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Custom Koa Guitar

This guitar was designed by a student and built by Jonas and the student, Robert.  It is a hollow body, but the neck is all the way through.   It is constructed from mostly mahogany and maple.  You see it here being demonstrated with the analog out and MIDI out functions.

Although I was crushed beyond belief, and my relationship with my authoritarian father did not ever develop, naturally my curiosity as to whether or not I could repair it grew stronger. I couldn’t, but I was able to read up on guitar construction and managed to put together from a crude kit, some spit and glue, an acoustic guitar by sneaking into my on dad’s workshop when I could. I don’t still have the guitar but I wasn’t immediately on the path of becoming a luthier at that moment either. I went on with my adolescence and got into many different things. Growing up I worked in general construction and masonry. I got to know how to work with tools and enjoyed it.

Belgium was such a trip. In our neighborhood there lived someone who owned a small airplane. All the kids in the neighborhood suddenly got into skydiving. I spent many hours in the air and after becoming a very proficient skydiver, I bought a hang glider and still have it to this day. I now prefer paragliding and look forward to jumping off the Boulder cliff (or any others around) every chance I get.  But back to my story. I finally learned how to play the guitar well enough and found myself, many nights performing with a rising star in the Belgium community, Guido Belcanto and his band, “Speedy King and His Feetwarmers”.  He was, and still is, a very flamboyant entertainer and we gigged steadily all throughout my 20′s.

I eventually had to come to America in my 30′s just for the excitement of the venture, and got into whatever came along.  I ended up in Boulder Colorado where I was doing high end woodworking such as custom furniture building.  My second wife and I had a small but successful art business and we were painting large wall murals and accessorizing the decor with custom artifacts of one sort or another.  As luck would have it, my father died and left me a small inheritance in 1999.  That same week, while wondering what to do with the new found money, I visited a fellow Boulderite who was building Mandolins in his shop in the north part of town.  I suddenly had a lifetime epiphany!  I knew within the first few minutes of stepping into that shop that I had the money I needed to build my own guitar building shop.  I immediately began to collect all the equipment and tools necessary to complete a custom guitar building shop where I could pay tribute to the harsh lesson my dear ol’ dad had taught me:  Do whatever you heart tells you is YOU and is RIGHT.

These self locking tuners from Planet Way.  The pickups are Seymore Duncan P-Rails Hot.

Made for a guitar player who wants it all, this beautiful guitar along with the Seymore Duncan P-Rails pickups deliver 3 distinct tonal voices.  This guitar can sound like a Sratocaster or a Les Paul.   These pickups are designed to provide a punch that is more aggressive then the standard Stratocaster alone.

Complete with a Satin finish, the DR-1 is a custom electric guitar that any guitar player could be proud of.

In the 1960s, the international community acted and 80 countries met in Washington, D.C. to sign the completed Convention, which became effective in 1975.  Today, 172 of the world’s 194 countries have signed CITES.  Only a few countries in Western Africa and western Asia have not.  The rules enacted by the Convention have affected the way The Martin Guitar Company has been able to do construction or repairs on their guitars.  For these rules alone, Martin has had to change to Indian rosewood, a similar and non-endangered tonewood.

CITES only affects certain plant and animal material that is crossing international boarders, so as long as you don’t intend to travel oversees with a Brazilian rosewood guitar, then go ahead and make one, or own one, no problem.  Where do you get the wood if you want to build one?  That’s hard to say, it’s not illegal to buy, or use Brazilian rosewood within the U.S.  Naturally its rarity ensures its desirability and its price is very high.  Expect to pay $10-20thousand for some perfectly cut raw Brazilian rosewood.

CITES only establishes a ‘floor’ of restrictions.  The member countries can establish any other rules as long as they’re stricter than CITES.  Imagine a touring musician who plans to visit several countries with a guitar constructed of Brazilian rosewood.  It would be impossible to comply with each country’s CITES rules and play the tour, the guitar would be confiscated at a boarder by astute customs agents.

CITES establishes a hierarchy of protection for threatened species of plants and animals.  Appendix I include species “threatened with extinction.”  Of the approximately 5,000 animal species or 28,000 plant species, there are a few from the list that appear on guitars.   Among the listed are Brazilian rosewood, elephant ivory, and tortoiseshell.    Appendix II lists species that are “not necessarily now threatened with extinction” but “may become so unless trade in specimens of such species is subject to strict regulation.” Honduran mahogany is listed in Appendix II.  This only applies to raw wood, not finished guitars, so you need not worry about getting permission for international travel with your mahogany guitar, unless traces of other materials are discovered.

