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Summer NAMM 2021: Boutique Guitar Showcase in pictures

Summer NAMM 2021: The Boutique Guitar Showcase exhibit is one of the highlights of any NAMM show and this year’s scaled-down show in Nashville was no exception that rule. READ MORE: All the best gear from Summer NAMM 2021 A curated selection of some of the world’s most innovative and desirable guitars, Boutique Guitar Showcase […]

Wild Custom Billy Gibbons
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Summer NAMM 2021: The Boutique Guitar Showcase exhibit is one of the highlights of any NAMM show and this year’s scaled-down show in Nashville was no exception that rule.

A curated selection of some of the world’s most innovative and desirable guitars, Boutique Guitar Showcase is the brainchild and passion project of Jamie & Roberta Leah Gale. For Summer NAMM 2021, the Canadian couple pulled together a selection of instruments that encompass everything from stripped-down hotrod cool – check out Wild Custom Guitars’ new Billy Gibbons signature model, featuring the Gyrock rotating pickup system, in the picture that opens this article – to cutting-edge acoustic luthiery. Read on for a selection of our favourites.

iVee Guitars Legend Special 6S

Indonesian luthier Ivan Mulia pays tribute to the cigar-box guitar tradition and legendary musicians such as Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin with this aluminium design that incorporates a stand and mini-amp. Visit iVee Guitars for more.

Giulio Negrini Guitars XV Anniversary Morgoth

Inspired by the main antagonist of Tolkien’s Silmarillion, this forward-facing electric guitar design combines fanned fret/multi-scale geometry with the True Temperament system. If you think that’s wild, check out the Shen.

Vilhelm Engström Guitars

Vilhelm Engström Guitars Mini-Reso

Swedish luthier Vilhelm Engström specialises in flat-top acoustics with ladder bracing and metal-bodied resonators and says his ambition is to capture the spirit of early blues, country and pioneer steel-string guitar music. Find out more.

JOI Guitars Hempwood

Canada-based luthier Reuben Forsland is responsible for the world’s first traditionally built hemp wood guitar, an innovation that has huge implications for sustainability. In order to ensure the instrument is structurally sound, Forsland integrated carbon fibre and kevlar honeycomb material into the design for extra strength. Read the full story via JOI Guitars.

Lucem Guitars Paradox Series 2

Lucem Guitars Paradox Series 2

Handmade in Cumbria, England, the Paradox was conceived in collaboration with former Verve guitarist and all-round six-string genius Nick McCabe. Boutique specs are blended artfully with vintage and offset influences on this updated model, and you can find out more here.

Sankey Guitars Char

This Michael Sankey build celebrates “humanity’s oldest tool” – fire. The bevels and cutaways are carved after the charring has taken place, leaving tool marks intact, and the finish is fully stabilised to ensure you don’t get black marks on your stage gear. Read more about this unique build on the Sankey Guitars website.

LHT Guitars Fugue

LHT Guitars Fugue

The Fugue is an asymmetrical archtop from Californian luthier Tyler Wells with an arm bevel built into the top carve and a sound hole design that projects forward but also gives the player some of that soundport-style perspective. Visit LHT Guitars for more.

Matsuda Guitars No. 92

Matsuda Guitars No. 92

When Japanese luthier Michihiro Matsuda isn’t causing headaches for guitar-stand-makers everywhere, he’s busy pushing boundaries with some of the most innovative builds we’ve ever encountered. Read more about the former Somogyi apprentice’s work here

Atelier Rosenkrantz Honfleur

Rachel Rosenkrantz is a French luthier based in Providence, Rhode Island with a background in architectural design. The Honfleur is a semi-hollow design featuring sipo wood, eggshells, lacquer and gold leaves. In a nod to sustainability, Rosenkrantz has adapted the Fishman Fluence pickup with a rechargeable USB battery pack. Find out more here.

Visit Boutique Guitar Showcase for details on upcoming BGS events. 

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