Items to note...
Embroidered H&D logo tees short & long sleeve/caps/denim shirts...great gifts for the holiday!
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Long sleeve tee ~ pre-shrunk ~ $25.00 L/XL BLACK only |
Short sleeve tee ~ pre-shrunk ~ $20.00 L/XL/XXL from left: Black/ Colonial Blue/ Dark Green |
Caps ~ velcro adjustment ~ Denim/Khaki ~ $18.00 |
Denim long sleeve w/pocket ~ Dark Denim/Blue Denim |
call us with your order...
shipping charges $7.50 first item/$2.00 each additional item. 5% VA sales tax applicable to va residents.
Please contact us for International Shipping.
Road Edition Guitars ~ 11/11/11
INTRODUCING....the Huss & Dalton Road Series Guitars. Your choice between a Dreadnaught or OM body style with Sitka Spruce top-wood and either Indian Rosewood or Mahogany back and sides. These guitars will have the full-on H&D tone and volume in a less expensive package and will be working their way through our production with a completion date of mid-January 2012. We will be taking orders for these models from our fine, Authorized H&D Dealers and Distributors for a limited time only.
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Solid Mahogany or Indian rosewood back and sides (AA grade)
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Solid Sitka spruce tops (AA grade) with forward x scalloped H&D standard bracing
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Black binding on Mahogany models
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Cream binding on rosewood models
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Black/white/black top Purfling
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Black/white/black multi line rosettes with 3 7/8” (OM) and 4” (“D”) sound holes
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Mahogany neck (“T” style peghead with no volute) with Indian rosewood peghead veneer
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Indian rosewood unbound fingerboard and bridge (drop in saddle)
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“Kluson” style Gotoh nickel tuners
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Standard pearl H&D peghead logo
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Pearl dot fingerboard inlay
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Matte finish overall with gloss finish top
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Tortoise pickguard
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Black TKL no logo hard shell case
Retail Price $2,200.00
WMRA Radio interview with Jeff Huss by Martha Woodroof ~ Friday, November 4, 2011 ~ LISTEN
Thomas Jefferson's Magnificent Tree
We are pleased to say the first guitar made with wood from the renowned Tulip Poplar that once stood at Monticello and is documented as having been planted by Thomas Jefferson, is finished! It's a spectacular guitar, both in sound and cosmetics. The second guitar like this is now in production as this first one was purchased by Mike & Mary Farrell...we thank them very much.
Appointments for this Model OO-SP Custom are as follows: tulip poplar back and side wood, Red Spruce top and bracing, black Walnut neck, body bindings and neck bindings, persimmon fretboard and bridge, and Waverly 3504 Bronze tuning machines w/Snakewood buttons.
The fretboard is elegantly scalloped on the fretboard extender. The artwork here is a wood-burning of Monticello depicting the tree along with Jefferson's signature. It is a masterpiece unto itself, carefully burned by the artistic hands of Kenny Farmer.
The red spruce, black walnut and persimmon trees are native species to Virigina.
Pictured is the guitar with the South Lawn of Monticello as the background. The magnificent tree stands proudly just to the right of the guitar. This photo used by permission and taken by Betsy Baten, pre-June 2008.
Read the detailed story here:
The day the Farrells arrived to pickup the guitar, the folks at Monticello were kind enough to offer them the grand tour of the house and grounds and a question/answer session in the Visitor Center's retail shop. Mark Dalton was on hand to describe the build process, working with this beautiful wood, and how all of this came about for Huss & Dalton Guitar Co. We extend our thanks to Betsy Baten, Sharon McElroy, Bob Self, Fred Williamson, and numerous others at Monticello for assisting us with this project.
These spectacular guitars are available for sale through the Thomas Jefferson Foundation. They retail for $15,000.00. Huss & Dalton's contract with them results in a 30% donation back to the Foundation to support education and restoration of Monticello.
