Acoustic Guitars - acoustic

Oh boy, it’s a Roy! As Australia’s number one source for premium quality, vintage “Singing Cowboy” guitars, here at Just Guitars we always make a point on our American buying trips of tracking down the very best examples we can find, then offering them to our customers here at the lowest possible prices. This awesome, mid to late fifties Roy Rogers model, which we found in Georgetown, Washington, is in amazingly fine condition – one of the best condition examples we’ve ever run across. Aside from a few tiny knocks and dings – mainly around the top edge “binding” of the ¾-size, a...

Here’s the first of two rare ‘Singing Cowboys’ guitars that we brought back from our most recent US buying trip. One of the most famous of all the Singing Cowboy models, The Plainsman was in production from 1938-42, with this stunning bronze model available for 12 months only. The guitar was named after the big budget Paramount western of 1936, starring Gary Cooper and Jean Arthur and produced by the legendary Cecil B. De Mille, (who provided all 64 pistols used in the production from his personal collection!). A typically over-the-top De Mille production, the film requires mass...

When it comes to vintage Hawaiian slide guitars, from the 1920s right through to Beatlemania, the Cleveland based Oahu Publishing Company & Hawaiian Conservatory was the biggest name in the business. Oahu was such a thriving enterprise that for many years they were able to bill themselves as ‘The World’s Largest Guitar Dealer’. Originally built for Oahu by the Oscar Schmidt company, then by Harmony and later by Kay, good condition Oahu branded Hawaiian instruments become more desirable – and more expensive – with every passing year. And while Oahu models can be tricky to identif...

THE name in the history of bluegrass music is Bill Monroe. Taking elements from the jigs and reels of Scottish, Irish, English and German settlers of the southern United States’ Appalachian backwoods regions, along with the negro musicians’ banjo and hefty doses of murder ballads and gospel, Monroe melded it all into a new form of country music that came to be called Bluegrass. Monroe’s brother, Charlie, while not quite as famous as Bill, carved out a respectable country and bluegrass career of his own, and one player the pair had in common – especially in their early days – was fi...

Racking up scads of solid 4½ and 5 star reviews, right from its introduction, the Martin DM is one of the best value dreadnought size guitars a player could wish for! And other than just some light playwear on the scratchplate, this great-sounding example is in total MINT condition – and comes complete with its original hard shell case. The natural satin-finished DM boasts a solid Sitka Spruce top, Mahogany back and sides, Mahogany neck and East Indian Rosewood fingerboard and bridge – all just as shiny new as when it was shipped from the Martin plant in Nazareth, Pennsylvania in ...

In the realm of the modern archtop guitar, this is probably just about it! You simply will not believe the magnificently lush sound that this hand-built Gilet model produces. There is no model number or serial number, as Gerard Gilet built this guitar for his own personal use during late 2002/early 2003, however he sold it to a friend a couple of years later when he realized he wasn’t finding the time to play it. Available in just a handful of the most respected guitar stores internationally, Gilet handcrafted guitars can be found in the hands of players such as Garry Beers of ...

An amazing 45yo blonde! Airline guitars were built for National/Valco supply to Montgomery Ward department stores by various US manufacturers, including Supro, (who were eventually taken over by National), Harmony, Regal and others. This one was built by National’s fellow Chicago-based instrument maker Kay, as evidenced by the Kay music-stand logo on the back of the headstock. We suspect this was a custom order, as no matching model appears in any of the National, Airline or Kay catalogues of the time, and, unusually, there is no model number stamped on the inside. There are ...

The original camp ukes were made from barrel hoops and cowhide, knocked together for fireside entertainment as the pioneers’ wagon-trains journeyed into the American Wild West, during the 1800s. By the turn of the century the design had been appropriated by several manufacturers, with Lyon & Healy creating the first of the all timber models during the mid-1920s. Some authorities state that this Gretsch version of the Lyon & Healy design was only produced during 1940, while others suggest they may have appeared as early as 1936 – regardless, this fantastic little camp uke is basi...

Barnes & Mullins, Windsor & Taylor, Jedson and other companies strove to meet banjo demand in the years from around 1890 to 1930 – the boom years for British banjo music. Bowley Barnes and Albert Mullins established their instrument business, (which continues today), in 1894 in Bournemouth, relocating to London in 1914. Today the company is based in rural Shropshire. We believe this Barnes & Mullins ‘No. 4’ banjo is from the company’s first year of full production, in 1895, bearing the indented logo, ‘THE BARNES & MULLINS’ at the base of the neck on the 5th string side. The No 4 mo...

The Legend series genuinely deserve their name, as these are some of the world’s very finest guitars, played and revered by many of the biggest names in the business. This particular model, the 1867 Legend, is favored by artists as diverse as Robert Fripp of King Crimson and Joan Armatrading. Another player is Arty White of Alicia Keys’ band, and here’s a LINK (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qpdG5Ph1hPA) to a superb piece, played by Steve Ball on a Black 1867 Legend, courtesy of youtube. The absolutely killer Cherryburst finish makes for one of the most striking acoustic-electr...

We’re calling this early 1930’s, but it may actually be late ’20s – either way, its appointments date it to between 1927 and 1932. Very similar to Gibson’s A-style from the same time, we suspect this could be an excellent example of a rarely seen Regal Ultra Grand Deluxe model, featuring the more stylish extended fingerboard, compared with Gibson’s squared-off version. And with a sound-hole in place of the more usual f-holes, this little Regal beauty has amazing projection! Built at the famous Regal factory in Chicago, construction is all solid Mahogany, the fingerboard is Ebony...

Another great southern California discovery from our recent US buying trip, this highly desirable arch-back uke from the late twenties or early thirties was possibly built by Regal, or more likely Lyon & Healy, (Washburn). During the ukulele’s first big boom-time, early last century, the best instruments were all arched back models, as is this glorious example of 1920’s “decalomania”. Arch-back models had generally disappeared by the mid-30’s, so this nicely preserved piece is one of the last from the era. Dubbed “decalomania”, the art of adorning instruments with water-slide...

A brand new Bean Blossom BM100 mandolin, by Morgan Monroe, in its original hard shell case. Named after bluegrass pioneer Bill Monroe’s original bluegrass festival in Indiana, this stunning mandolin, in vintage tobacco sunburst, is a warehouse overstock, so for this price you won’t find a nicer production model mandolin in Australia. Spruce top, maple back and sides, extended rosewood fingerboard, adjustable rosewood bridge, gold hardware, fully bound body and neck, vintage-style pearlized tuners and beautiful inlaid headstock. It has an adjustable truss-rod, multi-ply black ...