Building New/Old Vintage
There is a mystique around guitars built prior to World War II in what is widely considered the golden age of guitars. If you have ever heard someone pick a Martin or Gibson from that era, then you know they are something special. Guitars from that period are prized by players and collectors alike, and as a result they are hard to find and expensive, often costing more than $20,000, if and when you do find one.
We are now in a period that some have called the new golden age in guitar luthiery. Players now have more choice than ever before. Not only are there big companies mass producing guitars, but there are also a number of mid-sized companies and countless independent luthiers building high end guitars. There is no shortage of builders offering their version of pre-war guitars with varying degrees of success attempting to re-create the magic.
One company located in Hillsborough, North Carolina has set themselves apart in capturing the mojo of guitars built during the golden era. The Pre-War Company is a small operation that is creating quite a buzz with the guitars they are turning out. Wes Lambe and Ben Maschal are the founders of Pre-War Guitars and their passion for Martins and Gibsons built between 1933-1941 led them to combine their talents. They are on a quest to build guitars that are not reproductions of pre-war guitars, but are guitars that capture the spirit of that period. Their aim is to build vintage inspired guitars with a focus on sound, playability and looks. “To us it is simple. We love perfectly setup, adjustable, old sounding, and old/beat up looking guitars, and that’s what we make.”
They must be on to something because their instruments are making their way into the hands of top tier artists such as Molly Tuttle, who owns a Dreadnaught Mahogany/Herringbone Brazilian Rosewood Model. She said “I think it is truly the best new guitar I have ever played! So honored to have it!” David Grier says his Herringbone Brazilian Rosewood “is a cannon!” Tommy Emmanuel stated, “You’ve exceeded my expectations…and they were high.” It is worth noting that Pre-War Guitars does not pay artists or provide them with instruments. All artists playing Pre-War Guitars pay for them and that speaks volumes about the quality of their guitars.
The success of Pre-War Guitars has been a long and challenging journey. Lambe began building instruments back in his high school woodshop class. He recalls his first build being an ornate dulcimer that he spent weeks carving. He spent countless hours repairing, restoring, and building instruments. Over the years he gained a reputation for building seven and eight string fanned-fret guitars, baritone acoustics, and tenor guitars. He went on to build custom instruments for Moog Music and built all the Moog Custom Shop guitars and Lapsteels. His customers covered a wide range of musicians including David Crosby, Pat Metheny, Charlie Hunter and Sean Lennon.
Maschal traces his interest back to a Merlefest he attended when he was 13. He says he fell in love with the sound of acoustic instruments. He began seeking out vintage instruments at bluegrass festivals and on message boards like Mandolin Café. He said his epiphany came to him after he had a mandolin built for him. It was at that point he realized it was possible to build instruments as a vocation. He made his to Phoenix, Arizona and attended the Roberto-Venn School of Luthiery in 2001. Upon graduation he made his way back home to Charlotte, North Carolina and set-up shop in his garage doing repair work and building custom instruments and high-end cabinetry. After a chance meeting with vintage instrument expert and mandolin master Tony Williamson, Maschal went to work full-time at Mandolin Central where he had the opportunity to do in-depth study of countless vintage instruments.
Lambe and Maschal were both working on the side for Moog Music when they made the fateful decision to combine their love of vintage instruments along with their passion for building guitars and in 2014, they established the Pre-War Guitar Company. Over the years they have refined their craft and have garnered a well-earned reputation for making one-of-a-kind handmade guitars that look, play, and sound like something from the golden age era.
Competition in the building and selling of high-end guitars is fierce. Pre-War Guitars has survived by savvy business decisions resisting trying to grow the business too fast and by producing guitars, although being one of a kind are of the highest quality and consistency. Using guitars built between 1933-1941 as their touchstone for their business, Lambe and Maschal have managed to navigate the tough times taking COVID-19 as example. They sent their employees home with pay for 3.5 months. They were able to thread water and now are reaping some of the rewards of their diligence. Pre-War Guitars now has eight employees, and their current wait list for a guitar is more than 2 years.
What is it about Pre-War Guitars that sets them apart? First, they have clearly done their homework and have done in-depth analysis of why the golden era guitars sound the way they do. They went beyond just using mirrors and taking measurements of various components…they also incorporated the use of available technology to help analyze structures and sound. Their instruments utilize the highest quality materials with torrefied tops and bracing, hot hide glue and traditional building techniques. Another feature differentiating Pre-War Guitars is their option of four different distress levels. Lambe and Maschal are steadfast in their belief that incorporation of varying levels of distress in their guitars is a key component of their sound. The levels of distress go from level 1 being equivalent to a collector’s grade instrument and progress to level 4 being an instrument that is Willie Nelson’s guitar Trigger rough looking (without the hole). They include detailed pictures and descriptions of the distress levels on their website.
At Pre-War Guitars they strive for steady improvement and are not content to stand pat on their accomplishments. As an example, last year they purchased a PLEK machine which is a CNC type machine designed and built in Germany. The PLEK is designed to analyze the condition of the guitar’s neck and frets and perform an ultra-accurate fret dress job. The accuracy of the process is rated at 0.001”. This year they are excited about adding an option incorporating 1934 style bar frets, and an ebony rod instead of an adjustable truss rod. They recently showcased a Dreadnought mahogany model of it at the Fret Board Summit in Chicago.
Pre-War Guitars offers a variety of models including both Brazilian and mahogany Dreadnoughts, a 12 fret Dreadnought inspired by Norman Blake, a Slope Shoulder, a Triple-000 or OM, a Double Aught, and a Single-0. If you are interested in a quality guitar with that golden era sound and vibe minus the price tag of a golden era original…then The Pre-War Guitar Company should be at the top of your list for consideration.
