Tag: Cirrus Guitars

Categories
Acoustic Guitars

My Cirrus Guitar is Here!

Well, here she is! My new Cirrus guitar, and she is ALL MINE! It is the model CD Dreadnought, basically standard features except that I ordered it to have a slightly shorter 24.9-inch scale fretboard.

She sounds great to be sure, a heavy lower midrange that will cut through as a rhythm guitar during a bluegrass jam without being too boomy. The shorter scale seems to fit perfectly with my smaller hands, as I was playing “Wildwood Flower” without any fretting difficulty. The finish is the way that I like it – semi-gloss, so it’s not too shiny but not dull matte looking either.

It was so worth the 3+ month wait for it, as I know that it is truly my personal guitar, not one that I bought either used or off the rack at a store. I cannot wait to start taking her out for jams. I already have three people at my workplace asking me to bring it in so that they can try it out.

Mike Franks, the owner of Cirrus Guitars, has his shop here in suburban Detroit, so it was great that I could go directly and pick it up instead of waiting for shipment. I have talked about his shop in a previous blog (https://luegra.design.blog/2025/03/29/i-ordered-a-cirrus-guitar/), and he is a big bluegrass fan. He’s made guitars for the Grascals, the Rhonda Vincent Band, and a few other acts. He is also contracting with Gallagher Guitars in making some of their fretboards.

It is great to see a fantastic luthier here in my backyard, so to speak. I will definitely be promoting his work whenever and wherever I can. I plan on taking this guitar to the SPBGMA conference in January. Hopefully I can get some of the artists there to try it out and take an interest.

I’m keeping this one short, as I want to get back to playing my new love. Now I just need to give her a name (all of my other regularly played acoustics have names, all women that have meant a lot to me). I highly recommend you check out Cirrus Guitars at http://www.cirrusguitars.com/ .

Chew on it and comment.

Categories
Bluegrass Music Musical Instruments

US-12 Yard Sale 2025/SEMBMA Picnic 2025/Misc.

This weekend was the US-12 Heritage Longest Yard Sale, so I took Friday off from work and did the drive. This year, I started driving west from Dearborn, but as expected, the set-ups really weren’t available until I reached Saline. I went as far as Allen, Michigan and turned around. Of course, I had to hit Randy’s BBQ in Brooklyn, MI for the famous Godzilla Sandwich (Google it!).

I didn’t get many bargains, as there was not a lot offered as far a music-related stuff. I got a gig bad and an empty Gibson hardshell acoustic guitar case, but the only real bargain (maybe) was a Dean electric bass.

I purchased it on the way back home and didn’t really look at it closely. For what I paid ($60.00), just about any cheap bass would be a decent buy. Once I got it home, I took a better look. The neck, body, and hardware are definitely a Dean model, but it looks like the pickguard and pickup were replaced with a generic setup, which doesn’t properly fit the body. I’ll most likely patch it up in places (like removing some stickers on the back of the body) and sell it off.

The Southeast Michigan Bluegrass Music Association had its annual picnic and Hall of Honor ceremony Saturday. Not much to talk about here, only that we are still in need of young pickers to receive scholarships. Two current recipients showed up for the afternoon jam session, along with a few older members. I have never been much of a jamming enthusiast for myself, but I know how others enjoy it.

I received a nice email from my friend Sister Clare Marie of the Sister Servants of the Eternal Word convent in Alabama (https://luegra.design.blog/2020/08/07/nuns-performing-bluegrass-and-diversity/). It seems that they are in need of some more material. Looks like I need to get finished with some of my incomplete bluegrass gospel songs.

This morning I got the new Billy Strings/Bryan Sutton live CD. I cannot wait to throw it on the player and give a review, which will come probably next week. Also, I got the call that my Cirrus guitar is finished, so I’ll be picking it up next weekend.

Short and sweet for this week, Chew on it and comment.

Categories
Acoustic Guitars Bluegrass Music

I Ordered a Cirrus Guitar!

I can mark off another item on my bucket list. This morning, I went to the Cirrus Guitars shop and ordered myself an acoustic guitar made to my specifications!

