Watch and play boutique guitars
Jamie Gale, connoisseur and curator, has been putting together a special collection of exclusive guitars for the annual big NAMM guitar dealer shows in Las Vegas for years. At this huge and overwhelming guitar show, small, but fantastic and innovative builders sometimes get very little attention. While it is precisely these unique luthiers and their guitars that deserve a moment in the spotlight, which is what Jamie Gale created. It turned out to be such a success this collection went 'on tour' after NAMM, and now this collections has arrived in Europe.
Jamie Gale does not only understands the art of finding the most special guitars, but above all he knows how to exhibit them in the right way. Just take a look at this unique masterpiece by Galloup Guitars. Is it a chair? Is it a guitar? Is it a drinking cabinet? It's all in one!
Fortunately, this showcase doesn't mean that you can only watch the guitars from a distance, because these instruments are made to play and we offer that opportunity as much as possible on October 9th in our magical store.
Atelier Rosenkrantz
The Boutique Guitars Showcase enTour does not only looks back at more than two centuries of guitar history, this show really likes to look forward at what the guitarfuture can bring. That's why Rachel Rosenkrantz's groundbreaking work is so special. There is not just tonewood, but also fish skin, eggshells and even honeycomb are craft fully worked into dazzlingly beautiful instruments that sound fantastic. Futuristic!
Vilhelm Engström
This Swedish luthier has been getting the best from of the past for years and translates that into the present. For example, Vilhelm makes seemingly 'standard' Orchestra Model guitars, but under the hood there is some smart, laminated bracing. This allows the top to be thinner and the guitar becomes lighter and more resonant. That same ingenuity is in these steel resonator guitars: at a first glance they seem 'old', but take a closer look and they are hypermodern.
Skytop
Skytop sets a new standard for guitars with a soundport: a soundhole in the side. This way you get a completely different experience as a player that you simply have to try once in your life. Like this one with an enchanting combination of Bearclaw Sitka Spruce and Walnut.
Paoletti
Reusing or reclaiming wood is a trend among luthiers and where better to get that wood from than from old chestnut wine barrels? This is the way the Italian builder Paoletti thinks and works and he combines that old wood with home-made pick-ups an designs they can only come up with in the land of Da Vinci and Ferrari.
Joi Guitars
Holy Smokes! Hemp wood? Does that exist? Yes, since some clever dudes from Kentucky came up with the brilliant idea to do the same with hemp as they do with bamboo. That is often not wide enough to cut large pieces from, but grinding it to pulp and then glued back together, bamboo is a very strong and durable alternative to wood. This also applies to hemp, which also works great as an ecologically responsible guitar body.
Tim Bram
We've had them in the shop: guitars by Tim Bram from Maryland and those are always amazing archtops where everything is right: the sound, the finish, the looks and that's why this Boutique Showcase enTour is a wonderful way to introduce the world to this talented builder.