1975 Thomas Humphrey SP/IN

This 1975 Thomas Humphrey is an early, traditional "pre-Millennium" classical guitar in spruce and Indian rosewood, made in New York and recently repolished by German Vázquez Rubio.

A Traditional Humphrey from 1975

This guitar, built by the late Thomas Humphrey, is an example of his traditional style of instrument, now known as a "pre-Millennium" to distinguish it from his later instruments (from about the mid-1980s on), which featured several significant design alterations, including the well-known raised fingerboard.

Sound

Sound is very traditional (warm, colorful, etc.), and although his later instruments are known for their impressive volume, this guitar has plenty of sound, enough to rival any of his later output.

Humphrey guitars have been played by countless concert artists over the past 4 decades, including David Starobin, Sharon Isbin, the Assads, Eliot Fisk and many others.

Condition

Condition-wise, it has a crack on the soundboard between the bridge and bottom, repaired with a splice and only one cleat internally. There also appears to be one small back crack (from an internal repair), which is invisible from the exterior. German Vázquez Rubio recently repolished the instrument as well.

Thomas Humphrey (1948–2008): Classical Guitar Maker in New York

Thomas Humphrey was born in 1948 in Minnesota. Around 1970 he moved to New York City, where he apprenticed with the guitar maker Michael Gurian, and for many years he built his guitars in an apartment workshop on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Tom died in Gardiner, New York, in April 2008.

The Millennium: A Revolution in Classical Guitar Design

In the mid-1980s Tom introduced the design that made his name: the Millennium. With its raised fingerboard and newly conceived soundboard bracing, it changed the way many players – and makers – thought about the classical guitar, and the elevated fingerboard has since been taken up by luthiers all over the world. His earlier, traditional instruments are now known as "pre-Millennium" Humphreys. Humphrey guitars have been the concert instruments of many leading guitarists, among them David Starobin, Sharon Isbin, the Assad brothers and Eliot Fisk.