1993 Thomas Humphrey "Millennium" CD/CSAR

With no cracks, damage or repairs, this 1993 Thomas Humphrey "Millennium" is a cedar-top classical guitar with CSA rosewood back and sides, built in New York and ready for concertizing.

The Humphrey Millennium

The famous "Millennium" model by Thomas Humphrey has been played by countless concert artists, among them Sharon Isbin, the Assads, Eliot Fisk, Ben Verdery and many more. Its revolutionary design re-thought the bracing of the soundboard to increase the transmission of tone and improve playability; its most famous feature is the elevated fingerboard, a practice several other makers have adopted since Humphrey popularized it.

Sound and Materials

In sound this guitar is a true Humphrey of 1993 – powerful, "hollow" and very focused, the projection every concert player and audience appreciate. The lush set of CSA rosewood on the back and sides is especially striking.

Condition

Apart from some finish touch-up the guitar has had no repairs – no cracks or damage. It's in great shape and ready for concertizing!

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.