Gallery of classic guitars
Franklin collection is a one-of-a-kind collection of vintage instrument
Sunday, June 21, 1998BY LARRY NAGER
The Cincinnati Enquirer
FRANKLIN -- The Franklin National Bank closed more than 25 years ago, but the brick building on Main Street in this tiny northern Warren County town (pop. 11,500) is now the Fort Knox of stringed instruments.
Five rare Gibson instruments in the Comeaux collection.
(Michael Snyder photos)
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The vault, walls and underground storerooms are packed with some of the most beautiful and valuable instruments ever created: exquisite guitars inlaid with shimmering abalone and mother-of-pearl; mandolins sculpted from highly figured, exotic hardwoods; fretted instruments painstakingly crafted by late, legendary artisans -- Orville Gibson, Lloyd Loar, John D'Angelico, James D'Aquisto. For the past two years, the old bank building has been the home of Fretware Guitars.
Beginning in 1978 in Dayton, Ohio, guitarist - writer Dave Hussong, 52, built his business from a musician's sideline into Ohio's largest dealer in vintage instruments. A couple of months ago, a major acquisition turned Fretware into one of the top dealers in the world.
The change came with the purchase of the Tommy Comeaux (pronounced "Como") estate, doubling Fretware's already impressive inventory. With more than 250 pieces, the Comeaux collection ranges from a handmade guitar (valued at more than $30,000), personally carved by Mr. Gibson, founder of the company that bears his name, to a dozen custom-color Fender Stratocasters from the '50s and '60s (some of the most sought-after rock and blues guitars in the world, they run as much as $20,000, depending on rarity of the color) to flattops, archtops and resonator guitars made by today's top builders.
IF YOU GO
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What: The Tommy Comeaux Collection
When: By appointment only, (513) 743-1151
Where: Fretware Guitars, 400 S. Main St., Franklin, Ohio
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"I welcome people through the front door, but this is not a mainstream retail establishment, this is a gallery of great American instruments," Mr. Hussong says, gesturing to the rows of classic guitars and mandolins surrounding him. "This isn't used cars. There's history involved in these instruments. You can create with them. There is a passion." subhed:Growing interest body:
Once these instruments would have merely been sold as "used guitars." But the past 20 years have seen an international market develop, as collectors in Germany, Japan and throughout the United States have fueled an appreciation for classic instruments.
It's based on a simple fact: Older instruments are better.
Before World War II, the level of craftsmanship was higher, the quality of materials -- ebony from Africa, rosewood from Brazil, abalone and pearl from Asia -- was generally superior.
Elaborate grain patterns in contemporary archtop guitars are inspired by earlier archtop models.
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In mass-produced instruments, Fender and Gibson electric guitars from the '50s and early '60s were made with more care than the ones from the late '60s and '70s, when corporations took over and profit started to take precedence over quality.
Not surprisingly, musicians noticed the difference first and began snapping up older instruments. Steve Stills, Yes guitarist Steve Howe and Cheap Trick guitarist Rick Nielsen are some of the more noted early collectors.
Today, that rock-star hobby has gone mainstream, as middle-aged lawyers, doctors, bankers and businessmen have taken to collecting vintage guitars. (This is one midlife crisis that's relatively justifiable: "But honey, it's an investment!") subhed:Musician and collector body:
Being both musician and well-heeled professional, Dr. Comeaux combined both species of collector.
The Lafayette, La., pathologist toured the world playing mandolin, dobro and electric bass in the Grammy-winning, progressive Cajun group Beausoleil.He'd been collecting instruments for 20 years when he was killed riding his bicycle on Nov. 8, 1997. In a freak accident, a motorist had a sudden epileptic seizure and ran him over.
Dave Hussong built his business, Fretware Guitars, in the old Franklin National Bank building.
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Dr. Comeaux, 45, left his collection to his elderly parents. He had been buying instruments from Mr. Hussong for several years, and the two men developed a close, albeit long-distance, friendship. When he hadn't heard from him in several weeks, Mr. Hussong called the doctor's office and was told of Dr. Comeaux's death. He called Dr. Comeaux's parents to offer condolences and volunteered to help catalog and appraise the collection.
Other dealers and collectors, including representatives from the Smithsonian and prominent Nashville-based dealer George Gruhn, had already contacted the Comeauxes, interested in purchasing specific pieces.
But the bereaved parents had no desire to become instrument dealers and sell off their son's collection piece-by-piece. When Mr. Hussong offered to buy the entire collection, they accepted. Refusing to divulge the purchase price, he estimates the collection's value at "around $1 million."
