Sunday, August 30th, 2009
I am finally getting to post more about the incredible range of guitars that I saw at the Montreal Guitar Show in July. I will intersperse posts about luthiers with the other reviews for the next few months, so be sure to keep checking back regularly.
I will start with Dagmar Guitars of Niagara-on-the-Lake, made by the inimitable Pete Swanson. I have already posted a good deal about these unique guitars that look amazing and sound just beautiful. Although he is a seasoned craftsman with wood and fine furniture making, Mr. Swanson has only been making guitars for a couple of years and yet his guitars show a polish and finesse that belies his number of years as a luthier. While the Montreal Guitar Show was Pete Swanson’s debut show with Dagmar, the response has been nothing short of astonishing, pouring in from all across the globe.
Rather than repeat my previous glowing reviews of these guitars, let me point you to an in-depth interview given by Mr. Swanson to the Digital Journal. There is a great description of the process of creating these unique guitars, as well as some fine pictures and a video interview that is as much fun as it is informative. Showing that innovative minds often find one another, Dagmar has been chosen to carry the state-of-the-art fibre-optic pickup designed by Queen’s University’s Dr. Hans-Peter Loock. This pickup has the ability to change the sound of music to the same degree as the original electric guitar. Sound interesting?
Read the Digital Journal review here.
Of course, other magazines have featured Dagmar as well. I mentioned the great pictures taken by Premier Guitar in an earlier post. The local media have gotten into the act, as you can see from this interview in the St. Catharines Standard. More great photos from the Montreal Guitar Show were published in England by Guitar & Bass Magazine. Here’s the Guitar & Bass picture:
The buzz I am hearing from collectors is that these guitars are high-quality and under-priced at present, making them very collectible. My personal take is that these are sensational guitars that are still in the price range of working musicians.
If you love guitars, you need to check these out.
Dagmar Custom Guitars
Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada