Pfeister Guitars – Another Guitar in Progress and Available for Purchase
Craig Pfeister of Pfeister Guitars has another very cool guitar in the works that is available for purchase. This guitar has a semi-hollow walnut and maple body. It’s surprisingly lightweight and resonant. The neck is a super responsive and warm goncalo alves (tigerwood) and black walnut neck with a goncalo alves fretboard.
The hardware is partially composed of found objects. There will be a humbucker in the bridge position and two single coils in the middle and neck positions. The neck pickup is about one inch further from the bridge than on most guitars, resulting in greater tonal variation. The two sound-holes at the top will be similar to this sound hole.
This guitar is currently available for purchase. You can pre-order this guitar now at a discounted price. See the pricing details below.
Price: $3300
*Pre-ordered and customized: $2970
*Price may be adjusted for alternate hardware upon request.
If you are interested in purchasing this guitar, please contact Boutique Guitar Resource by filling out the contact form below.
Boutique Guitar Resource is an authorized dealer for Pfeister Guitars. Please contact BGR if you are interested in having a guitar built by Pfeister Guitars.
Maguire Guitars – The Meridian Series Electric Guitar Review
I have spent the last week or so with one of Rick Maguire’s Meridian Series electric guitars. Rick and I had been exchanging emails and talking a lot about his work and he told me he would send me one of his guitars so that I could check it out. Makes me sound special doesn’t it? Well, actually I am not any more special than anyone else out there. Rick has a demo guitar available so that guitar players can get a chance to play an example of his work. This is something I really like to see guitar builders offer since it lets players get first hand experience with hand built guitars in their own homes. It isn’t like you can walk into any guitar store and tell the sales representative to pull down that Maguire guitar for you so you can see how it plays and sounds. Most of the time people buying hand built guitars must rely on second hand information such as reviews or talk on gear forums. When a builder offers a demo guitar, this lets the player and potential customer gain first hand experience with the instrument in their own home. No noisy guitar players blasting the amps at the local Guitar Center and no salesman standing over you watching every move you make while trying everything he can to get you to buy the guitar. You get to sit in your own home and play the guitar as often as you like. This is the best way to form your own opinion about the guitar and see if the instrument is right for you. If you are interested in checking out this guitar from Maguire Guitars, simply head over to Maguire Guitars and contact Rick to get on the demo guitar list.
Maguire Guitars Meridian Series Electric Guitar
Maguire Guitars Meridian Series Electric Guitar
Contoured Sides of Maguire Guitar
Rick Maguire offers three different models of his guitars: the Certified 7 series, the Contemporary Series, and the Meridian Series. I won’t go into detail about the Certified 7 and the Contemporary Series guitars since this review is focused on the Meridian Series; however, if you want to see the difference between the different models, you can go to the Maguire Guitars website and click on “Models” in the menu and read a detailed explanation of the various models.
The Meridian series guitars are the flagship line of Maguire Guitars. All Meridian series guitars feature the innovative thru-tenon neck. According to Rick, the thru-tenon neck “is sort of a set neck/neck-thru hybrid”. During an interview with Boutique Guitar Resource, Rick stated the following about his thru-tenon neck design.
“In order to capture the sharp attack, increased sustain and easy access to the entirety of the fretboard, along with a traditional bookmatched or one-piece top, I have to do things a little differently. I take the full thickness top and inlay it into the full body-length neck blank. This design gives me the ability to carve the profile of the neck right up to the end of the fretboard, with the cutaways and heel carved to meet the neck profile. The merging of these shapes effectively “frees” the neck from the body allowing for maximum sustain and touch sensitivity. This detail makes for some extra time in hand carving, but it also makes the Meridian series my favorite guitars to make.”