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Gracing the pages of Virginia Living Magazine
The 'Thomas Jefferson Tulip Poplar Model' as we'll call it now (name subject to change)...is making its way through our shop. Below is a photo, taken by John Calkin, our Master body builder here at H&D, of the back and sides using the historical wood from the tree documented as having been planted by Thomas Jefferson himself in 1807. This wood is beautiful evidenced here in the photo shortly after the body was put together.
We will have a full story...detailed photos, guitar specs (we're still working out a few details here), and where you can see this beautiful creation when it's completed sometime in early summer.
Standing beside the huge remains of the Tulip Poplar at Monticello (left)...from left, Jeff Huss, Betsy Baten, Mark Dalton. This photo appears in the current issue of Virginia Living Magazine (March 2011), snapped the day Mark, Jeff Huss, and I made our 'field trip' to Monticello seeking out this historical wood. Read the story here.
Photo by Kimberly Dalton
Mark Dalton "podcasted"!
Listen to Podcast by Dan Miller, Flatpicking Guitar Magazine, featuring Mark Dalton, Huss & Dalton Guitars.
Thanks Dan!
| Huss and Dalton DS-12 Custom Review ~Acoustic Guitar checks out a versatile 12-fret dreadnought. With video link. By Paul Kotapish |
 At a Glance The Specs: This Is Cool: Watch For: Price: Maker:
Jeff Huss and Mark Dalton started their namesake company in 1995 after both had been employed by Stelling Banjo Works. Realizing they could work together to add something new to the guitar-making world, their goal from the start was to make custom-quality guitars in a production shop. A decade and a half later, Huss and Dalton has grown into one of the leading mid-size shops around. The company’s founders have assembled a team of luthiers who do a surprising amount of handwork—braces are painstakingly fitted and shaped with chisels and hand planes, and the finishing process involves plenty of old-fashioned elbow grease with sanding blocks and scrapers, but they also make judicious use of a CNC machine for precision carving on necks and bridges. Huss and Dalton now offer a full line of flattop guitars in a variety of finishes and appointments—each an expression of tradition melded with subtle innovation that has the look, feel, and sound of a handmade instrument. Unique 12-Fret DesignFor this review, Huss and Dalton sent us a slightly customized DS-12 model, substituting an Italian Alpine spruce top for a Sitka spruce top, simple fretboard dots for snowflake inlays, and ivoroid tuner buttons for nickel. Taking inspiration from a vintage Gibson Roy Smeck model, the DS-12 is a 12-fret guitar with a dreadnought-size body. The guitar’s bridge is located farther toward the center of the lower bout than on a 14-fret dreadnought, a position that is often considered to be highly efficient for producing serious volume and rich, warm tone. By combining this body design with a contemporary-feeling neck, a 25-foot radius top, and an extra large (43/8 inches) soundhole, Huss and Dalton has created a unique instrument. Stunning SunburstThe pleasures of this instrument begin with the natty tweed TKL case and increase when the latches are sprung, revealing a stunning sunburst finish with a deep chocolate perimeter that melds into warm, reddish tones and a dark amber center, very much like the classic Cremona finish on a Lloyd Loar–era Gibson mandolin. The Italian Alpine spruce top features fairly tight grain and some light bearclawing visible through the sunburst. The Honduras mahogany back and sides are not particularly fancy looking, but the binding and zipper inlaid up the back lend an elegant touch to the visually modest wood. The DS-12’s appointments are simple but refined—figured maple binding and black/white/black purfling around the top, a modest white rosette around the enlarged soundhole, and maple binding on the fingerboard. The guitar sports meticulous craftsmanship, with crisp detailing at every joint in the woods and intersection of appointments. Multipurpose PerformerThe DS-12 arrived set