We've also loaded the page with new videos, instrument demos, magazine reviews, and photos of our newest guitars and basses.

Guitar Player Flyer Review
We were thrilled to read Art Thompson's wonderful review of our Flyer 13" in the January issue of Guitar Player — Art did a lovely job of capturing the vibe of the guitar. Here are a few of his impressions:

“a rich tone with abundant midrange complexity, firm lows, and a crisp top-end”

“...delivers the gutsiness and ringing attack for blues, as well as the buoyancy and stringy detail that a fingerstyle player would want”

“the setup and tuneful intonation make for an inspiring playing experience”

Many thanks to Art and Guitar Player for a terrific review!
Read the Review

NAMM Preview
We're feeling great about all our new and exciting developments — this Newsletter is a mere preview! We'll be presenting all our latest and greatest at NAMM 2013 in January. Please stop by our Booth #5276 and try these guitars "live and in person" ...or just swing by and say hello!

New Dealers

CR Guitars Owned by Craig Snyder, CR Guitars is a unique and very high-end shop just around the corner in Rhinebeck, NY. Craig has a unique perspective on the business — he's been a top-call session guitarist, a noted collector, and now operates one of the best boutique shops in the country. Craig specializes in personalized, one-on-one consultation, and brings a true player's perspective to the dealer-client relationship. CR has a lovely custom Flyer in stock, and a couple more custom pieces on the way.

The High Studio Based in Syracuse, NY, the High Studio is a specialty shop dealing primarily high-end basses and guitars. Owner Jesse Wilson came down to the shop and played a number of guitars to get to know the line (and to meet us, of course!). For their first Veillette, they decided on a stunning custom Grand 16" 6-string with an amazing quilted bubinga back/side set and an optional arm bevel. We love making these custom pieces to match the vibe of each dealer's stock — check it out at their wesite!

New Artists / New Videos

Christie Lenée
The family of uniquely creative Veillette Gryphon artists has a new member — the amazing Christie Lenée!

Christie first came to our attention in a live video, playing alongside Tim Reynolds. After hearing the Gryphon played once or twice, she knew she had to have one! As luck would have it, she popped in at shop on a rare week when we had one in stock and available.

During her visit, she also took a moment to record her gorgeous tune "Breath of Spring" on Joe's Flyer Doubleneck. This is her first time ever playing this guitar!

Gryphon Love from Kaki King
Kaki King's new album, "Glow", is out now! Recorded right here in Woodstock, "Glow" is one of the most adventurous and sophisticated acoustic guitar albums of the year. Pick up your copy, and check out Kaki's tour dates.

Kaki talked Veillette in her recent interview with Guitar World:

"There's a guitar that's featured three times. It's a small, 12-string guitar called a Gryphon. It's high-strung, way above a normal guitar tuning. And it's made by a guy named Joe Veillette, who happens to live in Woodstock as well. So I hung out with him a couple times. That was sort of randomly awesome and convenient. And that's on "Great Round Burn," "King Pizel" and "Fences." It's this tight, punchy little gorgeous sound.

How did you come across that guitar?

It was David Torn, who produced a record of mine back in the day. And we met up in Manhattan years later. It was just a lunch, and he had this little guitar. And he said, "Yeah, check this out. This is my new thing." I had also owned a Veillette baritone electric guitar, which I bought ... I literally bought off the rack at a shop, you know, I was so impressed by it. I loved it. So, anyway, he had this Veillette, and I was like, "Veillette, yeah that guy's amazing."

And I put it in my hands, and my first thought was, "I have to own one." That was just it, and that was years before I did. So, finally I got in touch with Joe and was like, "I really want to get this kind of guitar." And anyway... I came into possession of a Gryphon, and it just sort of wrote songs by itself. It.s one of the neatest little guitars. It was very important to the record.

Thanks for the kind words, Kaki! We love the new album. Here's the video for "Great Round Burn", featuring her Gryphon:

Flyer Doubleneck
Sometimes, a new model will draw from every side of our experience, equally blending the electric, acoustic, and hybrid approaches. This latest model is a perfect example of this — it combines all the lessons we've learned from Electric and acoustic doublenecks, and from our recent work developing the Flyer series.

Named the "Duet", this is the first prototype of our Flyer Doubleneck. This guitar was the star at the Veillette table during this year's Woodstock Invitational Luthiers' Showcase.

At 6.2 lbs, it is astonishingly lightweight - and even more impressively, the balance is just about perfect. No neck dive, and the same weight as many traditional single-neck acoustics!

If the guitar is going to be this light and this well balanced - "what the heck", it might as well have two necks, right?

Many players don't ever consider doubleneck guitars - mostly because they're usually heavy, unbalanced, and no fun to play. This instrument makes a compelling case for doublenecks as useful, comfortable, and truly satisfying - it's a very playable guitar.

(And did we mention it weighs 6.2 lbs? Really!)

Both the 6-string and 12-string necks exhibit the same unique voice as the original Flyer — complex, quirky, and well-defined, with a beautifully "vocal" midrange contour. The two necks resonate and sympathize with each other in fascinating and unpredictable ways, lending a natural dimension and depth to even the simplest rhythm playing.

This is really a good one - it may be Joe's favorite personal gigging guitar yet. Despite its unusual design elements and unique character, it's not just a curiosity - this is a truly useful and intriguing instrument.