Maguire Guitars Thru-Tenon Neck Design
Maguire Guitars Thru-Tenon Neck Design
The Maguire demo guitar arrived at my home in a very nice hardshell case (of course, that is after opening the shipping box that it came in). Upon opening the case, I was immediately taken back by the deeply carved and beautiful Tasmanian Blackwood top. Before I even took it out of the case, I could tell how much care went into the construction of this guitar. Let’s go over the specifications so you can see what I mean. The guitar specifications are as follows:
Top: Tasmanian Blackwood
Neck: Tasmanian blackwood with black/maple/black purfling
Neck Profile: Medium C Carve, .800″@1st fret, 1.000″ @18th fret
Back/Sides: South American Mahogany
Fretboard/Headstock: Gaboon Ebony with Tasmanian blackwood binding and black/maple purfling, 12″ radius
Nut: 1 11/16″ water buffalo horn
Finish: polyurethane
Tuners: Schaller minis with ebony buttons
Knobs: ebony
Bridge/Tailpiece: Tone Pros, 2 1/8″ string spread
Pickups: Lindy Fralin humbuckers, 8k bridge, 7k neck
Potentiometers: CTS 500k 2 volume and 1 tone control
Controls: 2 volume, 1 tone, 3 way toggle switch, 2 mini switches to coil tap each pickup
Maguire Guitars Hard Shell Case
Maguire Guitars Meridian Series Electric Guitar
Maguire Guitars with Tasmanian Blackwood Top
After carefully inspecting the guitar, you can immediately see the pride and dedication that Rick puts into building Maguire Guitars. The guitar features a deeply carved top, very comfortable contoured sides, and a beautifully sculpted neck joint. The way the neck joint is carved makes the neck look like it is sitting on top of the guitar. I can assure you this is not just for a visually appealing look, although it does add very much to the beautiful design of this guitar. The carve of the neck joint makes playing all the higher frets very comfortable without having the neck heel get in your way. I am very fond of the thru-tenon neck design. I always liked the look of neck thru guitars from the back but prefer the front not to be broken up in the middle by the neck thru design. Rick’s thru-tenon neck design cures that problem and makes for a much more appealing visual appearance. You get the best of both worlds visually and tonally.
The guitar is truly beautiful and the attention to detail on this guitar is just outstanding. The black/maple/black purfling in the Tasmanian Blackwood thru-tenon neck along with the Tasmanian blackwood binding and black/maple purfling on the Gaboon Ebony fretboard/headstock add a subtle touch of class to the overall design of this guitar. The contours of the body make the guitar extremely comfortable to play. The medium C carve neck profile makes for a very comfortable neck. It just seemed to fit my hands perfectly and this would be the profile I would go for when ordering a Maguire custom guitar. Opening up the back cavity plate, you will notice a nice and neat wiring job. Rick takes the extra time to make sure every aspect of his build is top notch. Another subtle feature about this guitar that I really like is the recessed input jack. Sometimes it is the subtle things that really stand out on a guitar and this is one design idea that works well with the overall appearance of this guitar.
Recessed input jack on Maguire Guitar
This is a very resonant guitar. When strumming chords you can feel the guitar vibrate against you. I always love that in a nicely built guitar. Feeling the guitar speak to you as you strum a chord. There is just something about feeling the body of the guitar vibrate against you and hearing the woods work together to produce the sound of the instrument. The guitar has a full and warm acoustic sound. The notes have a nice attack and all the notes in a chord ring out clearly. Another thing I noticed about the guitar was the very nice sustain it has. Notes continued to ring out even while unplugged. When a guitar sounds good unplugged you know you are in for a treat when plugging it in. The Maguire guitar does not disappoint at all with it’s plugged in sound. Once again the sound is full and warm. I never noticed any harshness or excessive brightness. The guitar just seemed well balanced throughout the frequency spectrum. This is my first experience with Lindy Fralin pickups and I was very impressed. These pickups seemed to be an excellent match for this guitar giving it a nice balanced sound and allowing the woods used in the build to come though.
Maguire Guitars
Maguire Guitars Meridian Series
Maguire Guitars Gaboon Ebony Fretboard
Maguire Guitars
Maguire Guitars Tasmanian Blackwood Top
I am very, very impressed with this guitar. The build quality and attention to detail is excellent. You can see how much time, effort, and dedication Rick puts into his guitar builds. He pays special attention to every aspect of his builds and the end result is a high quality handcrafted instrument that looks and plays beautifully. If you are looking to have a custom guitar built for yourself in the future, do yourself a favor and contact Rick Maguire and get on the demo guitar list so you can check out one of his guitars first hand. He is building some very nice guitars!
Boutique Guitar Resource is an authorized dealer for Maguire Guitars. Please contact BGR if you are interested in having a guitar built by Maguire Guitars.
