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 / Ordering your Dogwood Guitar

Ordering your Dogwood Guitar

Please Note: Due to my heavy repair and restoration schedule, I am no longer building custom acoustic guitars. This is an archive page.

Thank you for choosing to order one of my handmade acoustic guitars. From the day we begin to design your dream guitar until the moment you first see and hear it, you are in for a fun and special time. I will work carefully with you to make sure the process is easy and the end result spectacular!

The first step in choosing the elements of your instrument is often a visit to the Dogwood shop (although I certainly can work with you via Zoom, Facetime, or email.) In this meeting you can see and play a couple of my guitars. Top sets and back and side sets of various tonewoods are available for viewing, and we can discuss design elements and options. Tone is always of premier importance, so I will ask about your playing style and what you consider important when you listen to a guitar.

All my guitars include a set of standard quality features as part of the base price. These include a voiced and tuned Spruce top selected for your tonal preferences and playing style, wood bindings with decorative purflings, shell rosette, bone nut and saddle, hand leveled and polished frets, hand cut shell peghead logo, bound Ebony fretboard, and a five-piece laminated Mahogany and Maple neck. The current base price for all models is $7000.

As explained in the article, “Voicing and Tap Tuning”, the choice of wood for a guitar top has a profound effect on the tone of the instrument. All my top sets are individually subjected to dynamic and static testing to measure their material properties. This imperial method of building guarantees that your guitar will have concert quality tone with superior clarity, balance, and projection.

Various options are available should you desire a truly customized instrument. These include venetian cutaways, custom rosettes, custom fretboard inlays, exotic back and side sets, Waverly tuning machines, EVO gold fret wire, top, back, and side shell purflings, and other custom design elements. Contact me to discuss your ideas and costs.

A 25% non-refundable deposit is required to establish your place in the build schedule. I will give you an estimate of when work on your guitar will begin. The full balance is due at the time of delivery. The wait time depends on your place in line as well as my setup and repair schedule, and averages 6-12 months. Progress reports and photos of the work will help you through the wait! It will be worth it.

You will find that I am very easy to work with, and I will take all the time you need to answer your questions and help you with your decisions. I have a very good eye for design and may offer alternatives or modifications to some of your choices if I feel it is warranted. Designing your guitar and then watching it come to life is a thrill that goes beyond words! I am looking forward to working with you and enjoying the process right along with you.

Please read my FAQ page for the answers to the most common questions.

Thanks,

Greg Maxwell

“Greg’s guitars are products of an artist. I played my new Monarch guitar for a small of group friends during my interim stay in Richmond, Kentucky, before returning to Kailua, Hawaii, and the comments about the guitar were: “a beautiful work of art”; “the best sounding guitar I’ve ever heard”; “an amazing piece of artisanship.” For me, the lucky owner, the set-up of Greg’s guitars make them easy to play—even a 12-string! During my visit at Greg’s shop, he let me play his Kingston Jumbo model and its powerful projection filled the room with its beautiful tone. Complimenting his art of guitar building are Greg’s expertise of functional design and his sincere hospitality, making my visit to Greg’s shop both an informative, welcoming experience…” –Leonard Wilson

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • YouTube

Customer Testimonial:

"In thirty years of playing and actively gigging in and around Ohio, I’ve had my fair share of guitar maintenance issues. Greg is by far the most customer-service oriented luthier I’ve dealt with.  Not to mention the top notch quality of his work.  … [Read More...]

The Eminence

The Eminence is a Grand Auditorium sized guitar that I designed to provide a slight boost to the treble response, along with the clear and balanced tone that all Dogwood models are known for. A slightly smaller body depth and a more narrow waist … [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...]

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...]

Customer Testimonials: Voicing Class with Jacek Sliwa of Sliwa Guitars

Jacek Sliwa is considered by many to be one of the best guitar makers in Poland. His guitars exhibit a level of refined design and outstanding craftsmanship. And yet, he found that after years of building fine instruments, the goal of acheiving the … [Read More...]

Blog: 1932 Martin Repair

Its not often that a luthier has the opportunity to work on a pre-war Martin. This 1932 0-18 parlor guitar needs a crack repair and a neck reset. Great care must be taken when working on such an old and fragile guitar. Get out the hot hide glue. … [Read More...]

Visit us on YouTube…

Follow Dogwood Guitars

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • YouTube

Technical Articles

Why do old guitars sound better?

Why do some old guitars sound so good? Even inexpensive guitars can age into really good sounding instruments, and some old guitars attain legendary tone. Why is this? The answer can be found in one of three factors and the best … [Read More...]

More Technical Articles

Viewpoint Articles

The Three Elements of a Great Guitar

Guitar players and collectors have so many choices available to them. New, used, factory brands, custom hand built...how do you narrow down the choices to the best option for you? In my opinion, any guitar should be measured by three … [Read More...]

More Viewpoint Articles

Copyright © 2025 Dogwood Guitars