I've never seen modern guitars with thies designs, let alone the regional woods. Thier sound is magnificent. What a Luther . I want to relocate to that area . Thies guitars are a great find Jeremy
I'm happy to finally met Mr. Showalter and see him in the person. I had the unusual pleasure of meeting and playing two of his guitars about at least eight years ago at House of Musical Traditions in Takoma Park, MD. They had showed me his guitars saying that he was unusual that used locally sourced woods for his guitars. His guitars sound that you played have excellent tone. Now I live in Florida with nothing much around here so miss VA with the homegrown guitar makers and great guitar shops.
I love the look and sound of that sycamore. Amazing. Brighter than an all mahogany but such great clarity. I think it’s worth the money. Thank you for this video and introducing us to him.
Jermey I have to give it to Virginia and her luthiers.I am from So Cal and had a beautiful Om with redwood top and cocobolo back and side built for me.Luthier Jon L Nixon out of Markham Virginia .I LOVE IT!!!! THANKS Jermey!!!
Great to see local woods resulting in great tones. Will be near Charlottesville for a couple of weeks in December and planning a couple of days of “guitar road trips”. This should be a stop. Love the H&D tee shirt.
Had to see for myself as an old guy acoustic player. So from Ohio vacationed in Shenandoah Valley and arranged to visit Showalter, Do these locally wooded guitars really sound as good as traditional mahogany, rosewood, and spruce? It turned out after playing his showroom guitars....Absolutely! Steve Showalter is on to something here. If you are able to check them out you will not be disappointed! Sometimes thinking outside the box is a good thing.
I honestly think these are amongst some of the greatest acoustics i've ever seen and heard .It sounds' like the guitar is playing along with you, not just you playing the guitar... remarkable!
@@ashersurratt1322 I appreciate the information, but I own a great mandolin already, It was made by Bruce weber in his new shop in Bigfork, Montana. George
Great video Jeremy... love the drive through the countryside before you arrived. All part of the journey of uncovering this hidden gem. It makes me wonder how many great luthiers are out there that we don't know about. Thank you for uncovering Showalter Guitars. Loved hearing Steve talking about his guitars. Even though I'm in Australia and come from Ireland I feel that if I was in a room with you guys it would feel so comfortable to talk with you both. Thank you for another great video.
Wow-that 12 string chimes like Church Bells-extremely Bright but Boomer. That Knot’ sound hole guitar projects and sounds pretty balanced. Every guitar you played were very Bright/projected well-not a lot of across the board Bass tonal Warmth -but that’s not a bad thing though-depending on what style of music your playing. In some musical applications one those guitars would be cool to have on hand! Beautiful Guitars. Great Vid Jeremy👍
These are some seriously gorgeous guitars with both unique looks and rich sound quality! The knots, that 12-string, and the sycamore are my faves. I would have like to hear more about how the owner started building guitars in 1981, how he honed his craft over the years, and why he waited until 8 years ago to make a business of doing it. Perhaps you can follow up because I’ve never seen anything like these guitars, and it would be cool to hear more about this luthier’s story - and maybe you can even go back another time when he’s building a guitar so we can see some of what it takes to bring these sweet melody makers to life!
That sycamore guitar sounded great. I don't love looking at dreadnaughts so it's nice to see these curvey guitars, but you wonder just how boomy that could have been.
THose are some awesome guitars...love these North American woods...that's very cool! Think the all-sycamore was my fave. Would have loved to hear the oak b&s dread too!
Looks like you guys are pioneering the use of local woods throughout the instrument. Osage orange and black locust are great for rosewood like tone. Black walnut is good for backs and necks. It would have been used by the factories, but mahogany was always much cheaper. Persimmon is the North American ebony. It can be dyed black. Hard to beat spruce, but if you recycle construction lumber, you'll find it everywhere.
Ive only watched the first 2 mins of this vid and the walnut models tone seemed to jump out of my phone to a third dimension. That must be a good sign ....sounds very lush
Maybe he could sell his entire business to Martin so they could launch a great sounding new product line called ‘Back to nature’ with indigenous wood knots as sound holes. Amazing.
For the quality, I was shocked at how low his asking prices are. For comparison, the dreadnoughts he sells are almost exactly what a brand new D-18 standard costs. I’m sure in time he’ll be able to get twice what he is charging now. And, the low serial number guitars like these will appreciate in value, buy them up now!
Not crazy about the sound of the all sycamore. Doesn't have the body and bass of some of the others. Would work good for a parlor style I think though.
The knothole guitar: Did I miss a reference to WHAT WOOD that is on the top? I know that he said it was a hardwood. Walnut? Another comment: Is it shallow to say that he needs a more attractive headstock logo?
