Mayes Guitars

Special MJ-55 that features a brilliant set of curly Honduran mahogany with a super stiff Lutz spruce top.  Top it all with a classy sunburst and you've got candy for both the eyes and ears.

Custom SD-43.  Adirondack top with Honduran Mahogany back and sides. Vintage Sunburst, abalone rosette, curly maple binding, firestripe pickguard.

L-32 Brazilian Rosewood back and sides with a Adirondack Spruce top.  Ivoroid binding and rosette.  Firestripe pickguard.

 

Custom SD-43 built for a customer in the US.  Premium Brazilian Rosewood back and sides with a upgraded Adirondack top.  Abalone purfling, and rosette with dots, and logo to match.  Ebony fretboard and bridge.  Trimmed with curly maple binding.

 Here is a quote from the owner;

"The sound of this guitar is unbelievable!! After owning multiple high end guitars including 8 Santa Cruz guitars, McPherson, Martins, Gibsons, and Breedloves!! I have also played and demoed multiple Collings, Bourgeois, Goodalls, McPhersons and a bunch of nice vintage Martins at shops and I’ve got to say this guitar is right at the top of the bunch!!!! It is the best guitar I have ever owned or played!!!! It is amazingly responsive if you touch the bridge its like touching a microphone that is turned up through a PA system!!! The guitar has a great balanced loud tone and it will thump your chest if you get into it enough. It will pretty much handle anything you can through at it from heavy strumming to soft fingerpicking. All the way around this is the best sounding guitar I have ever heard!!!"

Custom MJ-55 Built for a customer in California.  Western Red Cedar top with Brazilian rosewood back and sides, fretboard, headplate, and bridge.

Here is a quote from the owner:

" This Cedar/BRW MJ just blows me away. While reveling in the warm and sweet tones I fully expected this guitar would provide, I was in no way prepared for the "punch" and "snap" this guitar delivers at the slightest provocation. Originally ordered primarily as an understated premium fingerstyle instrument this one immediately demonstrated it could not only serve it's intended purpose in outstanding fashion, but could stand up well to a pick and serve as an excellent instrument for almost any flattop guitar play style.  It has immediately become my favorite due to it's wonderful combination of responsiveness, balance, and rich tone  - and I own some good ones (Baranik, OMEGA, Doerr, Goodall ... and many, many past Martins, Taylors, Langejans, Webber, SCGC ... you get the picture). A joy to play, with a very LARGE voice for such a comfortably proportioned guitar. I feel blessed to have entrusted John with the responsibility of building a "dream" guitar for me.  I could not imagine getting a better custom guitar - at any price - or having my expectations met more fully in the process. It's really hard to put this guitar down!".

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Here is a very small collection of some older models I have built over the past 13+ years. 

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See, step by step, the process of a L-32 being constructed.  This was a few years ago and some methods have changed/improved.

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Custom L-32 built for a customer in Oklahoma.  Curly Honduran Mahogany back and sides and a Lutz spruce top.

Here is a quote about this guitar from a player:

"That little guy just sat up and begged for someone to touch it, just so it could produce its incredible sound. In short, it gave it to you. It was effortless to play and it responded with incredible, sustaining tone. "

-Mike Crixell Editor/Acoustic player magazine