At the time the Iraq war started getting in full swing, I was one of those guys who was going to all the peace marches that I could find. Then one morning I tuned in on “Democracy Now” on my radio. Here was Michael Franti being interviewed by Amy Goodman. I had never heard of this guy, Michael Franti.

He was talking about his adventure in Baghdad and singing with his guitar for the local people in the streets. These were the same people who were about to be bombed by the “US shock and AWE Invasion”. How brave was that!

This was such a compelling story! Then he started singing in the studio “You can bomb the world to pieces but you can’t bomb it into peace”.

Wow! Immediately , I felt some deep gut connection, but I was not sure what that all meant at the time.

Back at the shop I was building guitars. About a year went by, and I was wondering what to do with that maple double cut-away that had been hanging unfinished on the wall for a while.

Somehow it hit me! Yeah ” a peace guitar ” that’s it! My vision and creative energy started to come back about Michael Franti and his Bagdad stories.

I was sleeping outside on my deck at the time and I got seriously sick and find out that I had West Nile Virus the second case in Boulder County that year

I’m not recommending this to anyone, I was flat on my back which seemed like an eternity and this was no fun. I thought at times that I may have to go to the other side of the fence, after seven weeks of this, something told me that I had to get back to the shop and finish Micheal Franti’s peace guitar.

When I finally felt a bit more human and alive, … that’s exactly what I did. It took me still many, many hours day and night of inlay and finish work to get that guitar to where I wanted it.

Then, I finally started to realize my next challenge, somehow I had to get this beautiful instrument to Michael right away.

I knew he was coming to Denver for a concert in December but that wasn’t going to work because the paint was still drying. Next concert would be Breckenridge Colorado Feb 3 06. That was the date that my wife, Cindy, my granddaughter and I traveled by car from Boulder to Breckenridge, over the Loveland pass, and as luck would have it, it was the coldest night of the year. We braved a whitewash snow storm, but I felt OK with the guitar in a sleeping bag on the back seat. I was on a mission.

It took hours of nerve racking driving. We finely got there. Michael Franti and Spearhead was going to play in a huge tent. I had talked to Franti’s management before this over the net with my intention. They knew I was coming nevertheless. Little did we know that we were still in for some real challenges.

I walked up the gate and no way were we going to get in the tent through the security no matter who’s guitar I had with me.

At this time it was still a blizzard and we grew more cold and discouraged and the granddaughter of course had only a light pair of shoes on her feet and was complaining her heart out.

I decided to call Franti’s management, and was surprised I was talking to someone on a sunny road in Australia that very day. She let me know that it was all lined up and that she would take care of it at that moment. 20 minutes later we were handed some back stage tickets for the after party at 11 pm, 2 hours from now at the hotel.

It was 9 pm we had two hours to kill so through the bitter cold we were trying to find a warm whiskey bar but were quickly kicked out because we had a minor with us. Anyway we got to the party , tired in the deep snow with all the clothes we could find in the car , with the guitar still wrapped up in the sleeping bag. At that point we seriously had begun doubting if this was worth all the trouble we had gone through so far and perhaps we should just turn around and go home. We got finally through the security at the party. The band spearhead loved the guitar at first site and were really amazed at the looks and quality of the instrument, itself. It was an instant hit and I was glowing from all of the complements, but wait a minute, No Michael!

Well come to find out at his time after one clock Michael was so tired and had already gone to bed. I guess we couldn’t blame him, we were plane exhausted too. However we felt really comfortable and welcomed by the band and management which was a nice tone changer after what we’d just gone through. I literally could have crashed (at ) the party

We decided to leave the guitar with Tony the guitar tech. I felt instantly like brothers and I knew that he would defend and protect this thing with his life and he made darn sure that Michael would be playing the Peace guitar first thing in the morning.

After all this we felt like we finally succeeded, although it was not exactly what we’d expected. On the same snowy road back, the only thing I could think of was that I wished I was home in my bed in Boulder.