Pfeister Guitars – Guitar In Progress and Available For Purchase
Craig Pfeister of Pfeister Guitars sent me some progress pictures of a guitar he is currently working on. The guitar features an incredible sounding and lightweight body. The top and back are black walnut and the neck is quarter sawn black walnut with a Macassar ebony fingerboard. The top needs to be seen to be appreciated. The grain’s contrast and ability to shimmer is amazing. The knobs and pickup rings will be hand cast pewter. According to Craig, the color of pewter is a perfect fit for this particular wood. This is going to be one beautiful guitar!
This guitar is currently available for purchase. You can pre-order this guitar now at a discounted price. See the pricing details below.
Price: $4000
*Pre-ordered and customized: $3600
*Price may be adjusted for alternate hardware upon request.
Pfeister Guitar In Progress
Back of Pfeister Guitar
Pfeister Guitars Black Walnut Top
Pfeister Guitars
If you are interested in purchasing this guitar, please contact Boutique Guitar Resource by filling out the contact form below.
Boutique Guitar Resource is an authorized dealer for Pfeister Guitars. Please contact BGR if you are interested in having a guitar built by Pfeister Guitars.
Recently Completed Frank Hartung Embrace Model Guitar
I received some pictures of a recently completed Embrace model guitar from Frank Hartung. This guitar features a curly mahogany body, stained flamed maple neck, and eastern maple top. The finish on the guitar is Ice Tea. Frank Hartung just keeps turning out the most beautiful designed guitars available!
Frank Hartung Guitars Embrace Model
Frank Hartung Embrace in Ice Tea
Frank Hartung Embrace Electric Guitar
Frank Hartung Embrace Electric Guitar
Frank Hartung Guitars Headstock
Back of Frank Hartung Guitars Headstock
Frank Hartung Guitars Curly Mahogany Body
Frank Hartung Guitars
Boutique Guitar Resource is an authorized dealer for Frank Hartung Guitars. Please contact BGR if you are interested in having a guitar built by Frank Hartung Guitars.
Interview with Rick Maguire of Maguire Guitars
Interview by Ron of Boutique Guitar Resource
Boutique Guitar Resource: Tell us about your history and what got you interested in building guitars.
Rick Maguire: As a kid I was always taking things apart to see what made them tick and to see if I could make them better. When I started playing guitar in my early teens, the guitar itself became the new subject for my experiments. My brother saw me constantly tweaking and swapping parts out on my guitars. He said, “You’re always taking those things apart, why don’t you just make one the way you want?” I’ve been taking on the challenge ever since.
Boutique Guitar Resource: Did you have any formal education or are you a self-taught luthier?
Rick Maguire: I am primarily self taught, however I did work with Irish luthier Paul Doyle in the late 80′s/early 90′s. I already had a few guitars under my belt by the time I finished high school, but while visiting family in Ireland I was introduced to Paul. Paul makes everything, citterns, lutes, harps, hurdy-gurdies, and anything with strings that makes music. I always had an interest in celtic and baroque period instruments, so when Paul invited me to his shop, I had one foot in the door and realized I had found my new home for a while. I was able to talk Paul into letting me work with him. I took so much away with me from that experience, I really do owe a lot to Paul.
Maguire Guitars Shop
Maguire Guitar in Progress
Maguire Guitars Surfacing Jig
Boutique Guitar Resource: What is your favorite part of the building process?
Rick Maguire: My favorite parts are the very first and the very last steps of the entire process.
I love sorting and picking out the wood, mating woods for the top, body, neck and fretboard in in such a way that they compliment each other tonally and aesthetically in order to suit a particular player’s needs.
I also love when I finish a guitar and string it up and strum it for the first time, I then finally get to hear how well I did on that first step.
Boutique Guitar Resource: When building a guitar, what part of the process do you feel is most important and why?
Rick Maguire: A guitar or any other stringed instrument is a union of it’s design elements, execution of those elements and it’s individual parts. The finished product will be no better than it’s worst component or feature. Therefore, in my opinion, there is no single most important part of the build process. From the initial drawing board design to the final tuning and intonation, every step along the way must be approached with proper care and dedication in order to achieve overall excellence.
Maguire Guitars Double Cut Sketch
Maguire Guitars Close Up of Nut
Maguire Guitars Outline of Guitar
Boutique Guitar Resource: If you could pick one guitar builder to build a custom guitar for you who would it be?
Rick Maguire: Kim Walker. Any player would better his or her collection of instruments greatly with the addition of a Walker.
