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The Unique Guitar Blog
- Posted on Saturday July 04, 2026
 Declaration of IndependenceToday is July 4th, 2026. The Declaration of Independence was written on this day, 250 years ago, when the brave men that founded the United States agreed that it was time to quit being subjects of the English King George and begin an adventure as an independent nation. Now that is an oversimplification, but that is the basics. Right now, the political climate is a right mess. And that is sad for a man such as myself, in my seventh decade, who has seen days when the country was more united and stable. A life that my children and grandchildren will not experience, But I digress since this is all about guitars, and today we are exploring the Patriotic guitars that I remember. Martin D-76The first is Martin’s D-76. This was a limited run of 1776 instruments issued in 1976 to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the United States of America. ... Continue Reading » - Posted on Sunday June 28, 2026
 FacebookI find it amazing and I am honored by the number of friendships I have through social media. A few of these folks are with well-known people, generally musicians, that I had seen in concerts, and purchased their records when I was a much younger man. All are sweet, honest, approachable people that seem to take interest in my reminiscence of those earlier days. I have developed a special friendship with a handful of these folks. I am not going to be pretentious and drop names. Although I will mention this young lady that I befriended.Lonnie MackIn 2016 I wrote a blog article about Lonnie Mack. His music was very special to me during the days when I began playing guitar. The Wham of that Memphis ManAt age 12 I purchased his LP, “The Wham of that Memphis Man”, and slowed the turntable to half speed so I could pick up each ... Continue Reading » - Posted on Wednesday June 24, 2026
 Young Dean ZelinskyDean Guitars are perhaps one of the most interesting guitar stories that I have run across in the past 16 years that I have been writing these articles. The company was started by Dean Zelinsky while he was still a teenager. His father, Robert Zelinsky, owned a company that manufactured custom industrial fasteners. When young Dean was only 12 years old his father was killed in a plane accident. Dean had always been curious about how things work. He took apart radios, he even took apart a Gibson Flying Vee guitar and sawed it in half, hoping to make a better instrument. Young Dean ZelinskyAfter graduating from high school, Zelinsky got a job at local Chicago music stores repairing guitars and doing custom paint jobs. He had toured Gibson’s Kalamazoo factory and learned what he could about their process for building electric guitars. Matt LynnIn 1977 Dean started his own company building ... Continue Reading » - Posted on Thursday June 18, 2026
 Gay guitars!!!? Yes, you heard me right.And this article has nothing to do with Pride Month. Although I got to say, these guitars are rather flamboyant. And why isn't there a National Guitar Month? But I digress.We are going to take some time to acknowledge the creations of Canadian luthier Frank Gay.
Frank Gay's Personal Guitar
Luthier, guitarist, composer, and watch maker Frank (Francois) Gay at one time was very popular with famous country singers of the 1950’s and ‘60’s. His elaborate designs on the guitars went well with the artist’s Nudie suits.
Frank Gay guitar
Frank Gay was born to French Canadian parents in the town of Marcelin, which is a small city north of Saskatoon, on April 23, 1923.
Frank GayI first became interested in Mr. Gay when a friend posted a picture of a Webb Pierce album cover on Face Book. Pierce was holding this guitar that was all decked out ... Continue Reading » - Posted on Monday June 15, 2026
 Aspen AD18During the 1980’s my wife decided she wanted to learn to play guitar. We were shopping at a local department store and in their audio department, and I spotted a guitar for only $80. This was odd as it was there among the stereos, and speakers. SwallensHowever the store was Swallens in Cincinnati, Ohio which sold a number of unusual items, including Gretsch guitars in the store's furniture section.The $80 guitar even included a soft case. I picked it up, played it, and thought yeah, she would probably like this guitar. So, I bought it. Aspen GuitarThe brand name on the headstock said Aspen. It was a knock off version of a Martin D-18. The soundboard looked solid, but was probably laminate. The back and sides were definitely laminate. The neck was probably maple. The tuners were basic, but they worked just fine. I tried to teach my wife a few chords, ... Continue Reading » - Posted on Saturday June 06, 2026