"I think it's an important collection," Mr. Hussong says. "Mr. Comeaux told me the Smithsonian was setting up a museum in Japan of American instruments, and that probably would have been their reason for being attracted to this particular collection." subhed:Variety of instruments body:
The Comeaux estate is representative of modern, major instrument collections. It includes historic acoustic instruments, such as the Orville Gibson guitar, as well as other early Gibson guitars and mandolin-family instruments -- mandolins, mandolas and mandocellos. There are archtop guitars from the big band era; steel-bodied Hawaiian guitars of the '20s and '30s; Fender and Gibson solid-body electrics from the '50s and '60s.
The back of a late-'50s Fender Jazzmaster headstock made with an unusual piece of bird's-eye/curly maple.
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And, in the newest trend in guitar collecting, Dr. Comeaux amassed several dozen guitars and mandolins from contemporary instrument makers.
The work of these luthiers combines techniques from the golden age of fretted instruments (the first third of the 20th century) with modern design innovations and the highest quality materials obtainable.
John D'Angelico was the original independent archtop guitar maker, creating instruments from the '30s through the '50s. His protege was James D'Aquisto, who tweaked the classic approach with contemporary touches, paving the way for such now-respected names as Monteleone, Benedetto, Buscarino, Collings, Triggs, Zeidler, Campeleone, Ribbecke and Santa Cruz.
DEALERS ON THE WEB
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The three largest American vintage instrument dealers all have elaborate Internet presences:
 Mandolin Brothers (http://www.mandoweb.com): This Staten Island-based dealer's site features dozens of instruments, photos and co-founder Stan Jay's descriptions, from the comic to the worshipful.
Gruhn Guitars (http://www.gruhn.com): George Gruhn is the leading instrument dealer in Nashville, Tenn.
Elderly Instruments (http://www.elderly.com): Based in Lansing, Mich., it reflects its Midwestern locale in its no-nonsense approach to vintage guitars, which means it has the most reasonable prices of the three.
Regional music stores that specialize in vintage instruments include Mike's Music, Corryville (281-4900); Guitar Cellar, Sharonville (769-3344); Fretware Guitars: (513) 743-1151.
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Mr. Comeaux's collection includes instruments by all those makers, including four D'Angelico guitars and a couple of his mandolins, as well as two D'Aquisto guitars.
Mr. D'Aquisto, who died in 1995, was the Stradivarius of archtop guitars. A seven-string D'Aquisto is priced at $46,395 on the newest list from Mandolin Brothers instrument dealers (see sidebar). There are 350 D'Aquisto instruments in existence. When he was alive, they sold for $20,000-$40,000. Those prices have escalated considerably since his death. subhed:Pieces of history body:
Other collections contain equally rare and valuable guitars, but what makes the Comeaux collection unique is that, because of his sudden death and the fact that he left no heirs who shared his passion, all the instruments are for sale simultaneously.
"That's why I think this collection is so historically important," Mr. Hussong says. "Someone who understood the value of vintage instruments built up a collection. Then, as a result of the tragedy that befell him, they now have become available on the open market. It's the whole circle."
Mr. Hussong is planning a coffee-table book on the collection, combining Dr. Comeaux's life story and accomplishments (star high school athlete, valedictorian, tops in his medical school class, etc.) with detailed photographs of the instruments. It's meant, he says, to be a tribute to the man he knew only by telephone.
"I never met him, but I felt very close to him," Mr. Hussong says. "His parents took me to heart, and they believed in me."
A graduate of the Dayton Art Institute, Mr. Hussong is a contributing writer to Vintage Guitar magazine. He plans to donate any profits from the book to establish a chair in folk studies at Louisiana State University, Dr. Comeaux's alma mater.
The pick-guard ornamentation on pre-Depression era Gibson F-4 mandolin.
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"I thought one way for me to utilize my art background was to make an interactive book with a CD, the proceeds of which would go to the chair fund. If I break even that's fine. If I don't break even, that's OK, too."
Mr. Hussong recalls long and enthusiastic telephone conversations with Dr. Comeaux about music. When Dr. Comeaux was working on a blues recording project, he called Mr. Hussong, a well-known regional blues guitarist, for tapes of his band.
Most of all, the men shared an obsession for classic fretted instruments. It's contagious, as an hour or two spent at Fretware can prove. The combination of stunning visual beauty, rich, expressive tone and overall "feel" is undeniably addictive.
"There's just an attraction on so many different levels," Mr. Hussong says. "The history, the design aspect, the spirit of a wonderful instrument. Each one has its own aesthetic, each one has its own voice."
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