Gagnon Guitars Composer

The guitar is a true blonde with no tint whatsoever to the finish. The top is Solid Spruce and the neck is a three piece maple. The back is solid bookmatched flamed maple. The binding is koa with BWBW binding on top and back of the body and along the fretboard.
The fretboard is ebony with no inlays. The pickguard is bound burlwood, oiled with no other finish. The tail piece is ebony with a burlwood top. The tuning pegs are Schaller with ebony buttons. The headstock is ebony backed and the front is gloss burlwood with a band of flamed maple from top to bottom. The Gagnon name is inlaid in Abalone on the headstock.

The single floating pickup is a handwound Kent Armstrong with individually adjustable hex poles. There is a single volume pot mounted on the top of the pickguard for easy access and a single tone wheel mounted beneath the pickguard.

This is a simple, although far from spartan instrument. Just pure elegance. It has just the right features for its purpose. Like I said - no one guitar can do it all. This one does what it was intended for perfectly.

I was raised on blues and rock, but recently I have tried to develop some jazz chops. THis is not my first 17" archtop, but it is hands down my finest, if not the finest I have played. The guitar is simply perfect for jazz and blues.
I currently use a Mesa Boogie Nomad 45, a SpaceTone, a Speedster 25, an Atomic stereo and a Gibson 5 watt. This guitar has a crisp articulate sound plugged and unplugged. It has a single floating handwound Kent Armstrong pickup. It has a volume control on top of the pickguard and a tone control on a wheel mounted to the underside of the pickguard.
I simply love the sound.

Bill Gagnon makes each guitar that comes out of his shop. He encourages feedback from customers about everything from woods to trim to control placement, etc. Bill and I talked about my guitar extensively and he delivered completely. Bill is more than a luthier - he is a player and an artist.

When I opened the case for the first time the guitar was even more beautiful than I had hoped. IT IS EXQUISITE.

In shipping the pickup was bent toward the guitar body but a quick call to Bill and he talked me through an adjustment over the phone.

This guitar is extremely well made. Hand made. You choose the word - exquisite, beautiful, heavenly.

The fit and finish are flawless and the material is all first rate. I would not hesitate to rely upon this as my only guitar. This is the kind of instrument that only improves with age. The finish is nitrocellulose and it is a gem.

This is an instrument you pass on to your kids.

Bill is great to work with. He is always only a phone call or email away.
This is a handmade instrument - not a factory job. Every guitar has its nuances and personality. Bill is friendly and cares so much about his guitars that he almost seems to get choked up to let one ship out - like its one of his kids.

How's this for working closely with a customer- Bill signed his name inside the guitar and wrote my name as well. That is what I call a custom made instrument.

I have been playing for 35 years. I currently own 25 other guitars. I have owned as many as 50 at any one time. There is no one guitar for every purpose. Thats why they make Strats and Les Pauls.
I own a Jimmy Page Les Paul, a Fender Custom shop 54 strat, a PRS McCarty soapbar, a PRS 20th Anniversary, 335, 336, Heritage 535, 575, D'Aquisto Solo reissue, Johnny A, Taylor 955 12 string, Taylor Doyle Dykes, 30th Anniversary Koa, a Collings Cowboy, Martin Eric Clapton, a Parker Fly, a George Harrison Rosewood Telecaster, Lace Cybercaster, Andreas Shark guitar, Hofner Beatles bass and a Fender Jazz bass among others.
This guitar is a gem. It is a keeper - not for sale.

I own many guitars - some are inexpensive, others are several thousand dollars. This guitar was $5,000 which is not inexpensive by any means. But it was worth every penny. It is as nice as any guitar costing several times that.

The top wood is Beautiful white spruce (perhaps Englemann) The back and sides are highly flamed Maple. The binding on top, back headstock and neck are Koa with BWB edging as well. The body and neck are finished in nitrocellulose with no tint. The wood almost has a whitish hue to it which should yellow naturally and beautifully.

