❌SOLD❌ Johnny Walker Grand Concert Cutaway Classical Guitar, 2010

Here is a rarity – a fine Johnny Walker Grand Concert cutaway classical guitar, built during 2010 at Walker’s shop in the heartlands of Bartlesville, Oklahoma.

Originally trained as a research chemist, Johnny Walker developed an interest in classical guitar and while taking lessons, decided to build a better guitar from a kit.  That worked out well and led to another, then another, and by 1966 Johnny Walker Guitars was born.  

This Johnny Walker Grand Concert cutaway classical guitar is in good condition, with only light wear. The top is Red Cedar, with Cocobolo for the sides, back, head plate, and back strap. The bridge is Rosewood and the fingerboard is Ebony, with an extension allowing a high C#.  Mahogany is used for the neck and blocks, and this guitar is built in the traditional Spanish style, with the sides coupled directly into the heel.   Have a look at the ‘heel view’ image to see the careful use of inlaid purfling following the line of the heel.   Tuners are Gotoh 500 models.

The finish on the Johnny Walker Grand Concert is French Polish, and is in good shape.

The original Armitage hard shell case is included.

Walker feels it takes 500 to 1,000 hours of playing time to break in a Red Cedar top.  Engelmann Spruce takes at least 1.000 hours, and European Spruce several thousand hours of play to reach its potential.    During the break in period, the guitar will develop a louder yet sweeter tone and be more responsive. 

It’s perhaps best to allow the builder to describe the Johnny Walker Grand Concert:

“This exquisite guitar is the culmination of all my years of experience and study in luthiering with its fine detail work, use of only the finest woods, with excellent tonal projection and harmonic rich full tone with lots of sustain and volume.

It features the finest select rosewoods I can find, usually cocobolo for the back, sides, and head plate. I have found that cocobolo is a terrific wood for guitars due to its hardness, acoustic response, beauty, availability and workability. I can provide you with samples of this wood for you to chose your back and sides from the many I keep on hand. Many other woods are available for backs and sides, such as blackwood or several other rosewoods.

I use fan bracing and reinforcement techniques that are best for high quality tone production and projection. I use mahogany for necks; this wood is very stable, nicely grained and has low acoustic dampening characteristics that make it ideal for guitar neck applications. The necks are reinforced with a carbon fiber-epoxy bar for stiffness and are shaped and dimensioned to meet the desires of the customer. The head plate is book matched cocobolo with supporting veneers to set it off.

The fretboard is finest ebony in your choice of scale length. The usual scale length is 650MM. The top is finest grade Euro. spruce, Engelmann spruce or western red cedar with a finely made mosaic inlaid rosette. The bridge is rosewood and the 12 hole tie block design that allows a greater string break angle over the saddle or you can tie off the strings using six holes if you prefer. The bridge tie block is fully bound in bone and veneers or bound in bone sometimes with a mosaic inlay to compliment the rosette. The guitar is fully intoned at the saddle and nut. The dark cocobolo binding is splice joined to eliminate butt joints that can open up with time and changes in humidity. The side and back purfling is mitered jointed and selected to compliment the back and sides and top. The top is hand graduated and specially braced and tuned for optimum quality tone production and volume.

The finish is a special grade of French polish that I formulated and make based on a historic formula and my chemistry background. This is the finest finish for guitars for both beauty and tonal quality. It takes several weeks to apply this finish. The standard tuners are Gotoh premium, but others are available as options, such as: Alessi.”