the Particle, which allowed musicians to bring granular synthesis from computers to live performances. Red Panda operates with a small, dedicated team in Detroit, their ethos is rooted in deep algorithm research and user-centered design. Currently, they are developing a second generation of pedals with enhancements like stereo inputs/outputs, programmable presets, and MIDI control, coupled with a web-based editor for detailed sound tweaking.

Source: Red Panda website (10 May 2024)

Applecreek

Apple Creek is a folk instrument brand. Their range used to include acoustic guitars (like their ACG10 travel guitar) but circa 2024 they appear to be mainly a dulcimer brand. The brand is owned by Grover Musical Products Inc. and was launched around 2001.

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