The sound holes are highly stylized "bird wings" which are a great take off the traditional F hole, perhaps as an homage to the D'Aquisto Solo design. The Tuners are Gold Sschallers with Ebony Buttons. The neck is 3 piece Maple (added stability over single piece) and the Fretbaord is Ebony with no inlays (very simple and classy). The Pickguard is Bound Burlwood (satin) and the Tailpiece is Ebony topped with Burl wood (also satin). There is a single handwound Kent Armstrong floating pickup with individually adjustable hex poles. There is a single Volume control atop the pickguard and beneath the pickgard is a tone control on a wheel (this was after a discussion with Bill where he recommended this setup and I completely agreed).

The headstock is topped with bound Burlwood with a single 1/2 inch banner of Flamed maple down the conter. The Gagnon name is inlaid in Abalone. The back of the headstock has a facing of Ebony. Bill was kind enough to even put my name inside the guitar (how cool is that!)

Needless to say, the woods are solid - no laminated here. This guitar is a no compromises instrument. It is exactly what I wanted - a custom ordered, custom made instrument. Bill is even sending me a CD of the photos tracking the guitar from raw materials to finished instrument.

As I said above - this is not a "jack of all trades" guitar. It has a specific purpose and it is perfect for that purpose. It has just the features I wanted and needed. Nothing more. Nothing less.

This is a true classic 17" archtop guitar, great for jazz, bop, blues. It is an electric guitar but sounds simply beautiful acoustically as well. I am primarliy a rock and blues player but I have recently branched out to try to include jazz into my repertoire. The sounds I get from this guitar are crisp, articulate, and full bodied. I currently use an Ashdown Radiator 2 amp, a Mesa Boogie Nomad 45, an Atomic and a Space Tone amp. This guitar sounds beautiful through any amp, but I expect to play it unplugges as often as I play it amplified.

Bill Gagnon hand makes each guitar himself - by hand. The attention to detail is impeccable. The action and setup were perfect straight from the case. The neck is comfortable - feels like a classic mild "C" similar to 59 Gibsons, but not chunky in the least. This is a single cutaway and offers easy access to the upper frets. The intonation and clarity are perfect all the way up the fretboard.

The top is solid spruce and the back is flamed maple. This is an exquisite instrument. There is no tint in the finish and it is blonde, blonde, blonde. The binding is Koa which really accents the light tone woods perfectly. The headstock is burl and maple, the pickguard and tailpeice are ebony topped with burl wood and the Fretboard and bridge are solid ebony.

In shipping the pickup went slightly out of alignment (no uncommon despite the excellent packing) A call to Bill went answered immediately and he quickly instructed me about how to solve that problem. Bill even followed up with another call to make sure everything was okay. Bill not only stands behind his work - he seems to define himself through his work. Bill is understandably extremely proud of his instruments and he wants everything to be just right.

This is a lifetime, investment grade instrument which I will be passing on to my children. The build quality, the materials, hardware, etc are all top drawer. It is the finest guitar I own.
It is a usable piece of art. Will I baby it? Sure. But it is hanging in my living room and I expect to use it often. I would not hesitate to count on it as a sole instrument. It may get a ding or nick over time, but at least it will be used and enjoyed as Bill intended. It will do nobody any good sitting in a case in the back of a closet.

Not only does Bill encourage customer input at the building stage, he is always accessible to discuss questions regarding the instrument. Bill is extremely friendly and it is easy to tell he loves what he does. When I told him how much I loved my guitar he sounded genuinely touched. He said he was sad to let this one go. I understood completely.

I have been playing for 35 years. I currently own approximatley 25 guitars, down from a high of 50. I have many high line instruments, from Martin, Collings, Taylor, Gibson, Fender. Hofner, D'Aquisto, etc. There is no single instrument which can do everything. For its purpose, this Gagnon Composer is unbeatable. I love having a guitar made expecially for me, with my input on woods, colos, control layout. I will never sell it. Was it expensive? Yes. Was it worth it? Absolutley. I think this instrument compares to any handmade instrument - regardless of price.

