"For the past 32 years I have been creating custom instruments for a select group of musicians from all over the world. They have come to appreciate the superior sound quality and ease of playing a Greven. Whether played live, amplified or in the studio, these instruments have a clarity, a purity and a power unlike anything else being built today.".......John Greven

Some Background:

Johnšs high school years were spent in Moorestown, New Jersey, where inspired by a left-handed custom Brazilian rosewood Gibson Mastertone, he made his first five-string banjo. Greven set up his own shop in Ithaca, New York, in 1967, where he built his first steel-string guitar.

In 1969 he moved to Chattanooga, Tennessee, to work with John Davis and started building a line of acoustic steel-string guitars from their shared shop space. There George Gruhn discovered Grevenšs pearl work, engraving, and carving talents and hired him to take over the repair shop at GTR (now Gruhn Guitars) in Nashville. He worked for Gruhn until 1975, when the Greven Guitar Company was officially born.

In 1977, Greven moved from Nashville, Tennessee, to Nashville, Indiana. Between 1977 and 1990, Greven turned out over 500 guitars. Eric Clapton, Jimmy Buffett, George Harrison, Buffy St.Marie, John Denver, Stefan Grossman, Stephen Stills, Steve Martin, the Dirt Band, Johnny Cash, and Mary Chapin Carpenter own at least one Greven original.

Greven now lives and works in Portland, Oregon where hešs made over 1100 guitars.


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Quotes:

Mary Chapin Carpenter: says......
"I have a lot of people comment to me about how pure my number one Greven sounds. It sounds so woody and clean. And the interesting thing is that I have the same pickup set-up in all of the other guitars, but my number one Greven sounds the best of them all."

Stefan Grossman says......

"The Greven White Lady comes in a 12 or 14 fret model. These are similar to a 000 or OM sized Martin though a little different in dimensions. They are both well balanced guitars. The 12 fret is far superior but has the limitations of being 12 frets to the body. The 14 fret is a well balanced all around guitar very suitable for fingerstyle techniques. As to the "scientific" whys I'll just have to leave that question alone as that gets too involved to answer in a few sentences." (The Woodshed)

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View our current Greven Guitar Inventory HERE!




IN STOCK


View our current Greven Guitar Inventory HERE!



Previously Sold

• Greven 000hb: New, wonderful 000 HerringBone model. Madagascar Rosewood back & sides with a Lutz spruce top. Drop-dead gorgeous medium sunburst. Ebony fretboard that measures 1 3/4" at the nut. Slotted diamond fingerboard inlays. Pyramid bridge with 2 3/8" string spacing at the vintage style saddle. 24.875" scale length. Grained Ivoroid tinted binding. Herringbone top trim. Tortis pickguard. Script, MOP Greven headstock logo. Grover, chrome vintage tuning machines. Satin-finshed neck for speed! 2-way adjustable truss-rod. Signature, dry, Greven vintage tone. OHSC included in our price. SOLD. Front... Closer... Back... Headstock... Fretboard... Rosette... Down Front... Down Back... Side.
  
  Click to Hear this guitar being played.

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• Greven L-00v: These are Wonderful little guys from John. Mahogany back and sides with an Adirondack braced, Sitka spruce top. Gibson 30's style sunburst. Authentic looking, yellowed grained ivoroid binding and rosette. Grover vintage nickel tuning machines. Script MOP headstock logo. 1 13/16" nut width; 2 3/8" string spacing at the saddle. Tortis pickguard. OHSC included in our price of SOLD. We'll throw in the magical tone for FREE!

