The Herald-News - News Story

Homegrown guitars: Grandview man fashions native-wood guitars played by locals, country music star

When Cliff Hamby isn't serving the people of Grandview at his roadside market, Carole's Country Store, he can often be found holed up in his shop a stone's throw away from the back door of Carole's. It is in that self-constructed shop that the Grandview native turns craftsman.

A typical day at Mountain Top Guitars would find owner/founder Hamby and his companions, Larry Walker and D. Wallace, shut away from a brisk mountain morning inside the gut of Hamby's guitar shop. The cohorts discuss all things guitars, from the different wood types, to neck width, to bracing patterns, to body style.

Occasionally, upon disagreement, a measuring tool is whisked from thin air to provide correction, and a reluctant, yet humored, admittance follows.

The camaraderie between the three is obvious from observation, but it is made unquestionable when Hamby and company sift through ideas and thoughts on guitars and gradually segue into anecdotes and memoirs. Almost as if they speak another language, the craftsmen slung guitar jargon around the room and would periodically fetch a sheet of white maple to express the different resonance and tone from a sheet of western spruce.

And though Wallace and Walker readily proclaim that Hamby is the "master" and boss, the Grandview craftsman jokingly added that he is often on the receiving end of their orders and requests.

The companions snap right back together, though, when their guitars are brought into the forefront of discussion, and they solidly agree on the facts about Cliff guitars: They're the best.

"He has discovered tone woods," said Walker, "woods that produce a tone of their own."

Even more, all of the wood that Hamby uses are native and come from here in Tennessee.
The veteran picker explained that when he made the decision to sell guitars in his country store, the cost of having the goliath companies' franchise instruments on his floor was unbelievably expensive. Determined, however, to display and market quality guitars, Hamby turned his sight inward to his own knowledge of the instrument, and Mountain Top Guitars was born.

After several accounts of trial and error, Hamby designed and developed his own breed of acoustic guitar. He deemed his ever-flexible formula a success, taking pride in the knowledge that each Cliff guitar is "bar room tough," and that he can assure Mountain Top Guitar patrons a quality instrument that will pass the test of time.

In fact, the quality of Cliff guitars has not gone unnoticed on singer/songwriter/actor Ed Bruce, who is most notable for penning the song "Mamas, Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys" and portraying Sheriff Tom Guthrie in the hit '80s television program "Bret Maverick."

Bruce has been on the forefront of country music for decades as both an artist and a songwriter, and he has acted on several TV shows and Hollywood films over the years. He is also the owner of a Cliff guitar.

Bruce and wife, Judy, recently dropped in at Mountain Top Guitars to have Hamby, Wallace and Walker begin work on the second Cliff guitar to be added to the songwriter's collection.
Bruce recalled playing a show in Spring City several years ago, when he first encountered Mountain Top Guitars. The sign outside of Carole's Country Store snagged the musician's eye as he and his wife were traveling through the Grandview community en route to a show in Spring City.

Needing to confirm that he had spotted a homegrown guitar maker, Bruce promptly U-turned and headed back to the roadside country store. Inside, Cliff's wife, Carole, invited the stranger to "come in and sit down," and he did, afterward playing several of the guitars on display in the store.

Bruce settled on one of the pieces in particular, and he was finally convinced to purchase his first Cliff guitar. Years later, he is still a Cliff patron for many reasons.

"I'm a Tennessean," he said, showing an affinity for instruments crafted from Tennessee wood by fellow Tennesseans. "It's the best sounding new guitar I've ever played," he added.

The longtime musician explained that it usually takes time for a guitar to loosen up and reach its full auditory potential, but his Cliff guitar sounded seasoned from day one.

During his most recent visit, Bruce sat down with Hamby and crew and hashed out the specifications for the next Cliff guitar that will call Ed and Judy Bruce's Monterey, Tenn., cabin home. Bruce gave the well-timed visitors to the country store a glimpse of the singing and playing that he will do on March 26, when he returns to Grandview to perform at Carole's Country Store.

There will be a $10 cover charge for the Ed Bruce show.

In the meantime, Hamby, Wallace and Walker will be going about business as usual - holed up in the guitar shop, building a guitar and a brotherhood.