Conversely, if I could build a guitar for another luthier, it would be Paul Doyle. I stay in touch with Paul but he hasn’t had the opportunity to critique my work in nearly 20 years. I would really like for him to play one of my guitars now. I might have to put that on my list of things to do.
Boutique Guitar Resource: Do you follow the work of other luthiers and if so who are some other luthiers that you admire?
Rick Maguire: We are currently in the Golden Age of guitar building and there are a lot of top notch builders out there. It would be difficult to not follow the work of other builders.
Kim Walker is making some of the best steel string guitars on the planet, as is Mark Campellone in respect to archtops.
I like what Ian Anderson is doing with his contemporary vintage Tele-Paul design, along with Doug Kauer and his modernized, ergonomic Firebirdesque guitars.
Jack Briggs is also of note. I’ve seen some photos of an African blackwood guitar with the sapwood running the length of the back of the neck. That guitar is stunning to me, very admirable use of allowing the wood’s natural elements to dictate the overall aesthetic.
I also like David Myka’s designs. I feel that his designs might appeal to the traditionalist, the modernist and the futurist alike.
There are so many great builders out there at the moment that I couldn’t possibly name all those whose work I admire. Apologies to those that weren’t mentioned.
Boutique Guitar Resource: Can you give us some information about the neck tenon on your various models?
Rick Maguire: My Contemporary and Certified 7 series feature a traditional long tenon set neck.
The Meridian series gets a different treatment. These guitars feature a “thru-tenon” neck, which is sort of a set neck/neck-thru hybrid. The design came about due to my preference for the sound and performance of neck-thru body guitars, and a dislike for the striped, butcher block look they all seem to have.
In order to capture the sharp attack, increased sustain and easy access to the entirety of the fretboard, along with a traditional bookmatched or one-piece top, I have to do things a little differently. I take the full thickness top and inlay it into the full body-length neck blank. This design gives me the ability to carve the profile of the neck right up to the end of the fretboard, with the cutaways and heel carved to meet the neck profile. The merging of these shapes effectively “frees” the neck from the body allowing for maximum sustain and touch sensitivity. This detail makes for some extra time in hand carving, but it also makes the Meridian series my favorite guitars to make.
Maguire Guitars Neck Joint Up Close
Maguire Guitars Neck Heel
Boutique Guitar Resource: What type of neck carve options do you offer?
Rick Maguire: All of my standard neck carve options are c-shaped, of which I have 3 profiles, slim, medium and fat. 90% of my orders are for the medium profile which fits the hand well. I will, however, carve any custom neck profile requested.
Boutique Guitar Resource: Tell us a little about the pickups you use in your guitars?
Rick Maguire: I pledge allegiance to Lindy Fralin.
Fralin Humbuckers are are as close to vintage PAF pickups as you can get. Lindy and his guys really put a load of expertise and a pile of mojo into these pickups. The Un-buckers are a good option for jazz and blues players wanting a warm, clean sound. Fralin P-90s are the cleanest P-90s on the market, in my opinion, with great individual string clarity. With the options of 5% over or 5% underwound, these are a very versatile standard line of pickups.
I also like Lindy’s flexibility. He is always willing to take extra time for a custom request or modification or take a risk in the quest for great tone.
A good electronics package isn’t solely reliant on the pickups, however. Quality potentiometers and capacitors are often overlooked, but should be treated as vehicles or a catalyst for the pickups. I use new CTS or new/old stock NOS potentiometers and new/old stock oil in paper capacitors. These components are susceptible to a variance of as much as + or – 10% of their intended values. I measure the value of every potentiometer and capacitor enabling me to “hand tune” each guitars electronics chassis in order to compliment a particular guitar’s tonal character or meet a particular player’s needs.
Maguire Guitars
Maguire Guitars Headstock
Maguire Guitars Headstock
Boutique Guitar Resource: What do you look for when picking wood for a guitar?
Rick Maguire: Three things: tone, stability, and beauty. In that order.
When making any musical instrument, tone is paramount, so the first prerequisite for any wood destined to become a guitar is a good tap tone. Tap on any piece of wood and a trained ear can determine it’s value as a tonewood.
Stability is crucial for an instrument that is expected to stay straight and flat while under a couple hundred plus pounds of string tension. Neck wood must be quarter sawn and straight grained in order to behave properly. Body woods don’t hold very much sway on on the overall stability of electric guitars, but I still prefer quarter sawn, straight grained wood for this use as well.
