Up your sound with a vintage look but a contemporary feel.
The love of vintage guitars is a passion which drives many guitarists to seek out those classic instruments of yesteryear. This same passion brought together two seasoned veterans in the guitar world—Dave Friedman and Grover Jackson—to create Friedman guitars.
For Friedman, it all started in 1988 when he made the decision to leave the "Motor City" to chase his dreams in Hollywood. It was during these early pivotal years that Friedman cultivated his vast knowledge and passion of legendary vintage guitars and amps. During his days at Andy Brauer Studio Rentals, Friedman learned firsthand what real vintage guitars and amps actually sound like. This expertise, combined with Friedman's refined ear for tone, is what makes every Friedman guitar special. Friedman wanted to make certain that every feature is thought out, from the wood selection all the way down to the most subtle details. Then, he partnered with legendary guitar builder, Grover Jackson, to bring Friedman Guitars to life.
Jackson has been making guitars since 1973 and hasn't put his tools down since. He started his career in a repair shop in San Dimas, California, and has since made many iconic contributions to the guitar community. Jackson has collaborated, consulted and worked for many big-name artists and manufacturers to make their visions a reality. After making thousands of guitars, he's now committed to making one-of-a-kind, custom shop-style, made-by-hand instruments.
From body shapes to the compound radius fretboard, Jackson has forever impacted the guitar world. He is a real life living legend.
Relentless perseverance is what makes Friedman guitars so special, using only the finest masterfully aged hardwoods, genuine nitro finish, Plek'd-finished fretwork and Friedman custom-wound pickups. A lifelong passion and legendary craftsmanship is the heart and soul of every Friedman guitar.
Friedman Vintage-T
Working class, rock and roll guitar.
Vintage feel, modern playability
Simple, solid, timeless and aged to perfection
Premium body woods
Friedman chose genuine mahogany, alder and ash as the body woods of choice for their classic tonal character. Each piece of wood is hand-selected by Jackson himself. In the last round of building 25 guitars, over 500 wood planks were inspected by Jackson—475 did not make the cut. Grain pattern and light weight are benchmarks for every Vintage-T.
Frets
Jescar FW47095 nickel silver fret wire is used on Vintage-T guitars.
Compound radius
Jackson invented the compound radius fingerboard (CRF) 35 years ago. The fingerboard geometry is based on a conical shape rather than cylindrical. The significance is tangible and substantial—a 10"-14" compound radius fingerboard allows for maximum playability with no chance of strings fretting out when bending. Compound radius is time-consuming and laborious to get exactly right, yet worth-it, and featured on every Friedman Vintage-T.
Tight pocket and exclusive zero-shift neck pins
Neck shifting results in incorrect string alignment and is a challenge for many guitars. A tight neck pocket helps, but in and of itself does not eliminate the problem. Vintage-T guitars raise the bar with the exclusive Zero-Shift Neck Pin design, whereby two military grade precision steel dowel pins align the body and neck, eliminating shift altogether. The tonal benefit of this connection is a virtual fusion of the body and neck whereby the transference of vibration is maximized.
Tuners
This model comes with vintage-style tuners.
Plek
This German-made device provides the ultimate in fretboard analysis, fret-leveling and overall setup, and ensures maximum modern playability of all Friedman guitars.
Aged Nitrocellulose finish or high gloss conversion varnish
Friedman guitars that are "aged" feature a thin nitro lacquer finish, which allows the wood to breathe. The "non-aged" Friedman guitars feature a thin conversion varnish finish.
Custom Friedman pickups
Friedman and Jackson worked for over a year on the Friedman Classic Humbucker and Classic 90 pickups to get the exact tone Friedman envisioned. Both choices feature nickel silver base plates, high-quality copper wire and alnico magnets. The Classic 90 delivers a smooth, warm tone with a very open top-end and touch-sensitive dynamics. The combination of slightly over-wound 42 awg wire coils and traditional Alnico V magnets give the Classic 90 a fat, yet extremely articulate tone with excellent response to pick attack.
The Friedman Classic Humbucker produces vintage-style tone with an exceptionally balanced frequency response, outstanding clarity and extended dynamic range. These 42 awg pickups are reminiscent of late '59 PAFs in tone with a bit more Friedman-infused attitude.