That summer my wife and I got to meet Michael and Spearhead at Red Rocks. It was an amazing show that blew me away when Michael in the middle of the crowd was howling and surrounded with 10,000 fans under the full moon. We were at a party!

Jonas guitars

Tags: Amy Goodman, Boulder County, Building Guitars, Creative Energy, Democracy, Iraq War, Michael Franti

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There are so many steps in building a guitar from scratch it blows me away every time I look at my work. It is a very humbling process that has to be broken into small doable pieces. This has been such a bonding experience for the two of us. He has guided me through every twist and turn.

I wanted to build a guitar from a tree that was grown in the US. There are so many woods from all over the world that are perfect for their sound quality, but I have a huge passion for things done as locally as possible. We decided that a cherry wood guitar would suit me well, so we got big block and cut out my main pieces. Once they were the right dimension we put them on the thickness sander. My back was glued from two pieces like the pages of an open book. My sides were shaped on the bending jig after been soaked and heated. I put this all together with bracing on my back to give it strength. During this time I also cut and shaped my neck.

The last few times I have focused on my top. After book matching this also, I put in my Rosette. This was one of the finest most careful wood work I have ever done. I wanted something simple yet elegant and unique. I decided I would incorporate wood into the pattern by tying it all back together with the fret board. I choose king wood for my fret board because it looks so amazing and there isn’t many local options for wood dense enough. So my Rosette would also incorporate a small piece of king wood that would flow into the rest of it. I was quite amazed at my final product. It looks so neat and has my own characteristic style.

This week I worked on making braces. This process of “voicing” my guitar is one of the most exciting. If this is done well, all my hard work will come to a beautiful finale. My dad just kept saying, “Sven think sound”, if I had the feeling and intention of unbeatable sound that is what I would get. Once my braces were cut and shaped, I glued them all on with a large jig designed specifically for this process. I bent dowels and used that tension to hold the braces in place.

It is an amazingly intuitive process. This has been one of the most challenging aspects for me. I am a really thinker and planner. With this project I have had to let go of my constraining ideas and logical thoughts to open up for feeling the entire guitar and wood that is in front of me. By using this creative technique I can tell the difference it has made. Flowing with the process and paying attention to the slightest detail, is what will make all the difference in the end.

Tags: Acoustic Guitar, Cherry Wood, Fret Board, King Wood, Sound Quality, Wood Guitar

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The acoustic guitar is a popular stringed instrument which originated in Spain.  It has a flat, waisted body, a round sound hole, and a fretted fingerboard, or “neck,” along which run six strings.  The strings are fastened to tuning screws at the top of the fingerboard, and to a bridge which is glued to the instrument’s sound board or “belly” at the other end.

The strings on acoustic guitars are usually made of steel.  On classical guitars, the top three strings are usually made of nylon or natural gut, while the lower three strings are metal.  The strings are tuned to E, A, D, G, B, and E (starting with the second E below middle C and ending with the E above middle C).
Acoustic guitars are the instrument of choice for many country and folk music guitarists.  High quality acoustic guitars generally feature solid wood construction, with spruce or cedar tops and rosewood or mahogany sides and backs.  Medium quality guitars may combine solid wood tops with laminated sides and backs, while entry level instruments are often made from laminated woods.  Guitar necks and fingerboards are typically constructed from stiff woods such as mahogany, ebony, and rosewood.

Guitars are designed for either right-handed or left-handed players.  With a right-handed guitar, the player’s right-hand fingers pluck or strum the strings while the left-hand fingers are positioned at the appropriate frets to produce the desired pitches.

Tags: Acoustic Guitars, Classical Guitars, Fingerboard, Fingerboards, Guitar Necks, Hand Fingers, Handed Guitar, Level Instruments, Mahogany Sides, Pluck, Quality Guitars, Rosewood, Solid Wood Construction, Sound Hole, Stringed Instrument, Three Strings, Wood Tops

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