Hand Made Guitars versus Brand Name Factory Guitars

Hand Made Mandolins 

Versus Brand Name Factory Made Mandolins

After researching Hand Made Guitars for about two years I finally have a very good picture of the Hand Made Guitar, and Mandolin Scene.

The best hand made Guitar and Mandolins are price at $10,000.00 Plus. Guitar and Mandolin Builders who can get $10,000.00 for their hand made instruments have earned reputation for building truly great instruments and their Guitars and Mandolin are so much in Demand that they command a price of $10,000.00 or more, $10,000.00 is their basic Guitar, options can build the price even higher. The waiting lists for this type of Guitar is usually around 3 years.

I could not personally wait three years for any Guitar or Mandolin, I don't care how good it might be. That is my nature. Any Guitar I cannot get now, I do not want. However there are people who can wait three years for a Guitar. All the best builders have around a three year waiting list.

It only takes about 3 weeks of actual work time to build a Guitar, but the total build time is greater because of the actual process that a builder must go through.  Most every good builder can and does build from 12 to 16 Guitars a year.

You might be interested to know that I read where Jerry Reed Said in the beginning of his Guitar Playing Career he practiced 16 hours a day.

I read where Chet Atkins wrote that he practiced 8 hours a day, every day of his life, in addition to his professional playing. And Chet said that he would never let a day go by unless he put in his 8 hours of practice.

If Jerry Reed and Chet Atkins Needed so much practice, how much practice does the average Guitar Player need to be good?

After reading how much time Jerry Reed and Chet Atkins put in practicing the Guitar I thought I might need 14 hours a day. So for three years I practiced 14 hours a day. I was pleasantly surprised to find out what 14 hours of practice a day would do for my Guitar Playing.

What is scary about buying a hand made Guitar is that if the Builder does not have a long waiting lists you wonder if his/her Guitars are good.

Though the best builders who get $10,000.00 plus for their Guitars have long waiting lists, the lesser builders do not have a waiting time that is so long. If you can settle for a Guitar that is not the absolute best, the Stradivarius of Guitars, then the wait time is much less.

Robert Ruck, builder of Classical Guitars, quit taking orders after his waiting list became 10 years long.  Good decision I think. Ruck priced his Guitars at around $4500.00 which was much too low for the quality of Guitar he builds.  On the used Market there are Ruck Guitars that sell for less than $6000.00 and many of the used Ruck Guitars sell for $10,000.00.

I would not order a Guitar that costs $4500.00 and expect it to immediately go up in value. Robert Ruck Guitars are the exception, not the rule.

If you are willing to settle for a Guitar that is not the absolute best hand made Guitar, perhaps you can find one you want for from $3000.00.  And the Guitar might be completely what you want. Everyone does not require the best.

The strong point of a Hand Made Guitars is that it is something very special, if it is a good one. Every Hand Crafter does not build really good Guitars. Every builder is on a different level.  You must find the level that satisfies you.

Many people are buying hand made Guitars as pieces of art and they are that, true works of art, if they are well built and sound good. If you get a truly beautiful well built hand made Guitar that sounds very good, it is a work of Musical instruments art and that is something neat to own.

Gibson L-5 Factory Made Guitar

As far as getting a Guitar that sounds good and plays good, it is my belief that for the money one can get a much better buy in a high end Brand Name Guitar. Martin, Gibson and Fender all build some high end Guitars that are played and loved by the most famous and talented Guitar Players. Very few of the highest level Guitar players make a Hand Made Guitar their most used Guitar that they play on the job and record with. I can't name five highly talented big name Guitar players that have ever talked about a Hand Made Guitar they own in any interview they have given to any magazine or newspaper. They always talk about their Fender, Gibson Les Paul, or their Martin Guitars. A few big names are mentioning Taylor Guitars now.

So for dollar value a brand name Guitar can be a better buy than a Hand Made Guitar. But Guitar Players want a very special Guitar, a hand made Guitar they can be proud of and this is understandable.  Very few Guitar Players can afford the very best Hand Made Guitars that cost $10,000.00 plus, but they still want a good hand made Guitar. This is essentially the hand made Guitar Market. The Guitar is a toy, a toy they want to be proud to own.

In Hand Made Guitars I have no recommendation for I have played only one hand made I liked and the builder is no longer taking orders. The only good hand made Guitar I have ever played was a "Waterman" Guitar that was a few years old. The Duane Waterman Classical Guitar sounded great and it is a good playing Guitar with very good craftsmanship. However if Duane Waterman is presently taking orders I do not know how to get in touch with him.

I really do not want to make recommendations for I think everyone must decide for themselves the Guitar that is right for them. I'm a in fact not making a recommendation to anyone to get a Waterman Guitar I'm simply saying that I played one and liked it, but I never liked it enough to buy it. The hand made Guitars that I have played other than the Waterman Guitar, I did not like at all. They did not have great sound, they had nothing I wanted in a Guitar. It's simply not easy to find a hand made Guitar that you like. They are all different, they sound different to each other, they look different. So it's a matter of personal choice.

If one could go down to the local music store and it had all the hand made Guitars that are made, the selection process would be very simple. But that is not the case, the only place that hand made Guitars can be played is at Guitar shows. Guitar shows are the way that Hand Crafters introduce their Guitars to Guitar Players.  So if you can take in the Big Guitar shows this is a way to actually see and play the Guitars of many hand crafters.  I suggest to anyone that is in the market for a fine hand made Guitar to take in the largest Guitar shows so they can actually see and play the Guitars and Mandolins.

It is pretty easy to find a brand name Guitar that you want. Simply go down to the Guitar Center. The Guitar Center usually has a good selection of high end Martins and Taylor Guitars. These are the only two brands of High End Acoustic Guitars I have found at the Guitar Center. If you live in the Denver area the Pickin Parlor owned by Uncle Kit in Arvada Colorado, a suburb of Denver, has a good selection of many brands of very high end Guitars. Kit carries a good stock of Guitars and Mandolins. The Pickin Parlor has most every big name Acoustic Guitar and Mandolin made. If you can't find a brand name you want at a shop like the Pickin Parlor then you had better go to the Guitar Shows where the hand crafters show their Guitars and Mandolins.

In our time period there are many high end Guitar and Mandolin Shops. So trying out a high end Brand Name Guitar or Mandolin should not be a problem.

Whether you chose a Hand Made Guitar or Mandolin, or a brand name that is well established like Martin, Gibson, Fender, Collings , Weber, Breedlove, or another Brand, I hope you get a Guitar or Mandolin that you love and enjoy.

Robert Lee Johnson

The Guitar Man

The Mandolin Man

The Dobro Man