Merlin Uke
OK, OK...it sometimes seems like everything we make is an oddball custom.

However, this one is a little more so - even for us!

This is a custom (obviously) Merlin-sized nylon-string Uke/Guitar (Guitalele?). Tuned up to A, the highest 4 strings are equivalent to a typical soprano Uke. The lower two courses fill out the full range and make for an easy transition from standard guitars.

This was commissioned by Tim Pierce, our good friend and heavy-hitting studio guitarist. Tim works with the very best people in the industry, and you've almost definitely heard him play - probably almost every time you turn on the radio!

The "little" guitars always charm us - this one just sounded 'happy', no matter what you played on it!

We're really looking forward to hearing what Tim does with it.

Flyer 14"
Our Flyer acoustic/electric has been incredibly well-received, and has been getting rave reviews from customers and the press for its unique voice, lightweight-yet-rugged construction, and eye-catching design.

New for this year, we've developed the Flyer 14" — a larger, louder version with more acoustic output and a more traditional form factor, combined with the same unique tone and design elements as our original Flyer 13".

The Flyer 14" is built with the same extra-thick solid wood sides and radiused top as its 13" sibling, and the ladder-bracing delivers the same punchy, quick, and lively voice, with added girth in the bass and extra volume thanks to the larger body and bigger top surface. Ideal for styles ranging from classic Blues to complex modern fingerstyle, the Flyer 14. retains clarity and definition when played fast, and sings with a vocal, almost resonator-like midrange when approached with a more delicate touch.

Lightweight yet sturdy, sweet yet quirky, the Flyer is in its own special category — try one out for yourself, and discover how a truly different guitar can make you sound!

Journeyman Nylon-string — new generation
Our electric nylon-string has been one of our best-sellers over the years — the combination of truly realistic acoustic-style tone and responsiveness, mixed with a rugged, compact, and feedback-proof design, has made it a longtime favorite for many of our customers.

Now, as a result of feedback and conversations with players and dealers, we.re happy to introduce the next generation of our Journeyman Nylon-string guitar!

This latest version of the Journeyman Nylon features a traditional, glued-on bridge. With the same low profile as a traditional acoustic bridge, this new bridge gives this electric nylon a more traditional feel, with a string-to-top distance very similar to an acoustic. Since it's glued-on, the new bridge also reduces microphonics and piezo "thump", making it ideal for players with more energetic right-hand technique.

Our new tilt-neck adjuster maintains the user-adjustable action feature from our previous Swift model.

The Journeyman Electric Nylon is also now available with a 1 7/8" nut width and radiusedfingerboard as standard options, for a slick and comfortable profile that will appeal to the crossover electric player. (The classical-width, flat fingerboard neck is still available also.)

Tilt Neck Adjuster
Here's a peek at our latest detail - we now offer a tilt-neck adjuster on our solidbody and chambered electric guitars.

This super-simple adjustment uses the same wrench that we supply for adjusting our truss rods. A quick turn adjusts the action, without altering the saddle or string break angle - so piezo response stays consistent and even. This also means that our latest generation of Journeyman guitars retain the easy, user-adjustable action of prior versions, even with the new glued-on bridge detail.

The only visible evidence of this adjuster is a simple black ferrule in the back of the guitar. Low-profile, slick, and very effective!

We've installed this on both steel-string and nylon-string instruments already, and it's performed beautifully in every application.

Merlin Electric
Small but powerful, our new Merlin Electric shares the same scale and tuning as our Merlin Acoustic. Tuned E-E, a full octave higher than a standard guitar, this instrument is ideal for doubling and enriching a standard-tuned guitar part, and also stands alone beautifully on its own.

The full-range piezo pickup/preamp system delivers a shimmering, vibrant, and punchy acoustic-like tone with incredible detail and responsiveness — conjuring mandolins, Cuban guitars, and even dulcimer and autoharp-like tones. Volume and Tone knobs simply and effectively provide a wide range of control.

With a voice much bigger than its small size, the Merlin electric is an ideal stage, touring, or recording companion. The full-octave-up tuning means that all chord shapes and note locations are identical to a standard-tuned guitar — no transposing required. The 16.3" scale neck is comfortable and playable, and lets the player reach intervals that would be impossible on a typical guitar.

The Merlin is not just a "niche" instrument — it's a powerful tool for songwriting and performance, which brings out new concepts and techniques from everyone that picks it up.

Flyer Bass
Inspired by the same design goals as our Flyer guitars, the Flyer Bass seeks to strike a new balance between the acoustic and electric worlds, in a comfortable and practical instrument that appeals to both.

Plugged-in, the Flyer has a tremendous, full-range amplified tone that rivals the best acoustic basses — responsive, sensitive, and natural-sounding, with an incredibly authentic "acoustic" personality. Unplugged, the Flyer Bass is great for practice or intimate settings.

Most striking about the Flyer's tonal personality is the clean and well-defined attack. Notes start quickly and precisely, and remain clear and distinct even when played fast. Compared to the "spongy" and "slow" feel and response common to many acoustic basses, the Flyer has speed and punch.

With its 14" body width and full 34" scale, the Flyer Bass feels familiar and approachable. And, at just under 5 lbs., this is an incredibly comfy bass...about half the weight of many solidbodies!