I purchased a Gagnon Archtop Guitar in the last half of 2002. The guitar has a handmade Solid Spruce graduated tapped and tuned top that is also bookmatched. The sides are Maple as is the back of the guitar. Again in the back the guitar is bookmatched. The wood on the body is beautiful and appears as beautiful as it sounds. The neck is a three piece enlayed maple that is rich and matches the maple of the body. The headstock is also enlayed with wood in three seperate and complimenting pieces. The neck is 22 frets in rosewood with a custom enlay of a G cleff, and several musical notes. The pickup is a floating pickup attached to a beautiful all wood curly maple pickgard. The bridge and tailpiece are solid ebony and compliment the guitar. The tailpiece is enlayed with Bill Gagnon's trademark G. The tuners appear to be Spretzel's which are in gold. The pickup in my case comes with an optional bass and treble nob. The case for the instrument is a plush TKL that is made for the 17" body.

This guitar was purchased for Jazz and blues playing and does both excellently. The guitar has a classic Jazz sound, rich and woody. It is fast in attack yet mellow when played so. This instrument is and will be as good as the person playing it. I see no limitations in the things I ask of it in a playing situation. I love the guitar's overall playability and I offer only one suggestion, that is to have the Ebony volume and treble nobs a little lower to prevent impedement of the right hand.

The guitar was set up just as I asked the builder to do. The pickup "floated" on the pickgard, the wood book matched and every aspect of the guitar's appearence top notch and first quality belying the guitars moderate asking price of $4500. Rember this is for a custom handmade instrument. It's a bargain. Thae model I purchased is the Composer. Instead of the standard F holes most Jazz guitars have, this model has "Birdswings" check out Bill's website. This is a special guitar and gets raves by all those who see her and hear her. Again when you purchase a guitar from Mr. Gagnon you speak to the creator of your guitar not a salesman. This one on one attention to detail includes both the guitar and you as a client.

I have the guitar les than six months. Everything is first rate. Just as you know the difference between a VW and a Porshe, you'll know the quality I write about as soon as you see a Gagnon guitar.

The warranty is a limited lifetime one. It is a warranty for the parts of the guitar and the quality of worksmanship. Since you deal directly with the builder you cannot get better customer support. Mr. Gagnon's name and reputation come with every guitar he creates. As a bonus feature he will send photos of him creating the very guitar he is sending you...Nice Touch!

I give the guitar an overall ten. You can see for yourself that there is no guitar that is custom make to compare withit in it's price range. You can buy a mass produced guitar from some giant company and get lost in their vast size. Or buy fro a great luthiere who knows who you are and won't forget you a few years down the line.

Hello. My name is John. I own and play a Gagnon Composer guitar. It is the creation of one of the finest luthiers in the country. Produced (by hand) last year in the Northwest of Oregon, it has a Solid Spruce top with Maple sides and back. The wood is both beautiful and matched. It is tapped and tuned and delivers a perfect Jazz tone when plugged in as well as a woody sweet tone unplugged.Electronically it has a true floating pickup attached to an incredible curly maple pickgard. On my guitar I chose to have a bass and treble control added. The woods used throuout are first rate. The bridge and string "foot" are ebony. The neck is three piece maple with inlay on the back of the neck and Headstock. IThe tuners are Spretzel locking tuners in gold. The 22 fret neck is low, fast and responsive. The olny limitations the guitar has is what you yourself bring to it. The case is a plush TKL for the 17" body. Bill gives you the most "bang for the buck" of any luthier out there and he always has time for questions.

The sound on the guitar is rich and mellow. Yet it can be bright as well. In the case of the Composer model it is more than I thought could be delivered for the reasonable price asked.

The guitar come set up as you ask the creator to set it. That is one of the great reasons for dealing with Bill. He asks you playing style, string gage preference etc. The guitar is perfectly book matched top, sides and rear. The craftsmanship first rate.

I've had the guitar less than a year. But I can safely say that everything is made as if Bill Gagnon were keeping the guitar for himself. In a world of cutting corners to meet deadlines rest assured when dealing with Mr. Gagnon the bottom line is quality and your satisfaction.

Customer support is hands on. When you have a question just email and within hours you have a response not a run around. Remember you will be talking to the guy who created your guitar not a middleman or a salesman.

I have been playing 25 years. I own a Breedlove Master Class Pacific Northwest, a Gibson Les Paul Custom and the apple of my eye the Gagnon Composer. If ever lost or stolen, I would be right back at Bill's door for another. Without sounding like an ad I love the guitar and would buy another. I was at the Long Island Guitar show last year and saw and tried many instruments. Bill's quality, fairness and incredible skill sold me on the guitar.