Dogwood Guitars

  • Home
  • About
  • Guitars
    • Dogwood Models
    • Guitar Galleries
    • Ordering your Dogwood Guitar
    • FAQ’s
  • Services
  • Lutherie Classes
  • Pictorials
    • Repairs
    • How to Correctly String a Guitar
    • Building A Monarch
    • Making a Spalted Maple Rosette
    • Pearl and Abalone Inlay
  • Articles
    • Technical
    • Viewpoint
  • Testimonials
  • YouTube
  • Contact
You are here: Home / Dogwood Acoustic Guitars / Mastery of Craft

Mastery of Craft

As a high end artisan woodworker of over 30 years, Greg’s passion for excellence is a hallmark of his instruments. Every Dogwood guitar reflects this dedication to fine craftsmanship. All the skills required to make exceptional high end guitars- perfect joinery, harmonious design elements, flawless high gloss finishes- have been acquired the slow, hard way… through years of painstaking attention to detail, of being one’s own worst critic, and the cultivation of persistence and perseverance.

Peghead side smallThere are many design trends among modern hand builders of guitars. Some are tasteful and exquisite, some are ultra modern, and a few are rather garish. Greg is a traditionalist and his designs reflect his love of vintage instruments. The unique Dogwood peghead, for example, with it’s hand cut shell inlay, evokes memories of a bygone era when craftsmen considered details like a distinctive peghead to be part of their signature. Greg designed his peghead with this tradition in mind, rather than following the modern trend toward simple, reduced (and easy to make) designs. Putting in the time and effort to shape the Dogwood peghead is just one of many labors of love that go into each of Greg’s guitars.

As committed as he is to traditional construction methods and design elements, Greg is also quick to embrace new technology that has led to a better understanding of guitar tone. Anyone with the right tools and skills can make pretty guitars; consistently building great sounding guitars is a more elusive accomplishment. Greg uses a cutting edge, computer-assisted process to test and select the top for each guitar. These select tops are then voiced and tuned for exceptional clarity and balance.

In these days of mass produced goods, discerning craftsmen such as Greg are becoming rare. When you own a Dogwood guitar, you own something made by humans hands, not robots. Something fine that can be passed down to the next generation, after giving you a lifetime of pleasure.

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • YouTube

Guitar Galleries

The guitars featured in these photo galleries are just a few examples of Greg's work. As a long-time high end furniture maker, Greg has a real passion for tools and figured wood. His guitars reflect these twin loves with their beautiful wood choices, … [Read More...]

1975 Gibson Hummingbird Restoration

While meeting with a customer and his daughter about designing a guitar for her, he showed me his Gibson Hummingbird that his daughter had been playing. Using the serial number and other identifying characteristics, I was able to date the guitar … [Read More...]

Building a Monarch: Final Assembly

It is now time to assemble the guitar, dress the frets, install the bridge and pins, fit and install the tuners, make the nut and saddle, and set the final action. A pickguard is usually installed and the completed instrument is polishes and strung … [Read More...]

Lutherie Classes: Acoustic Guitar Building Class

Guitar Building Class Please Note: Due to my heavy repair and restoration schedule, I am no longer able to offer the build class. This is an archive page. Have you ever wanted to build your own high quality acoustic guitar, but were intimidated … [Read More...]

Repair and Restoration

Greg's deep knowledge of guitar design and construction means your acoustic or electric guitar will play better after he has worked on it. As a graduate of the esteemed Galloup School of Lutherie, Greg studied under master repairman Bryan Galloup. … [Read More...]

About Greg Maxwell

I've lived in central Ohio my entire life, and I've built things for as long as I can remember. I cut my teeth as a woodworker doing fancy interior wood trim for a custom home builder in the early 80's after deciding that performing music for a … [Read More...]

Visit us on YouTube…

Follow Dogwood Guitars

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • YouTube

Technical Articles

The Science and Theory of Tonewoods

Search out any discussion about tone and tonewoods on the internet and you will quickly find a wide variation of opinions among players and builders alike. However, the majority will almost always list "tonewoods" and/or specific species of Spruce … [Read More...]

More Technical Articles

Viewpoint Articles

Exploring Common Guitar Myths

I am going to divide this article into two sections: Myths and misunderstandings about playability and care; and myths about tone. We will take these two topics in order. Playability and Care So, your guitar is a little hard to play, the … [Read More...]

More Viewpoint Articles

Copyright © 2025 Dogwood Guitars