"Man, you are the man, man! I can't thank you enough for these guitars. They are literally inspiring me to compose and play more. I don't know what else I can say. PROFOUND"
~ Andy McKee
"Michael made me a really beautiful guitar.This is my first acoustic 8 string and I'm having a blast with it! Thanks Michael!"
~ Charlie Hunter
"Michael Greenfield's guitars honour the traditions of North American guitarbuilding in many ways. But I am most impressed at his ability to manufacture guitars true to the best of what vintage instruments have to offer while also displaying the finesse of modern aesthetic and craftsmanship. Not only that, they sound REALLY good!"
~ Don Ross
"I think I'm in love.Again.
Got the G4 this aft. Can't put it down. Locked in my office playing.
Think I will need to skip supper. Smells good though. God it's a tough choice.
This is one beautiful guitar Michael. How proud am I to have this work of art. I can't tell you how thankful I am. I think this is the start of a beautiful friendship."
~ Brooke Miller
"Michael's guitars are very special. Beautiful to look at, with a responsive touch and rich tonal palette that rivals, if not surpasses, the finest American instruments being built today. Among the best guitars I have ever played."
~ Kenny Smilovitch, Montreal, Quebec
"I have to mention that I remain intoxicated over the instrument you placed in my hands a few months back... "
~ Pat Martino
"Hi Michael,
Thanks for dropping by the house on your way home ... spending the time with your G4 and G2 was quite a revelation ... both were brilliant instruments and my immediate penchant for the G4, given my playing approach, was not surprising. What was surprising was the instrument itself in so many respects ...
... Every note of every chord rang succinct and clear; both open strings and fretted notes alike planted their proprietary flags with gusto... without a hint of bleed. The sustain was delicious... I likened it to a piano... Miking the instrument should be a pleasure as well... both in the studio and the concert hall."
~ Del Vezeau, Odessa, Ontario
“…You are undoubtedly at the very top of your profession. As you know, I've seen and played them all - and own many of them -and your work consistently stands out at the very top. Thank you so much for this wonderful guitar!!!”
~ JB Davies, Michigan Fingerstyle Guitar society
"Thank you for a superlative guitar which apart from sounding and playing like a dream, elicits gasps of admiration from anyone not already acquainted with its strikingly exotic selection of tone-woods, elegant design, excellent craftsmanship and, oh, that sound! Bell-like highs and grand piano lows, yet sweet and even overall, the instrument you built for me is at once inspiring and infatuating."
~ Mike Berson, Calgary, Alberta
I am delighted with the instrument you made for me. Your choice of wood and craftsmanship is superb. This instrument sounds better than anything that I have had to date and plays fabulously. I've had nothing but exemplary compliments gig after gig. Let's get together to discuss the design of another one.
~ Kraig Phillips
"Michael Greenfield guitars are striking. I love his choices of excellent tone woods with attention to the beauty of grain. The obsession with the smallest detail is refreshing in today's market of off the shelf mass produced soulless boxes. Even as new instruments they are as resonant and comfortable as the old guitar friends I've lived with for years. Craftsmanship has been obscured in today's guitar market by price points and fashion sense. Mr. Greenfield's instruments are works of great care and vision. The intention is clearly to make an instrument that will last, be loved and respected by generations."
~ Phil Maneri, Fifth Avenue Fret Shop, Columbus, OH
"Greenfield guitars may be the finest guitars built today in its design, structure and sound quality. A Greenfield guitar isn't just an instrument, its a piece of art."
~ Eli Shapiro, Far Rockaway, New York
"Finally, the quest for the Holy Grail of tone is over! Ultra-responsive to the touch and to the mind, Michael Greenfield's guitars are absolutely fantastic. And not only do they play and sound great, but they also look fantastic; Michael's inlaying work is absolutely stunning and the wood he uses is simply beautiful. Any guitarist lucky enough to see or try one will tell you: his guitars are a work of art!"
~ Pierre Bouthillier , Montreal, Quebec
"Michael: Thanks for getting in touch. It was great to meet you also. Your guitars are amazing to me. I don't think I've ever played anything better than that green archtop. The responsiveness of the sound coupled with the quality of the finish and the quilted maple really makes that a special piece of work.
I posted a couple of remarks on my newsgroup:
.... It was also my pleasure to meet Michael Greenfield and to play two of his fine instruments. He emphasizes the collaboration with the customer in the design of the instrument. His guitars are incredible. I would encourage anyone considering a custom guitar to call him. I played a full sized archtop of his that was to die for. It had a very exotic quilted maple back and a green finish that was like nothing I had ever seen. it was very light weight [lighter than a Heritage GE] and played like a dream. It had a very slim neck profile and a super Kent Armstrong floating pickup. The sound was really something special. He is able to voice the tops in a very balanced way that makes the guitar unbelievably responsive at every frequency. I also played a small bodied archtop that was about the size of an Ibanez GB-10. This too was a beauty with a deep blue finish and quilted maple sides and back. I had seen Michael's advertisements in JJG and it was great to meet him and play a couple of his guitars."
~ Joe Finn, Old Chatham, NY
"... The Montreaux has the best of the big bodied jazz boxes beat hands down. They play and intonate perfectly up the neck with balanced tone throughout. Now that I've tasted this kind of quality I'm a customer for life. Well done Mike!"
"I just finished recording a cd and the engineer on all the sessions said that my G2 had the best balance of any guitar he'd recorded. From a magnificent drop D to single note lines above the 12th fret I can think of no better guitar for the job."