Obvious logistic problems with this idea but it really feels like the channel hits it stride with showcasing the personal contract with independent builders and shops. I know Martin and Gibson are your go to guitars but you excel at adding the personal touch that those manufacturers are too big to provide (or long since forgot). Seems like once a business becomes a multinational corporation that goes out the window.
Agreed. Your channel needs to live up to its billing by emphasizing the music and friendship over the picking. And, there just aren’t enough deals on vintage guitars in the Valley for you to hunt. In contrast, I wanted to hear ALL the guitars on that wall. Hunt *them*. I also wanted to hear more about Mr. Showalter. Now, find someone who is going to get a Showalter guitar because of this video. Follow them back to the shop and film you advising them and how they work through the choices. Another suggestion: Nixon guitars that are featured at the Fret Shop in Winchester.
Woah! He did something that I always thought would be awesome but have never seen, using knots as soundholes.
I've never seen modern guitars with thies designs, let alone the regional woods.
Thier sound is magnificent. What a Luther .
I want to relocate to that area . Thies guitars are a great find Jeremy
That 12 string sounded absolutely incredible! I would love to own that! Maybe one day.
Agreed, it was lovely
As someone who grew up in Falls Church, VA and loves Virginia and loves acoustic guitars, thank you for featuring Virginia craftsmanship.
I'm happy to finally met Mr. Showalter and see him in the person. I had the unusual pleasure of meeting and playing two of his guitars about at least eight years ago at House of Musical Traditions in Takoma Park, MD. They had showed me his guitars saying that he was unusual that used locally sourced woods for his guitars. His guitars sound that you played have excellent tone. Now I live in Florida with nothing much around here so miss VA with the homegrown guitar makers and great guitar shops.
I really like that 12 string. It is so great that you discovered in your talent for building guitars.
You found a real hidden gem in this guy. Obviously some people knew about him before ... but wow, his guitars sound amazing.
I love the look and sound of that sycamore. Amazing. Brighter than an all mahogany but such great clarity. I think it’s worth the money. Thank you for this video and introducing us to him.
WOW!!!!!! Those were some gorgeous guitars. And the ones you played sounded AMAZING!
Jermey I have to give it to Virginia and her luthiers.I am from So Cal and had a beautiful Om with redwood top and cocobolo back and side built for me.Luthier Jon L Nixon out of Markham Virginia .I LOVE IT!!!! THANKS Jermey!!!
I really like the “shop local” approach with this video. Nice work
Great to see local woods resulting in great tones. Will be near Charlottesville for a couple of weeks in December and planning a couple of days of “guitar road trips”. This should be a stop. Love the H&D tee shirt.
Had to see for myself as an old guy acoustic player. So from Ohio vacationed in Shenandoah Valley and arranged to visit Showalter,
Do these locally wooded guitars really sound as good as traditional mahogany, rosewood, and spruce?
It turned out after playing his showroom guitars....Absolutely! Steve Showalter is on to something here.
If you are able to check them out you will not be disappointed! Sometimes thinking outside the box is a
good thing.
I honestly think these are amongst some of the greatest acoustics i've ever seen and heard .It sounds' like the guitar is playing along with you, not just you playing the guitar... remarkable!
Even though I play the mandolin, I love watching your videos. The information you give is invalueable. Keep up the good work. George in Montana
@@ashersurratt1322 I appreciate the information, but I own a great mandolin already, It was made by Bruce weber in his new shop in Bigfork, Montana. George
Wow beautiful guitars and so great that they are made from locally sourced woods! I would love to play some.
That 12 was jangly! Beautiful.
Great video Jeremy... love the drive through the countryside before you arrived. All part of the journey of uncovering this hidden gem. It makes me wonder how many great luthiers are out there that we don't know about. Thank you for uncovering Showalter Guitars. Loved hearing Steve talking about his guitars. Even though I'm in Australia and come from Ireland I feel that if I was in a room with you guys it would feel so comfortable to talk with you both. Thank you for another great video.
GOD BLESS VIRGINIA - GOD BLESS STEVE SHOWALTER GUITARS - AND - GOD BLESS AMERICA !
Wow! That man makes some beautiful instruments...they sound great too.
wow his design are really unique.. love the 12 string its very lively... and all his creation are just out of this world.. thanks for sharing Jeremy
The guitars are beautiful, especially the 12.
last one you played with the arm carve is amazing
Some beautiful guitars.
Beautiful guitars both to look at and to hear! Wow.
That live edge walnut top is the most beautiful acoustic I have ever seen! Thanks for sharing Jeremy!
More to come soon, just exporting a demo of it.
WELL DONE MR.SHOWALTER….YOU HAVE RESISTED THE TEMPTATION TO GO DOWN THE MARTIN ROAD. LOVE ONE OF THESE FOR MY COLLECTION. UNIQUE.