 Hohner GuitarsHohner Musikinstrumente GmbH & Company is the current name of Hohner Musical Instruments Company. This long standing German company is mostly known for manufacturing fine harmonicas. Hohner HamonicasSince 1857 clock maker Matthais Hohner has been producing the world's best harmonicas.Hohner ProductsThrough the years Hohner has also made other instruments such as accordions, bandoneons, melodions, melodica, the clavinet, and the pianet (electric piano). 1961 Hohner Guitar AdDuring the 1960’s, Hohner's UK subsidiary branched into the guitar market. The first guitars were named after districts in London, included the Kingsway, the Holborn, the Farringdon and the Metropolitan.Hohner ZambesiThe second run of guitars were given more exotic names (Amazon, Zambesi). 1962 Hohner KayBy 1962 UK Hohner had set up a deal with The Kay Guitar Company to manufacture and distribute guitars under the Hohner brand name.1970 Hohner ContessaDuring the early 1970’s Hohner shifted their source to Japanese made guitars. The Contessa by Hohner name was ... Continue Reading » - Posted on Monday June 01, 2026
 Cease and DesistDÜSSELDORF, Germany (March 9, 2026) — Fender Musical Instruments Corporation (FMIC) has secured a significant legal victory following a ruling by the Regional Court of Düsseldorf that establishes broad legal protection for Fender’s iconic Stratocaster® guitar body design under German and European copyright law. Regional Court of DüsseldorfThe court's decision creates enforceable rights against any guitars using the Stratocaster body shape that are manufactured, sold or distributed into Germany or other countries of the European Union (EU), regardless of where those guitars are produced - reinforcing Fender’s ability to protect its designs in global commerce. YIWU Philharmonic CoOn further review of this matter, it was a default judgement as the Chinese company did not show up to the hearing. As a result of the ruling against, Yiwu Philharmonic Musical Instruments Co, a drop-ship manufacturer is as follows: They are prohibited from manufacturing, offering, or distributing guitars featuring the Stratocaster® ... Continue Reading » - Posted on Wednesday May 06, 2026
Leo Fender with '50's P Bass
Leo Fender gets credit for inventing the first bass guitar, but did you know that another musician and inventor named Paul Tutmarc actually developed and marketed the first electric string bass guitar almost 15 years earlier in 1935. It is true.
Paul Tutmarc with NO. 736 bass
Tutmarc was designing and selling lap steel guitars through his company, Audiovox.
Audiovox Bass No. 736
That same year he offered the Model 736 Bass Fiddle. This was a four string, solid-body, fretted, electric instrument.
' 35 Audiovox Bass
It had a short scale neck, only 30 1/2” length. He only made about 100 of these instruments. A horseshoe magnetic pick-up lies inside the body under the bridge. The cable runs through the body and out of the instruments upper bout. It had only a volume potentiometer.
Bud Tutmarc Serenader Bass
By 1947, his son, Bud Tutmarc was running the business and offered a similarly designed ... Continue Reading » - Posted on Wednesday April 22, 2026
 1967 Josh White ModelIt was in 1966 that Ovation Guitars first came on the scene. Their first instrument was "The Josh White Model" named for a folk singer. By February of 1967 Ovation introduced perhaps their most popular model; the 'Balladeer'. Dan Peek of AmericaOvation guitars reached the height of their popularity in the 1980s, where they were often seen during live performances by touring artists that played acoustic guitars in concerts. This was due to Ovation guitars' synthetic bowl, and early use of preamps, onboard equalization and piezo pickups. These guitars were very attractive to live concerts where acoustic musicians constantly battled feedback problems from the high volumes needed in live venues. The first Ovation guitar was created and developed in 1966 by Charles Kaman.Charles KamanMr. Charles Kaman, an amateur guitarist from an early age, received his bachelor degree in aeronautical engineering from the Catholic University of America in Washington. As a ... Continue Reading » - Posted on Friday April 10, 2026
Ed Sullivan and the Beatles 1964
In 1964 the Beatles made their first United States appearance on the Ed Sullivan television show. At that time I was 13 years old and like kids of that era I had to have a guitar.
Harmony Patrician
My Dad relented and bought me a late 1940’s era Harmony Patrician archtop acoustic guitar from a local pawn shop for $20.00. The salesman that sold it to Dad said, “Well you need a couple of things to go along with that guitar. You need a pitch pipe to tune it and you need an extra set of string, ‘cause that kid is going to break ‘em.” For an extra two bucks I got a pitch pipe and a new set of Black Diamond guitar strings.
