About

My love of music, reverence for wood, and appreciation for fine craftsmanship and design inspire my life long passion to create functional art from beautiful and exotic materials. Building acoustic guitars is the path I have chosen to pursue these dreams. It is my desire to create instruments of grace and beauty and, more importantly, tools that inspire musicians to achieve even higher levels of creativity and expression.

The most challenging aspect of designing and building guitars, for me, is to recognize all the options that are available and to utilize them to make a cohesive whole. Before I begin construction on any guitar I have a clear idea of how I want the guitar to sound based on the musical tastes and playing technique of my client and the context in which it will be used. In addition, there are numerous other factors that must be considered such as size and depth of the body, string and neck length, bracing design and voicing, glues and finishes, and of course the species and quality of wood to be used.

I feel the most comfortable when I'm in my workshop doing what I love most. It is very gratifying to me to string up a new instrument that achieves the voice that I had imagined as it embarks on it's long musical journey.

I live with my wife Margie and our Golden Retriever Rosie in Santa Cruz, California.

  1. Ed Claxton
  2. Santa Cruz

8-29-2014

PS - Your interest in my guitars means a great deal to me and I would like to thank you for taking the time to browse my website. Please feel free to let me know if you would like more information about my guitars or discuss commissioning an instrument tailored to your specifications.

A more than honorable mention – I am particularly grateful to all the awesome musicians and guitar enthusiasts with whom I have had the pleasure of knowing and working with over the years. Some of these musicians: Doug Young, Raymond Gonzalez, and Mesut Ozgen (along with their contact information) can be heard on audio tracks available on the “Home” and “Guitars/Models” pages of this website.

 

 

"I have no idea how you make such miraculous instruments ..." - Andreas M., Washington D.C.