Newsflash! John has recently finished a Travel Guitar for us. There's a page dedicated to this incredible instrument here.

John Greven builds wonderful flattop guitars in the vintage mold. His curriculum vitae is impressive; a stint at Gruhn's as a repairman, a 40 year, 1000 guitar career, inventor of tor-tois. Eric Clapton, Jimmy Buffett, George Harrison, Buffy St.Marie, John Denver, Stefan Grossman, Stephen Stills, Steve Martin, the Dirt Band, Johnny Cash, and Mary Chapin Carpenter own at least one Greven original. John offers many body shapes, from the OO to Jumbo and is world reknown as an inlay artist. We are John's exclusive representatives in the UK.

We currently have a OOO on order. Delivery is imminent, please Email us/phone for more details.

What others say about John's work:

Blue Book Publications: "Luthier John Greven has been building guitars for the past thirty-two years. While he has always been building good sounding acoustics, Greven is perhaps better known for the outstanding quality of his inlay work. Rather than waste words attempting to describe the quality of his guitars, simply contact John Greven directly (see Trademark Index) for specification and pricing information. A number of years ago, Greven devised a faux tortoise shell material that can be used as pickguards or body binding without the problems encountered by the real material. This faux shell is available through the Luthier´s Mercantile International of Healdsburg CA."

George Gruhn: "Certainly, John Greven is one of the very best. He is one of an elite, small group that has really achieved something notable."

Standard Features include:

 

The Prairie State Model:

This was the first Greven guitar we got in; it's the fifth Prairie State ever made and features a bearclaw sitka top over figured macassar ebony back and sides. It has an alternate headstock shape, arrowhead bridge, wooden rossette, volute and an overlay on the back of the headstock. All the wood components are chosen for the black and white contrast.

Julian Templeman, the current owner of this instrument said before it was put up for sale: "I had a chance to play the Greven Prairie State #5 on Friday. It's an absolute killer. A 17" body is a little hard to play when sitting down, and that size would normally make me discount an instrument, but this one is an absolute *killer*.I've been more of a small guitar person for several years, and have been on the verge of selling my Lowden O-size because it is simply *too* big for me... the body size and depth are a little overwhelming. Nowadays, the Northworthy Carsington is about as large as I've cared to get, and my Abnett size 0 parlour is ideal. But the tone of the Prairie State, along with its dynamic range, loudness, and all-round *class* have converted me. It's one heck of a guitar..." Reference Link

The OM:

This OM is Paul Asbell's who very kindly let us display it on our website. It's got an adirondack top over madagascan rosewood back and sides. It features a sunburst finish, traditional headstock, torch inlay, long fingerboard inlays and an inlaid pickguard. For those of you who like a bit more eye candy, here's a little gallery of John's work.