I’m going to his website for prices and I saw a uke in the backround I was curious about.
Wow-that 12 string chimes like Church Bells-extremely Bright but Boomer. That Knot’ sound hole guitar projects and sounds pretty balanced. Every guitar you played were very Bright/projected well-not a lot of across the board Bass tonal Warmth -but that’s not a bad thing though-depending on what style of music your playing. In some musical applications one those guitars would be cool to have on hand! Beautiful Guitars. Great Vid Jeremy👍
These are some seriously gorgeous guitars with both unique looks and rich sound quality! The knots, that 12-string, and the sycamore are my faves.
I would have like to hear more about how the owner started building guitars in 1981, how he honed his craft over the years, and why he waited until 8 years ago to make a business of doing it. Perhaps you can follow up because I’ve never seen anything like these guitars, and it would be cool to hear more about this luthier’s story - and maybe you can even go back another time when he’s building a guitar so we can see some of what it takes to bring these sweet melody makers to life!
On it!
Simply brilliant 👏 👌
That sycamore guitar sounded great. I don't love looking at dreadnaughts so it's nice to see these curvey guitars, but you wonder just how boomy that could have been.
THose are some awesome guitars...love these North American woods...that's very cool! Think the all-sycamore was my fave. Would have loved to hear the oak b&s dread too!
That last Sycamore 000 you played looked like Koa. Very nice guitar showcase, Jeremy!
I want one so badly now....
He called it Shenandoah Koa. Shenankoa?
Looks like you guys are pioneering the use of local woods throughout the instrument. Osage orange and black locust are great for rosewood like tone. Black walnut is good for backs and necks. It would have been used by the factories, but mahogany was always much cheaper. Persimmon is the North American ebony. It can be dyed black. Hard to beat spruce, but if you recycle construction lumber, you'll find it everywhere.
Love the use of non traditional woods. Guitar builders and players are so wedded to a handful of tone woods, but there is so much more out there.
Very cool. Thanks for posting this.
Woow Beautiful Guitars cool looking sound boards/tops
Virginia looks incredible. I love history and would love to live there.
Come hang!
Ive only watched the first 2 mins of this vid and the walnut models tone seemed to jump out of my phone to a third dimension. That must be a good sign ....sounds very lush
Video coming on it from my studio shortly.
What was the intro song on this vid? It’s awesome!
Some gorgeous stuff there ❤️🎯
Seems like a great guy
Maybe he could sell his entire business to Martin so they could launch a great sounding new product line called ‘Back to nature’ with indigenous wood knots as sound holes. Amazing.
Thank you!
I like his shirt! God is greater than the ups and downs! Nice guitars too
Dude, check out bass rock guitars. They/he makes guitars out of old sunken wood from schroon lake in upstate new York.
Nice interesting guitars
That 12 stringed sound better than martin taylor furch yamaha etc. So full and round sound. Cant ask for more.
For the quality, I was shocked at how low his asking prices are. For comparison, the dreadnoughts he sells are almost exactly what a brand new D-18 standard costs. I’m sure in time he’ll be able to get twice what he is charging now. And, the low serial number guitars like these will appreciate in value, buy them up now!
great
Huss & Dalton and now Showalter - seems like the Shenandoah is full of luthiers and guitar companies.
Really nice sycamore top would be the one J would pick
I haven't stopped thinking about it.
What's the song when you were driving?
Not crazy about the sound of the all sycamore. Doesn't have the body and bass of some of the others. Would work good for a parlor style I think though.
The knothole guitar: Did I miss a reference to WHAT WOOD that is on the top? I know that he said it was a hardwood. Walnut? Another comment: Is it shallow to say that he needs a more attractive headstock logo?
It's walnut. Sounds great. It's okay, it's simple.
Obvious logistic problems with this idea but it really feels like the channel hits it stride with showcasing the personal contract with independent builders and shops. I know Martin and Gibson are your go to guitars but you excel at adding the personal touch that those manufacturers are too big to provide (or long since forgot). Seems like once a business becomes a multinational corporation that goes out the window.
Agreed. Your channel needs to live up to its billing by emphasizing the music and friendship over the picking. And, there just aren’t enough deals on vintage guitars in the Valley for you to hunt. In contrast, I wanted to hear ALL the guitars on that wall. Hunt *them*. I also wanted to hear more about Mr. Showalter. Now, find someone who is going to get a Showalter guitar because of this video. Follow them back to the shop and film you advising them and how they work through the choices. Another suggestion: Nixon guitars that are featured at the Fret Shop in Winchester.
If god made guitars…….
Guitars for rich folks.
These are the most affordable hand built guitars I've found.