up with comfortable medium action well suited for handling an aggressive attack without buzzing or breaking up yet responsive and full sounding with the gentlest touch. For my hands, the round neck profile was a perfect compromise between a prewar feel—which I often find too clubby—and a slim, modern neck—which I usually find a bit skinny. In terms of sound, the DS-12 delivers all of the volume and punch one expects in a dreadnought, without the attendant boominess or “woofy” bass notes that big boxes—particularly some 12-fret dreads—occasionally deliver. I played it in a variety of settings—alone, in a duet with another guitarist, and as a rhythm player in a string band—and the DS-12 never failed to deliver everything I look for in a guitar. The simple delights of playing boom-chuck rhythm accompaniment don’t get much better than on this guitar, but it was also a pleasure to spin out solo versions of Irish tunes like “Dr. O’Neill’s Favorite” and “Miss Monahan’s Reel” or flatpick hoedowns like “Forked Deer.” I also fingerpicked some blues, the Allman Brothers’ “Little Martha,” and some Carter-family songs, and it sounded right on everything—the tone and responsiveness were equally impressive with flatpicks, fingerpicks, or bare flesh. The clarity of the individual notes is particularly pleasing when cross-picking or playing arpeggiated figures and pop hooks like the Byrds’ intro to “My Back Pages.” The DS-12 is a natural fit for anyone playing roots-music styles, including song accompaniment, old-time string band music, blues, or jug band music, and it would definitely delight most singer-songwriters, rock strummers, and flatpickers who don’t require access to the stratospheric frets. Despite its nonconforming appearance, it would make a killer bluegrass guitar, too. Some fingerstyle soloists might prefer slightly wider string spacing, but for anyone with slightly smaller paws, the neck and action are a dream. My only caveat is that the relationship of the enlarged, shifted soundhole to the bridge may require some minor adjustment to the picking-hand, particularly for anyone who plants a pinky in that interim zone. Love at First StrumFor me, guitar lust is usually fostered over time and through the test of gigs, rehearsals, and woodshedding, but this guitar had me from the moment I opened the case and didn’t let go. The understated design and vintage vibe coupled with the huge, balanced sound and ease of playing will make this a dream guitar for some lucky player, whether they are quietly plucking it on the back porch or punching it hard on the main stage. Paul Kotapish plays mandolin and guitar with Wake the Dead, Euphonia, Kevin Burke’s Open House, the Hillbillies from Mars, and Curlew. "Thank you Paul and AGM!"
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15th Anniversary
The first 15th Anniversary Model ~ shipped out to Authorized H&D Dealer, Eddie's Guitars in St. Louis, MO.
Nathan stopped by our booth at Winter NAMM and purchased this handsome guitar...thank you folks!
LA Times...
Our friend, Francis Collins and his custom built H&D Model DS show up again!
The caption reads, "His day job is leading the National Institute of Health, but here Dr. Francis Collins, left, jams with Kris Kristofferson before a Stand Up to Cancer telecast."
Pretty cool.
Below...Dr. Francis Collins plays his custom built H&D Model DS.
Noodling around...
Jeff Hill trying out the 15th Anniversary Model ~ Specs on the Model TD-R Custom are: Italian bearclaw Sitka top, African Blackwood back and sides, Koa bound body, Koa bound fretboard, Koa bound peghead w/inside purfling line, '45-style Abalone body trim w/rings, Spring Vine fretboard inlay w/15th Anniversary scroll, Spring Vine peghead inlay, Waverly 4062-G tuning machines w/engraved buttons. Contact your preferred Authorized H&D Dealer.
Our first-ever cover...UK's Acoustic magazine ~ Issue 47, November 2010
All together now...
From left: Jeff Huss & Mark Dalton, The Honey Dewdrops, Barry Lawson, and Robin & Linda Williams at the sold-out November 6th CD Release Celebration of “These Old Roots” at Mockingbird Roots Music Hall in Staunton, Virginia.