All Friedman guitars come in a custom G&G case. A serial numbered Certificate of Authenticity signed by both Friedman and Jackson is included.
For Friedman, it all started in 1988 when he made the decision to leave the "Motor City" to chase his dreams in Hollywood. It was during these early pivotal years that Friedman cultivated his vast knowledge and passion of legendary vintage guitars and amps. During his days at Andy Brauer Studio Rentals, Friedman learned firsthand what real vintage guitars and amps actually sound like. This expertise, combined with Friedman's refined ear for tone, is what makes every Friedman guitar special. Friedman wanted to make certain that every feature is thought out, from the wood selection all the way down to the most subtle details. Then, he partnered with legendary guitar builder, Grover Jackson, to bring Friedman Guitars to life.
Jackson has been making guitars since 1973 and hasn't put his tools down since. He started his career in a repair shop in San Dimas, California, and has since made many iconic contributions to the guitar community. Jackson has collaborated, consulted and worked for many big-name artists and manufacturers to make their visions a reality. After making thousands of guitars, he's now committed to making one-of-a-kind, custom shop-style, made-by-hand instruments.
From body shapes to the compound radius fretboard, Jackson has forever impacted the guitar world. He is a real life living legend.
Relentless perseverance is what makes Friedman guitars so special, using only the finest masterfully aged hardwoods, genuine nitro finish, Plek'd-finished fretwork and Friedman custom-wound pickups. A lifelong passion and legendary craftsmanship is the heart and soul of every Friedman guitar.
Friedman Vintage-T
Working class, rock and roll guitar.
Vintage feel, modern playability
Simple, solid, timeless and aged to perfection
Premium body woods
Friedman chose genuine mahogany, alder and ash as the body woods of choice for their classic tonal character. Each piece of wood is hand-selected by Jackson himself. In the last round of building 25 guitars, over 500 wood planks were inspected by Jackson—475 did not make the cut. Grain pattern and light weight are benchmarks for every Vintage-T.
Frets
Jescar FW47095 nickel silver fret wire is used on Vintage-T guitars.
Compound radius
Jackson invented the compound radius fingerboard (CRF) 35 years ago. The fingerboard geometry is based on a conical shape rather than cylindrical. The significance is tangible and substantial—a 10"-14" compound radius fingerboard allows for maximum playability with no chance of strings fretting out when bending. Compound radius is time-consuming and laborious to get exactly right, yet worth-it, and featured on every Friedman Vintage-T.
Tight pocket and exclusive zero-shift neck pins
Neck shifting results in incorrect string alignment and is a challenge for many guitars. A tight neck pocket helps, but in and of itself does not eliminate the problem. Vintage-T guitars raise the bar with the exclusive Zero-Shift Neck Pin design, whereby two military grade precision steel dowel pins align the body and neck, eliminating shift altogether. The tonal benefit of this connection is a virtual fusion of the body and neck whereby the transference of vibration is maximized.
Tuners
This model comes with vintage-style tuners.
Plek
This German-made device provides the ultimate in fretboard analysis, fret-leveling and overall setup, and ensures maximum modern playability of all Friedman guitars.
Aged Nitrocellulose finish or high gloss conversion varnish
Friedman guitars that are "aged" feature a thin nitro lacquer finish, which allows the wood to breathe. The "non-aged" Friedman guitars feature a thin conversion varnish finish.
Custom Friedman pickups
Friedman and Jackson worked for over a year on the Friedman Classic Humbucker and Classic 90 pickups to get the exact tone Friedman envisioned. Both choices feature nickel silver base plates, high-quality copper wire and alnico magnets. The Classic 90 delivers a smooth, warm tone with a very open top-end and touch-sensitive dynamics. The combination of slightly over-wound 42 awg wire coils and traditional Alnico V magnets give the Classic 90 a fat, yet extremely articulate tone with excellent response to pick attack.
The Friedman Classic Humbucker produces vintage-style tone with an exceptionally balanced frequency response, outstanding clarity and extended dynamic range. These 42 awg pickups are reminiscent of late '59 PAFs in tone with a bit more Friedman-infused attitude.
All Friedman guitars come in a custom G&G case. A serial numbered Certificate of Authenticity signed by both Friedman and Jackson is included.