Wayne Henderson Custom John Cephas Dreadnought Guitar, 1991 (used)

This guitar comes to us from the family estate of Piedmont Blues legend John Cephas, who passed away in 2009. The family has decided it's time to pass some of John's guitars onto new loving owners.

This guitar was built for John by famed acoustic guitar maker Wayne Henderson, in 1991 (#116). It's in the style of a Martin D-28, with Sitka spruce top and Indian rosewood back & sides. The "John Cephas" name is inlaid in large script in the fingerboard. John gave Wayne a pickup to install in it, which is likely a Fishman, with control knobs on the upper bout.

The guitar has recently been set up by our luthier, and is playing and sounding wonderfully. Very good condition overall, with some finish checking (non-structural) on the top. Case is included.

See included video. Our store owner David Eisner offers the following comments:
"As Justin was preparing to do the attached video, I sat a few feet across from him to image the sound. Even though the guitar is 31 years old, it sounds older (in a nice respect-your-elders way) - meaning it has an early vintage feel. This model is styled like a Martin D-28 (rosewood and spruce); the bass has a more directed sound. It doesn't overload the low end, which is the desired sound for bluegrass playing. The bass sounds "polished." The low-mids do not accelerate away from you unless you dig in. Again, swirling into the very sweet midrange. Clear notes that support the lows and highs. Not muddy, just clean. The top being Sitka spruce is not brittle or overly bright. The treble notes are just superbly present. As a sound engineer, this guitar would be eq'd flat straight across!"

An amusing story was relayed to us from the family: at one point, John called up Wayne to check the progress of the guitar build. Wayne told him "yep, it's coming along - just put the inlay in, John C-E-P-H-U-S." John freaked out and said "no no no, that's all wrong, it's C-E-P-H-A-S!" Wayne played along for a bit before saying "eh, don't worry I'm just messing with you!"

If you are familiar with Henderson guitars, you know that the current build time is an open-ended "years" - so needless to say, these guitars are very difficult to come by, and are legendary for their tone. Hendersons are played by artists such as Tommy Emmanuel, Doc Watson, Peter Rowan, Gillian Welch, Ricky Skaggs, Vince Gill, and Eric Clapton. This one may be a bit of a "niche" interest due to the fretboard inlay, but we hope it will go to a new owner who appreciates John's rich legacy in the Piedmont Blues tradition.

John Cephas performed with his musical partner, Phil Wiggins, for over 25 years as Cephas & Wiggins. They defined and preserved the playing style called Piedmont Blues. They both were awarded National Heritage Awards and countless blues accolades over that span of time. Wiggins is still performing around the Washington DC area & beyond.

Shipping by UPS Ground, fully insured, is $200 within the continental US.