Photo: Gary Alter
5-year build
In July 2010, Jeff Hill marked his 5th year with Huss & Dalton Guitar Co. To commemorate this milestone, all 5-year 'veterans' are able to have a custom built guitar. Here is Jeff Hill's build:
"I settled on a hybrid ~ A CM with the FS bracing on the top and a reverse taper headstock. For woods I chose an Italian Alpine Spruce top...it combines warmth and the responsiveness of an Englemann top with the projection and headroom of Red Spruce. For the back and side wood, it was between Brazilian Rosewood or African Blackwood...I chose the Blackwood as it offered more projection and clarity. In the first two days as a full-grown guitar, it is everything I had hoped for!"
Specs include:
Italian Alpine Spruce top
African Blackwood back and sides
1 23/32 nut width
MJ peghead shape
Fretboard selected
African Blackwood bridge
Stingray FB markers
June 1, 2010 ~ Huss & Dalton featured in the Summer 2010 issue of The Fretboard Journal ~ many thanks to Jason, Ned, and Jack!
at left, an image of the beginning of the article...at right, the cover of the Summer Issue #18.
About a year ago, Jason Verlinde contacted us here at Huss & Dalton Guitar Co., interested in featuring us in an upcoming issue of The Fretboard Journal. We were pleased to hear this and, after numerous conversations, Jason introduced us to Ned Oldham, writer, and Jack Looney, photographer. Both of these guys were just super to work with and are outstanding in their field of expertise!
We thank them for their time and hard work and for making this a fun project!
Now, run out and pick you up a copy of this fabulous 'coffee table' publication or better yet, subscribe!
Hide Glue...a theory
One of our latest experiments here at H&D has been, oddly enough, with a pretty ancient product – animal hide glue. You would think that a product that was used for centuries as the glue of choice wouldn’t be much of a mystery but it has certainly been a learning experience for me. Much of the information on the internet is inconsistent and, at times, downright contradictory. Hopefully, I’m not just adding more fuel to that fire but I’ll share some of what I’ve discovered. First off, forget everything you’ve learned about glues from aliphatic resin or polyvinyl acetate. Warmth is your friend with hide glue – the secret is to never have too much or too little heat. This includes keeping your work surface warm to increase work time.
I also had to do some experimenting with water-to-glue ratios as well. Our experiment is using H. Behlen’s Dry Ground Hide Glue. It calls for a 1:1 ratio by weight of water to glue granules but this actually produced more of glue-like taffy that didn’t offer enough work time. I found that I actually needed about a 2:1 ratio of water to glue in order to have the ability to spread it and to have even a narrow window of working time before the adhesive starts to skin over. Even a slight hesitation is too long with this stuff but a nice property of it is that you can merely reapply fresh glue and it’s good to go. Anyone who has worked with wood glue knows that this is a plus. It also means that the hide glue is easier to repair since you don’t have to remove all of the glue as you would with Titebond, which will not adhere to itself. Despite how quickly it skins over it actually has a slower set time than PVA’s.
Once I figured out how to work with it I did have some interesting observations about the properties of the glue itself. Cleanup is quite a bit easier and less messy than wood glue. The squeeze out forms little pellets that are easy to scrape off without any residue. Once dry the glue is glasslike and has a tight bond (no pun intended). As mentioned already, the glue joint is much easier to repair. I was able to pry it apart without damaging the wood and simply apply some fresh glue and clamp. I look forward to learning a lot more about this time-tested material. ~ written by Dean Jones. In March 2010, Dean will mark five years with H&D. Among many jobs he fills here, one of them is book-matching and joining tops for every guitar.
This Custom Model OOO was built for Mule Extraordinare, Malcolm Jessup, at right. Mark Dalton, left, gives it a test play before delivery. It features a woodburning image of a mule head on the scalloped fretboard. It has an Englemann Spruce top, Indian Rosewood back and sides, Contact Jim Grainger at Custom Fretted Instruments & Repair fast forward to June 2011 ~ Malcolm Jessup invites Mark & Kimberly Dalton to accompany he and his wife, Laura to France. We accept!
driving down the lane to the Chateau. Mark drives mules, Kimberly shoots camera! |
