Jackson Cunningham is a bit of a rarity in the world of acoustic guitarmaking. While countless luthiers do their best to emulate old Martin designs and shapes, Cunningham’s biggest influence is vintage Gibsons. Over the years, this Virginia-based builder has crafted L-5, L-00 and even J-55-inspired guitars. He’s also garnered praise from two of the biggest vintage guitar experts around: George Gruhn and Mark Stutman.

On this week’s podcast, we talk to Jackson about his love for old guitars, the rich guitarmaking culture he resides in (acclaimed builder Wayne Henderson was once his neighbor) and the wood he selects for his builds. We also talk about a special guitar he just built and donated to help benefit the Floyd Country Store. Act fast and you can buy a raffle ticket and enter to win it via this link.

Follow Jackson via his Facebook page.

Don’t forget, the FJ now hosts an entire family of podcasts, about everything from lutherie to home recording: Luthier on Luthier; The Truth About Vintage Amps; The Truth About Recording & Mixing; Acoustic Voices; and Sweep the Floor.

Our 47th issue features James Taylor, Chuck Prophet, Ben Harper, John Monteleone, Bahamas, Flip Scipio, luthier David Wren and much more. Read about it here and subscribe to the Fretboard Journal magazine to support independent guitar journalism and this podcast.

This episode is sponsored by Mono Cases, Folkway Music and Retrofret Vintage Guitars.