Once a particular piece of wood meets the tone and stability criteria, it should also be pleasing to the eye. I like to work with all colors, types of figure and grain patterns, so long as the look of each piece is consistent with itself.
Wood at Maguire Guitars
Maguire Guitars Tiger Myrtle Top
Tiger Myrtle Wood
Boutique Guitar Resource: Do you have some favorite wood combinations that you like to use?
Rick Maguire: If you’re looking for that meat and potatoes, classic rock sound, then mahogany and maple is the choice. This pairing become poular over 60 years ago and still proves to be a popular sonic combo.
As a player my favorite combo is a Tasmanian myrtle top with mahogany back and a Tasmanian blackwood neck with Gabon ebony fretboard. This is a very versatile combo with syrupy lows, pronounced mids and snappy highs. I have made 3 of these guitars for myself and still don’t own one. I have been talked into selling each one by one persuasive buyer or another.
As a builder it is hard to have a favorite combo because every player is looking for something different. I have built a lot of guitars in a myriad of wood combinations and still get a thrill from the ability one has to choose from various species of wood in order to hone in on a particular tone.
Boutique Guitar Resource: What woods do you prefer to use for fretboards and necks?
Rick Maguire: For fretboards I like the ebonies and rosewoods of course. I have recently acquired a stash of 60+ year old Brazilian and East Indian rosewood boards that I am hugely excited about.
For necks I have used mahogany, korina, grenedillo, ziricote, walnut, cocobolo and the list goes on. My current favorite would have to be Tasmanian blackwood, this stuff is difficult to work with, but you can really feel the resonance of this wood in your hand when playing a blackwood neck.
Brazilian Rosewood Fretboards
Mahogany and Korina Neck Blanks
Boutique Guitar Resource: Can you describe the finishing process that you use on your guitars?
Rick Maguire: I use polyurethanes, polyesters, nitrocellulose and oil finishes. Finish material is decided by the player. After having worked with almost every product available, I have concluded that it is not the product itself that can improve or hinder the tone of an instrument, it is the application of the product that makes the difference. The key is to keep the finish as thin as possible and have it mechanically bond to the surface of the wood without actually penetrating the wood. After years of trial and error I feel that I have finally gotten my finishes right where I want them.
Boutique Guitar Resource: Tell us about the different models you offer?
Rick Maguire: The Meridian series is my flagship line. The defining feature of these guitars is the “thru-tenon” neck discussed earlier. They are available flat or carved top, double cut and offset double cut body shapes in either solid, chambered or semi-hollow body. With these guitars I have built on tradition in order to offer the discerning guitarist an instrument with a familiar design and feel possesing modern elements and improvements with flawless execution.
The Certified 7 series pays homage to the revered guitars of the 50′s and 60′s. Over the last 20 years I have amassed a collection of “antique” lightweight tonewoods which allows me to produce a solid body guitar weighing in at under 8 pounds. They are available in flat or carved top, single or double cut body styles. Strict adherence to traditional designs, old school methods and the use of new/old stock materials and components allows these guitars to capture the allure of those iconic instruments. Old stock resources are hard to come by so these will be available in limited production runs only.
The Contemporary series is a line of guitars offered at an approachable starting price point. Available in flat or carved top, double and single cut body styles in solid, chambered, semi-hollow and hollow body options. These guitars see the same level of attention and dedication to detail that all Maguires receive, but the use of standardized building methods and readily available tonewoods allows me to keep the cost at a level that is attainable to most players.
Maguire Guitars
Maguire Guitars
Maguire Guitars
Boutique Guitar Resource: What do you see in the future for Maguire Guitars?
Rick Maguire: I definitely plan on getting back to acoustic work. I have been sidetracked for a few years dialing in my electric guitars, but I really am an acoustic builder at heart. Players really like my electric guitar designs so I think that will likely remain my primary product line. I have had some steady nudging from my repeat customers for a line of archtops, so that may happen soon. I also see some F-style mandolins in the mix to keep things interesting.
I would like to thank Rick Maguire of Maguire Guitars for taking the time to answer the questions in this interview. You can learn more about Rick and his guitars at:
www.maguireguitars.com
Boutique Guitar Resource is an authorized dealer for Maguire Guitars. Please contact BGR if you are interested in having a guitar built by Maguire Guitars.