DE
The American luthier John Greven began his career in the 1960s in the workshop of the still world-famous American dealer Gruhn Guitars. His work there on extremely rare and high-quality vintage acoustic guitars from Martin and Co. later had a major influence on the sound and construction of his own guitars. In addition to his own instruments, his “Greven Conversion Martins” are still highly sought after and rare today.
The one-man operation moved the location of its workshop over the years from Portland Oregon to Indiana and Washington.
John Greven’s guitars are fantastic-sounding instruments and rare one-offs that are rarely offered on the market today. Probably the most famous guitar from his workshop is the so-called “White Lady”, which he built for the musician John Denver.
The Greven offered here is a fantastic OM with a sitka spruce top and maple back and sides, which John Greven said he built in Brown County, Indiana, in 1980/81. The serial number of the guitar is C0343. John Greven was contacted personally as part of research conducted several years ago and was able to provide the following information about the instrument:
- 1980/81 built in Indiana USA
- The wood used to build the guitar was purchased in Pennsylvania
- The guitar is based on a Martin F archtop conversion made by John Lundburg in California in 1972. Greven worked on this guitar during his time at Gruhn Guitars and was inspired to create his OM.
- According to John, he only built a few of this “Poseidon” OM model. As far as we know, this guitar is the only one available worldwide.
The guitar was professionally restored in our master workshop and is now in perfect technical condition with an excellent sound and great playability. The following work was carried out:
- Professional neck set
- New frets with dimensions of the old original frets
- Bridge inlay and saddle newly made from bone
- Existing crack in the bridge professionally repaired
- Bridgeplate doubled up
- Built-in piezo pickup has been removed
- Binding at the end of the fingerboard partially replaced
- A visually still visible frame crack was relined and secured
The condition is also very nice visually, with a great authentic patina. The original case is also very charming. The weight of the guitar is very comfortable.
John Greven guitars are rare, and even rarer in Europe and Germany. Therefore, this is a great opportunity to own a piece of American craftsmanship, luthiery history and an excellent instrument at the same time.
Now available from us!