Old Guitar Info

With a few exceptions, this website’s content is articles I’ve written for a variety of books and magazines over the last 20+ years. Most of the articles are historical in nature, and cover the evolution of both the manufacturer(s) and their instruments. We’ve learned a lot since many of these pieces were written, so I’ve added footnotes or parenthetical comments to bring them up to date. Most were first published in Acoustic Guitar Magazine, or the Fretboard Journal, while some are from anthologies to which I contributed. Many of these articles trace the people behind the development of iconic guitars, and what led to the evolution of those models, rather than listing each structural change and how long it lasted. Guitar history is always intertwined with musical and economic trends, and the evolution of manufacturing technology; that’s what interests me.  If you find such “how it all fits together” stories interesting, I hope you’ll enjoy this site.

Richard Johnston
co-founder (with Frank Ford) of Gryphon Stringed Instruments