From the very beginning of my building career in the late 1960's, it was the vintage Martin and Gibson guitar sounds that haunted me, leaving a permanent sonic imprint on my brain. To this day, I can clearly hear that 1939 D-45, that 1935 000-28, and a handful of other extraordinary instruments that are the benchmarks of tonal excellence to me. In my experience, those instruments were so amazing in their power, clarity and tonal presence that there are few, if any, modern equals to them, despite the plethora of builders at work today. That sound, once experienced first-hand, is never forgotten. Those truly special guitars of old are a force of nature, standing (singing) head and shoulders above the crowd of even their own vintage peers.

It is to this high tonal mark that I have always strived to build. Sound is everything. These are musical instruments, after all. While I have reached this goal only every so often—when each facet of a build worked perfectly and the stars aligned momentarily—tonal ghosts of the great guitars past have emerged from the soundhole of my guitars, lending hope that it just might be possible to achieve true vintage sound with a brand new instrument.

To that end, I am making profound changes in my approach to building.

Beginning immediately, and to be presented for the first time in January 2006, at the Winter NAMM Show, my work will even more intensively replicate the best ideas from the past. Pushing the envelope of the very structure of the box with thinner back and sides, lighter bracing and the use of top-notch modern materials, my guitars will have as much of the best of the old sound of vintage instruments as is humanly possible to achieve. My 40-plus years of experience will be brought to bear on each and every guitar I build in the pursuit of this ideal.

Simple decoration, lovely woods, vintage-style constructions and modern neck profiles for easy playing will all be standard features of the next generation of Greven guitars. I will offer fewer options while standardizing body shapes and tonewoods available. The emphasis of my work will move away from eye candy and highly-customized details toward a simple, elegant, totally functioning creation. My goal is three-fold: 1) to simplify the customer's ordering process; 2) to simplify my life as the builder; and, 3) to simply recreate in my next-generation instruments the essence of the vintage voice that haunts me.

Simple is definitely better. The reward at the end of the build is a guitar that sounds and plays like no others—an instrument worthy of keeping for a lifetime, then handing down to the next generation of players.

The next generation is my focus. I look forward to the challenge.