Larry Cordel "Black Diamond Strings"
I had not thought much about those strings until last week when I turned on a local radio station that ... Continue Reading » - Posted on Monday April 06, 2026
 Fibonacci GuitarsFibonnaci Guitars are Boutique builders of some of the most wonderful handmade archtop guitars. Their shop is in London, in the United Kingdom. The company takes it’s name from the Middle Ages Italian mathematician Leonardo Bonacci who was commonly known as Fibonacci. He popularized the use of our Hindu-Arabic system of numbers, favoring them over Roman numerals (my XVII year old grandkids wouldn’t know what Roman numerals are as they are no longer taught in US schools). FibonnaciFibonnaci posited a series of mathematical problems and solutions including the Fibonacci Sequence that has become known as PHI, or the Golden Ratio. This states that a series of numbers where each number is the sum of the two preceding ones. However I am straying from the point, as we are talking about guitars. Fibonnaci Ambassador GuitarsThe builders and owners of Fibonacci guitars state “other than musical scales, we do not play any ‘numbers’ game.” ... Continue Reading » - Posted on Thursday April 02, 2026
 Where In The World...Where in the World was my guitar built?In the not-too-distant past this was an easy question to answer. It was the United States, Japan, or perhaps Korea. But in 1965 when I was learning to play guitar, all of the most reputable instruments were manufactured in the United States. Fender Electric InstrumentsIn 1965 a brand-new Fender Stratocaster or a Precision Bass, hand built in Fullerton California, had a retail price of $279 plus the cost of the case. A Telecaster retailed for slightly more than $200. 1960 Gibson Melody Maker AdThe 1960 retail price for a Gibson Melody Maker was only $99.50 for a single pickup model to $135.00 for the twin pickup version, which included a soft case. Gibson ES335 1958A Gibson ES-335, with a deluxe case, sold for $267.50 plus $47.50 for a case in 1958 1958 Les PaulIf you were around in 1958, a Gold Top Les Paul had ... Continue Reading » - Posted on Wednesday March 18, 2026
 The Folk Singer Issue Where Have All the Folkes Gone…Long time passing? Most of them have rambled off this Mortal Coil. But we still have their music and memories. Pete SeegerIn my opinion Pete Seeger was probably the best. He wrote some of the most famous songs in an old Tyme style, and he sang them and accompanied himself on his long neck banjo and 12 string guitar. And Pete would play anywhere. If there wasn't an audience, Pete would create one.The Almanac SingersSeeger was instrumental in putting together two of the more famous folk groups. The Almanac Singers began in 1940 with a friendship based on the members’ distrust of labor issues of the day. Their songs criticized workers problems of the day, such as “Which Side Are You On?” The WeaversThe Weavers were the next group that Seeger started. They took their name from a play about the uprising of Sicilian Weavers. ... Continue Reading » - Posted on Saturday March 14, 2026
 The Regional Court of DüsseldorfDÜSSELDORF, Germany (March 9, 2026) — Fender Musical Instruments Corporation (FMIC) has secured a significant legal victory following a ruling by the Regional Court of Düsseldorf that establishes broad legal protection for Fender’s iconic Stratocaster® guitar body design under German and European copyright law. Fender Stratocaster ShapeThe court's decision creates enforceable rights against any guitars using the Stratocaster body shape that are manufactured, sold or distributed into Germany or other countries of the European Union (EU), regardless of where those guitars are produced - reinforcing Fender’s ability to protect its designs in global commerce. On further review of this matter, it was apparently a default decision as the Chinese company did not show up to the hearing.Yiwu Philharmonic CompanyAs a result of the ruling, Yiwu Philharmonic Musical Instruments Co. is prohibited from manufacturing, offering, or distributing guitars featuring the Stratocaster® body shape in Germany and the EU. Any future violations ... Continue Reading » - Posted on Friday March 13, 2026
 Jerry JonesJerry Jones was a well known figure in Nashville. As a luthier and guitar repairman he worked at The Old Time Pickin’ Parlor, where he repaired guitars for some of Nashville’s finest, and well known players, including Chet Atkins, and Reggie Young. Jerry's Repair StationOld Time Pickin' ParlorThrough Jerry’s reputation he was even asked to build guitars for well-known musicians, such as Merle Haggard, and Rafe Van Hoy. In the late 1980’s Jerry developed a niche market for building Danelectro replica guitars, and basses. The Danelectro six string bass guitar had become a very important tool for recording studios as part of The Nashville Sound due to the "tic-toc" bass.Nate DanielNate Daniel, the creator/inventor, and entrepreneur sold the business that he created, Danelectro, back in 1966, to a company called MCA. This was during the era when the guitar was experiencing a robust market, and MCA hoped to capture sales. This company ... Continue Reading »
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