Model hG-1

Something "off the menu..."

With the resurgence of the Harp guitar I would get requests for this elusive instrument, and so I went looking to find out what it was all about. I didn’t have to go far with the extensive data-base web site like Gregg Miners harpguitars.net. I viewed some of his collection at the 2006 Guild of American Luthiers convention. The Early 19th Century romantic guitars like the Scherzers and the Lacote Decacordes. And like the 9F nylon string guitar I have looked to the 19th century for inspiration. Like the renaissance theorboed lutes before them these 19th century guitars looked to extend the reach of a single instrument. Of ten in unconventional ways, because there weren’t many conventions to be followed. Later, in the early 20th century came the rise of the Dyer and Knutsen harp guitars which have set the standard for many harp guitar designs and configurations with typically 5 sub-bass strings tuned to a specific key. I have made the HG1 with 7 sub-bass strings with sharping levers for a full octave of notes beneath the guitars lowE. The harp string tuners are Pegheds 16:1 planetary machine tuners.

-- Allan Beardsell

Beardsell guitars come in several body shapes and styles: large, medium, and small bodied steel-string acoustic, solid-body electric, semi-acoustic arch top electric, nylon string, manouche-style, and harp guitar (we even make a pretty sweet mandolin and a killer electric banjo).

Get an eyeful of the photos in the various galleries strewn throughout the site. See something you like that's almost-but-not-quite what you're looking for? Feel free to order "off the menu," as many already have. Truth be told, we've created many "hybrid" instruments over the years, with most features available on one model transferrable (within reason) to just about anything else (like an archtop-style custom brass tailpiece on a steel-string flattop, or a multi-scale classical guitar, or a cutaway banjolectric, or... well, you get the idea).

Venetian or Florentine cutaways, unconventional fingerboard extensions, wacky amplification solutions, sideports (with or without sliding covers), whimsical logo styles, personalized inlays, motorized, remote-controlled attachments of dubious form and function... it's all to play for. Whatever you have in mind, Al will be happy to discuss various options and possibilities with you.