Here’s a fun comparison of wood used in three guitars recently in the shop. From L to R: a Bourgeois Bryan Sutton Signature Dreadnought, a 1959 Martin 00-28G, and a c.1900 Harmony.  Line ’em up, and we start to hear the Sesame Street song “One of these things is not like the other.” The Bourgeois […]

Openback banjos with 12-inch pots have become increasingly popular, and we’re pleased to have a great selection of them. Here are examples of models from four different companies (L to R): Ome Tupelo, Bart Reiter Buckbee, Pisgah Possum, Deering Goodtime Americana. Twelve-inch pots tend to favor a bigger low end response. Wood choice, tone ring material, rim thickness, head material, […]

Two Bourgeois OM guitars, the same only different. On the left, the sunburst guitar has a premium Adirondack spruce top and figured Madagascar rosewood back and sides. It has a 25-1/2 inch scale. The guitar on the right has an Italian spruce top, Madagascar rosewood back and sides, and a 25 inch scale length. Both lovely guitars, built […]

Some distinctive–and quirky–instruments have come through here over the decades. Sorry to say that we don’t have a photographic record of all of them. Nonetheless, we’ve gotten photos of some and have put together a little photo gallery. The Instrument Photo Gallery is for reference and amusement only, since these instruments are no longer available.

When we started this business, we had one telephone. It was the original phone for our shop space and dated from the 1930s. It’s still around here somewhere…. At some point we were forced to get a phone with push buttons, and then a big jump from a typewriter to a computer. Over the past […]