***Jan 2006***
GVCG is NO LONGER accepting orders.
After many years of collecting, playing and recording with an abundance of great vintage guitars, I decided to build a few for myself as experiments, seeing if I could culminate all the features I loved and looked for in the finest vintage instruments into new creations. A few years ago I became a recording artist with Sire/ Warner Bros. Records. One of the perks of having large recording budgets and advances was that I suddenly had the chance to purchase the vintage guitars of my dreams. I did just that, and these are the guitars that I have studied, compared, been inspired by, and have decided to "clone" for my new custom "Vintage" guitars. The results were beyond my expectations and the process so much fun, that I decided to keep building them, perfecting them, and eventually getting them in the hands of like minded players who wanted amazing replica guitars, that sound, look, and FEEL old without the escalating "vintage" pricetags . Through my friendships and relationships with many great recording artists and professional touring artists around the world, I have gotten my guitars in the hands of some very influential players, all of whom have been instrumental in vital "R&D". I have listened to and observed what great players have had to say about what makes a guitar a great guitar, and that is precisely what I am recreating in each GVCG instrument.
I remember seeing my first new "Replica" years ago when they were introduced in stores, and I liked the concept, but was a bit shocked by the inaccuracy of the aging, the "wear" and the overall feel of the guitars. They just looked wrong to me. It's just impossible to offer the degree of quality I offer in any kind of mass produced factory instrument. The guitars I am building now are the result of much trial and error, experimentation, and a penchant for miniscule and overall detail. I set out to build completely period correct guitars, with aging and "relicing" that looks completely plausible, natural, and possible. If the guitar does not "FEEL" right, I do not finish it. I spend many, many hours on each guitar, employing many of the hand crafted techniques that made great vintage guitars what they are today. I hand shape each neck I finish, recreating the subtle aspects of early necks shaped by the late, great Tadeo Gomez .Read more about this here. It is the neck that makes a great guitar, in my opinion, and that is one of my forte's here at GVCG. The ultra-thin hand rubbed Nitro finish you find on my necks you will find nowhere else. I have here on these pages a few of my creations, and I am always building more. I love the solid body "Electric Spanish Guitar", and find it to be one of the most versatile and toneful guitars ever produced. Beauty in simplicity and functionality.
I have gone to great lengths on each of my custom guitars to obtain the absolute finest parts available for each instrument. This often involves a multitude of sources from around the USA, as well as locating vintage parts and commissioning hand made parts. Every guitar I complete is hand painted, hand rubbed, and hand aged using nitrocellulose lacquer in correct vintage colors. I make every attempt to obtain the finest materials currently available, the finest wood for bodies and necks, hand made pickups, clay dots, cloth wire, vintage tone circuits, vintage screws, all the little details that end up making a superb guitar with character and incredible tone. I am a one man show here in Greenwich Village, and I have a passion for vintage guitars that may be unrivaled. I hope this passion shows in my work. Space is a premium here in the city, but while my shop is small, it's big enough to create what I feel to be the finest, most realistic replica guitars on the planet.