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NBN Guitars of Longmont Colorado made fine acoustic guitars of their own design from 1967 until 1976. Musicians like Paul Simon, James Taylor, Steven Stills, Leo Kotke and Elvis Presley owned and played NBN guitars. Some NBN guitars are even pictured on album covers by these and other artists of the time. Many fine guitar makers were inspired to begin a career in Lutherie from contact with NBN and the guitars they produced. I am proud to include myself in this list.
Unfortunately, NBN guitars are virtually unknown in today's market. The small number (~350) of guitars produced make them rare finds indeed. If you can find one for sale at any price you should consider yourself lucky. The NBN retrospective series is my attempt to honor and bring attention to the guitars and the makers who deserve more recognition and respect. See below for photos and further information about NBN Guitars.
NEW !!! July 2011
I'm in the process of building an NBN inspired steel string acoustic, #219. The photos below show current progress. This guitar will be available for purchase after the Colorado Guitar Festival on July 23, 2011. I should be displaying it and a few classical guitars at that event.
As I mentioned above, this guitar is INSPIRED by NBN, not a direct copy of one. The materials for this guitar are:
The body is the NBN Concert / Classical shape, taken directly from Reb Bennet's #0004 Classical (Thanks Reb !). The bracing is largely from the post NBN work of Monte Novotny and also some of the last NBNs. The Chladni pattern shown is the result of placing the bottom brace (the one creating the triangle), which was done during tuning of the soundboard. This is a very responsive soundboard.
Jatoba is a very hard, stiff and heavy wood from Brazil. It is often sold for high end floors. It has amazing resilience and is one of the hardest to bend woods I've experienced. I have the greatest respect for this wood and so far believe it is a worthy replacement for Brazilian Rosewood. If the sound of this guitar is any indication, Jatoba is a great replacement.
The aesthetic of this guitar is a nod to NBN but largely my own. It is primarily based on the woods used and not shell inlay or other decoration. In fact, no animal products are used in this instrument. Regulatory actions in the USA and internationally over the last 30 years have made using and selling some materials (Brazilian Rosewood, Honduran Mahogany, Shell and Ivory) in guitars very difficult. These were all used on NBN guitars. Building guitars that can be sold and shipped across state or national borders requires a different approach 40 years later. Information about this subject should soon be available on the Guild of American Luthiers web site.
This (#216) is the first guitar I built based on the NBN concert body style, which is rounder in the lower bout than a standard classical guitar. The top is Western Red Cedar with my ring/pin bridge design. The fretboard is arched Macassar Ebony, and the back and sides are American Cherry. The neck is thin, quarter sawn American Red Alder and features a single bird's eye marking the 5th fret position. The peghead design is a bit of a flight of fancy in colored veneer. The soundboard is braced to accommodate the smaller footprint of the bridge shape, resulting in a pure deep bass. The treble isn't lost however and this ends up being a nicely balanced sound with strong response above the 12th fret. Email me if you would like to see/try/buy this guitar. Currently on display at Larry's guitars in Longmont, CO.
Of roughly 350+/- instruments made at NBN only six or so were Classical. The highest number I have personally seen is #0004. I have pictures of #0003. Both of these guitars have 3 piece Brazilian Rosewood backs as do several larger size NBN acoustics.
Detail pictures of NBN classical #0003. Click on the thumbnails to see the full size picture.
Promotional photos of NBN classical #004. Click on the thumbnails to see the full size picture.
Please see nbnguitars.com for a history and photos of other NBN guitars. I visited the NBN workshop several time between 1973 and 1976. On all those visits Reb Bennet and Monte Novotny were always friendly and gracious. I marvelled at the workmanship and creativity they exhibited. These visits inspired me to build guitars, which I have done for 34 years so far. I have traveled many paths on the road of Lutherie, but I had never looked at building an instrument in the style or spirit of NBN until now.
In 2008 I started a journey back to my guitar making roots and purchased an early NBN acoustic guitar from it's original owner. Since then I've been on a search for an NBN Classical, an elusive quarry as there were less than a dozen made. I have been lucky enough to locate one and obtain pictures from it's owner. The holy grail of this quest is classical #0004 pictured in many articles and which I saw in person at NBN in the mid 1970s. If anyone knows of it's location, please let me know.
Here are some pictures from early nbn catalogs, clicking on the image will display the full resolution image. These are large and distinct enough you should be able to read the text. It's interesting to note the price differences between the newer catalog and the older trifold catalog.
Many thanks to Gene Milligan for this material.
NBN R-1, R-2 and Limited Edition, body and neck carving
Above photos courtesy of nbnguitars.com
For more information on NBN guitars, check out nbnguitars.com