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• Greven FX (before he called them FX): Very Good ++ condition ~ Vintage FX size Greven from the days in Nashville, Indiana! That dates this guitar at 1975-1977. Old growth Brazilian Rosewood back and sides with a nicely aged, golden Spruce top. Abalone top trim and headstock purfling. Abalone rosette & back center strip. Torch headstock inlay. Older, Gold replacement tuning machines. Ebony fretboard that measures 1 10/16" at the nut. Ebony bridge with 2 1/8" string spacing at the saddle. Snowflake fingerboard inlays with some wear. Grained ivoroid body & fingerboard binding. Strap pin in neck. Tortoiseshell colored pickguard. There are numerous dings on the top, and some old, pro-repaired back cracks that you would expect on a Brazilian Rosewood guitar of this vintage. Incredible, incredible, did we say incredible TONE! Something fun and quirky to note: taking into consideration that this is one of John's earlier guitars, get this. . . At the 10th fret, you can see where he mistakenly put an inlay, and then removed it, and filled in with ebony. Likewise, he also put a side position marker in the binding on the bass side of the fretboard, realized his mistake, and removed and filled that spot as well. Neat history! Beat, old Harptone case included in our price of SOLD. Front... Closer... Back... Headstock... Another... Fretboard... Rosette... Down Front... Down Back... Back detail... Side... One More!.

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• Greven Prairie State: USED ~ 2003 ~ Exc. condition. Wonderful Greven modeled after the original Larson Brothers' Prairie States of the 1930's. Boldly figured Macassar Ebony back and sides with a fine Italian spruce top (there's a handsome vintage toner on the top).... Curly koa body and neck binding. "Feels Good" gunstock finish on the neck. Tortis Pickguard. Open back Chrome Waverly tuners with Ebony buttons. Spalted Maple rosette. Herringbone top trim. MOP fingerboard inlays. Fancy abalone headstock inlays. 17" lower bout; 12 1/2" upper bout. Body depth of 4" gives a balanced, but plenty of bass response sound. This guitar is somewhere between a standard 6 string and a Baritone ~ the scale measures 26 1/4", but it's easy to play! The action is as low as it goes, and it plays like butter. The sound is HUGE and VERY BALANCED. Excels at strumming. OHSC included in our price of SOLD.

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  View our current Greven Guitar Inventory HERE!
  
  
• Greven Nick Lucas: Recent ~ Near mint condition. Madagascar Rosewood back and sides. Fine Sitka spruce top with a vintage toner. Koa body and fretboard binding. Nick Lucas style MOP fingerboard inlays. Cool "The Greven" script headstock logo. Gotoh 510 super tuners in gold, with more traditional ebony tuner buttons. Ebony fretboard and bridge. 13 frets to the body. 1 3/4" nut width with 2 1/4" string spacing at the saddle. Firestripe "tortis" pickguard. Swiss made Blue Stick active pickup that sounds absolutely dead on! Elite series TKL case included. Sold... Front... Closer... Back... Headstock... Fingerboard... Rosette... Down Front... Down Back... Side.

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• Greven Custom OM: It's here ! Our long awaited Brazilian OM from John. Old growth Brazilian Rosewood back and sides with a 70 year old Sitka Spruce top. Gorgeous Shaded top. Abalone rosette and top trim. "42" style fingerboard inlays. Torch headstock inlay. 1 3/4" nut with 2 1/4" string spacing at the saddle. Tortis pickguard. Grained Ivoroid body & fingerboard binding. Gold Gotoh tuners. Woody, dry vintage sound. AVS case included in our price of SOLD.

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• Greven J Herringbone Deluxe: I always feel like I'm stepping back in time when I get a new Greven in. They instantly sound like a 70 year old vintage guitar, and look ~ oh, so cool! This one is no exception. Crafted from extremely rare Cuban Mahogany (Castro likes to hang onto his wood!) and a magnificient Bearclaw Spruce top. John's Tortis faux Ivory binding on the body and neck. 1 3/4" nut. Tortoiseshell colored Tortis pickguard. Herringbone top purfling. The inlay we've been waiting on.... a MOP Owl on the headstock. And John couldn't just leave it at that! No way! See if you can spot what the owl has his eye on! Brazilian headstock overlay with Gold Gotoh tuners. The sound is so GREVEN! Clear, clean, vintage sounding. Totally, totally balanced. More mother of pearl birds swoop down the ebony fingerboard. Ebony bridge. Hard shell case included in our price of Sold. Headstock.

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  View our current Greven Guitar Inventory HERE!
  

  

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