I had blogged about Cirrus Guitars previously (https://luegra.design.blog/2023/10/28/cirrus-guitars/), and have been thinking about getting a guitar from there ever since. With money that could have spent on a bigger TV or some other item that does not really strike my fancy, I love guitars so much that it was what I wanted to treat myself to. I contacted Mike Franks, owner/luthier for Cirrus, a few weeks back, we scheduled a meeting this morning, and I went to the shop in Sterling Heights, Michigan.

Mike was extremely friendly, and was grateful that I paid for the guitar in full rather than just a down payment. The shop is Heaven if you are a guitar enthusiast like me. Acoustic guitars in every stage of construction line the walls and workbenches. He has a special paint booth, and the whole shop is well ventilated and humidified. He also has a room set up for taking photos of his finished guitars, and a space where he holds small house concerts.

The best part of his tour was seeing some of the guitars that he is making for bluegrass artists. One guitar is a special left-handed model under his M.J. Franks brand of guitars for Jamie Johnson of The Grascals. He is also making a custom dreadnaught for John Bryan of The Grascals as well.

He related a great story of how he once heard an Osborne Brothers tune on the radio that moved him deeply, then fast forward two decades, and Joe Miller of Bobby Osborne and the Rocky Top Xpress requested a guitar made for him. When it was finished, Franks took it to Nashville to present it to Miller at the Grand Ole Opry. He was then sitting on stage at the Opry when Miller performed with the band, and had that song dedicated to him that evening.

Franks knows how special bluegrass artists are, not only with the care and concern they have with acoustic instruments, but how much they appreciate the people around them, be they fans, promoters, or luthiers. You can see in all of the work he puts in every guitar that his respect goes equally back to the artist.

My guitar should be ready in about three months, and I am in no big rush. I know that I will fall in love with the guitar, simply because I see the quality work that goes into Cirrus guitars. Franks has stated that I should stop by the shop in a few weeks to see the progress. Despite the rainy weather going on today, the day was fantastic for me!

http://www.cirrusguitars.com/

Chew on it and comment.

Categories
Acoustic Guitars

Cirrus Guitars

There is a new acoustic guitar company opening up – and it is near my house!!!

Well, it is about an hour drive from where I live, to be honest. However, this is great news to see another luthier starting up in the Detroit area. Cirrus Guitar (https://www.cirrusguitars.com/) is the partnership of Mike Franks (of M.J. Franks Guitars) and Tobin McGlassion (of McGlassion Guitars) that will make high-quality, hand-made acoustic guitars at an affordable price.

They have opened up shop in Rochester Hills, Michigan, and from the looks at their website, they have a good idea of what is needed in the acoustic guitar market. As of now, they are making three models: a Dreadnaught, an OO body, and a OOO 14-fret version. All will have basic features, with options available at additional costs. Prices for these guitars (with case) will start at $2,150.00.

What caught my attention was that they will offer two scale lengths at no additional cost. There will be the standard 25.4-inch scale, as well as the shorter 24.9-inch scale. Because of my smaller hands and slight arthritis, I have always wanted a shorter scale fretboard on a Dreadnaught body. Martin has offered such models, but the price has been way out of reach for me. This looks like it would be a great alternative.

The guitars will be built in the same shop as M.J. Franks Guitars, but with a different attitude. Of course, they are looking at getting these guitars into a players’ market. A M.J. Franks guitar starts at $3,850.00. At nearly half the price, a Cirrus guitar is a great alternative to the more boutique guitars.

In an interview with Bluegrass Today, Franks states that for Cirrus, he will be buying wood in bulk, and wood that may have some minor blemishes that would not be found on his Franks guitars. Personally, a small blemish can be ignored if the guitar has a great tone and feels comfortable at the same time.

Franks’ bluegrass connection comes from building one of his first guitars for Bobby Osborne’s guitarist Joe Miller, and being good friends with songwriter Pete Goble, who also lived in the Detroit area before passing away in 2018.

I will be checking out this Cirrus over the next few weeks, and seriously considering getting myself that Dreadnaught with a short-scale neck.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZr0Q-mzxlA&t=2s

Chew on it and comment.

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