Neil Hendry, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
"I ordered a guitar from Mike Greenfield and he sure didn't deliver. What I got is not a guitar. Sure, it's got six strings, a neck, and a body, but there's no way a steel-string acoustic could ever sound like that. Though it's made out of wood like any normal guitar, notes spring off it's back, twirl endlessly around the sound box and are then catapulted from the top like shimmering echoes bouncing off stone walls. Each note is perfectly solid, without the slightest hint of sponginess. Thick, round fundamentals fade smoothly, leaving behind a trail of astounding harmonics that actually bloom, getting louder and louder, creating an obscenely rich playground of sound. My G2 makes me do things I've never done before Ð most of them legal. Sometimes I feel like it's playing me more than I'm playing it. One thing is for sure: it incites me to push the expressive aspects of any given piece to its limit. Everything, even pieces I've written years ago, feel fresh and new. In short, my playing has gotten a lot more musical since I've gotten it.
Because I use low, alternate tunings exclusively, I've always run into a number of problems on instruments I've used, no matter how high-end they were: tuning the 6th string to A or G below E always resulted in a choked, flappy, wet fart kind of sound; intonation was never on, especially when playing chords; going from one tuning to the next, the tension changes and the neck shifts, resulting in the instrument going out of tune, sometimes right in the middle of a piece. Mike addressed all these problems. His suggestions, be they structural or aesthetic, were always dead on. Seeing how I play with a low 6th string, often slapping the string with the side of my thumb, he suggested I go for fanned-frets, which would take care of low-string resonance and intonation at the same time.
My fan-fretted G2, which you can gawk at on the steel-string page of this site, has a scale of 25.75 in. at the 1st string, going up to 28 in. at the 6th string. I was hesitant at first because I had never played a fanned-fret guitar, but to my relief and surprise it took about 5 minutes to get used to it. And Mike was right: it works! The notes have amazing clarity and separation, which gives the instrument a harp-like sound. The responsiveness is otherworldly: my Greenfield can be played softer than any guitar I knowÐI can record it whisper-quiet, without nails on, and it sounds amazingÐor loud enough so you'd have to shout to be heard over it. The headroom is truly limitless. The laminated neck is further strengthened by graphite rods, so I can vary the tunings wildly without having the neck move on me. Truth is, this guitar never goes out of tune. Like I said, this is not a guitar. It's a goddam miracle.
Sure, Mike's guitars aren't cheap, but his abilities and craftsmanship fully warrant the sticker price. Any guitar-loving individual should allow him or herself the luxury of owning one. Heck, I've already ordered myself a second one! "
~ Jacques Desfossé, Montreal, Quebec
"...Absolutely breathtaking aesthetically and sonically, this is one of the nicest guitars we've had in the shop in, well, ever..."
~ The Music Emporium, Lexington, MA
"What can I say! I would have to rate this instrument in the top one percent of instruments that I have ever had the privilege of playing. The tone, power, sonic complexity, playability, feel and visual impact of this magnificent instrument make it one of my 'desert island' guitars. I am totally at a loss for words. This is the complete package; the real deal."
~ David Wren, The Twelfth Fret - Toronto
"It is a most excellent guitar. It is the bomb. It is an enormous guitar. It is a beautiful guitar. It is a most musical guitar. It is a powerful guitar. It is an exciting guitar. It is a satisfying guitar. It is a guitar that dares....
There are two qualities in particular about your guitar which, for me, distinguishes it from (others) I've played lately. The first is the power, the enormity, the potential, of the guitar. It's that feeling when I pinch the D and G strings hard on an A chord and I feel I've tapped into some primordial power, some unfathomable reservoir of pure intensity....
The other quality is musicality. There's a lyric quality to the notes, a sense of connectedness to the notes that preceded and the notes that will follow, that somehow turns a run into a melody. This one is hard to describe, and I don't know if it's a function of the sweet voice of the guitar, the careful balance, the precise intonation, the immaculate setup -- but the guitar just wanted to sing. It's as if the guitar already knows the song. But it's not a softness, rather an eager participation by the guitar in the process of making music, of adding color to a note, of being percussive when asked, of responding to variations in volume. It makes playing a constant joy....
I am absolutely stunned that this guitar, being so young, sounds so incredible! It's just not fair."
~ Gregorio Camus (Excerpts from a letter), Boston, MA
“…I’m beginning to think this guitar is what I’ve always been looking for. It’s the Holy Grail. Owning the Holy Grail is an amazing responsibility, because I’m not that good a player! I’m going to have to practice a LOT!
To my knowledge, only Chet Atkins and Tommy Emmanuel have had the privilege of putting CGP after their name. Rightly so. You are one hell of a Luthier, Mike. As far as I’m concerned, you are Michael Greenfield, CL.
I salute you. “
~ Geoffrey E Moore, MD FACSM - Ithaca, NY
“…Michael, congratulations on another stellar guitar. I know your work well enough to know that you stand tall among the best in this art today. You can quote me on that.”
~ Richard Glick, Fine Guitar Consultants
"I am in my kitchen playing a beautiful Greenfield G-1. What a fabulous guitar. I know the word "balance" is sometimes overused, but this baby has BALANCE! Balance in this case means the bass and treble strings are equally brilliant with gorgeous separation. I love it. The neck feels great."
~ Mike Moss
“When you play a Greenfield, you know you're playing an instrument crafted by one of the top builders on the planet…We have NOT EVER HEARD anything like this guitar -- Most Seriously!”
~ Guitar Gallery
"I just wanted to let you know that the 8 string fan fret guitar you made for me is perfect!! In every way this guitar is a dream. The sound I'm getting is so loud and pure. The tone is complex and powerful. It is wonderful to have this guitar and I wanted to thank you!!"
~ Dean Mednick