If your guitar checked out for tortoiseshell, ivory or Brazilian rosewood, you’ll not be able to legally get it in or out of any of the 172 member countries without a permit.

Brazilian Rosewood Full Set - Call for Pricing

Brazilian Rosewood, almost universally regarded as the best sounding wood for acoustic guitars.  Because of its scarcity and desirability, there are lots of myths and mysteries associated with it.  When talking about Brazilian rosewood and American guitar making, the conversation starts with the Martin Guitar Company.   Because Martin used Brazilian rosewood throughout most of their history, it became the wood that most builders wanted to use on their own finest models.  Martin switched to Indian rosewood, a tonewood that builders have been using for decades.  But, thanks to the sudden scarcity, guitars made of Brazilian became instant collector’s items.

According to Dick Boak, the director of Martin’s artist relations and publicity, “Brazilian rosewood was chosen for its beauty; it was an extremely stable and tonally appropriate choice for back and sides on any musical instrument.”  When Boak was asked by a reporter for the Fretboard Journal, the guitar builder’s choice in magazines, “What determined a good-quality, or Martin-quality, back-and-side set?  What were they looking for back then?”  “They were looking for quarter cutting, which was chosen for its stability.  A flat sawn or cathedral cut is prone to cracking right down the middle of the cathedral grain.  It probably does not have the stability or longevity of stiffness as quarter cut.”

In the world’s greatest Martins, Brazilian rosewood and Adirondack spruce, scalloped bracing – everything came together to produce the finest instruments, the Stradivariuses of the guitar world.  That was the golden age, and what most modern luthiers are trying to copy, either tonally or exactly.  Because of its now rarity, some guilders are getting $20,000 and above for a Brazilian rosewood back-and-side set.

Why, indeed is the Brazilian rosewood the most sought-after wood for quality instruments?  Well, “if you pick up a Brazilian rosewood fingerboard and hit it, it goes ‘Ding’,” says Paul Reed Smith in the Fall 2008 edition of The Fretboard Journal.  It becomes immediately obvious to any guitar builder, when listening for the tonal quality of wood.  Paul Reed Smith demonstrated to a reporter that when a blank guitar neck made of Brazilian rosewood was hit, “in its raw form and it sounds just like a marimba.   It ‘Rings’!”

Working with Brazilian rosewood can be a lot of work because, depending on how stiff the piece of wood is, it can be extremely difficult to bend or it can crack very easily.  Experienced luthiers know to soak it for six or seven hours before attempting to bend it for the guitar sides.  There are enough oils in the wood that the wood is also stable.  Usually the guitar builder will add finish on a piece of wood to keep it stable during different changing temperature and humidity conditions.  With rosewoods you don’t really need to do that.

Is Brazilian rosewood the best wood to use for building a guitar?  Brazilian is what has been valuable thorough the history of reselling guitars. And that’s thanks to the Martin Guitar Company because some of their most coveted guitars are of Brazilian rosewood.

Classical,  Steel-String, 12 String or Electric Guitars

We offer:

• Use of my shop and tools, we go through the building process from design to finish

• We cover the safe use of hand , and power tools

• We can use local, exotic or recycled woods

• This also includes bending the sides mother of pearl cutting and inlay

• Different options in the use of finishes

• I build a guitar with you , as you follow the steps and work on yours

• In the end you walk  away with a beautiful  instrument

• We take lots of pictures or video from your progress

• The PRICE  for the complete course is $ 1600 for a guitar that you build your self

This price does not include the case and the tuners or  exotic woods used for back and sides, there will be a price adjustment.

The requirement is half down payment , we can work out a payment plan that will work for both of us

What it takes from you:

• Some basic woodworking skills would be helpful but I will go over the basic uses of the tools required with you keeping safety in mind

• Average commitment  of 24 lessons at the shop for about 4 hours ea.

• And don’t forget to bring your  enthusiasm !

Still curious  and have questions ? Stop by at the shop for a chat  and come  play a few nice guitars!

Call me 303 543 0146 or my cell is 720 999-1223

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

The U.S. handmade-guitar industry has exploded over the past 30 years. Here’s how to find a craftsman to build your ideal custom instrument.

As far out as it may seem, a generation ago it was virtually impossible to lay your hands on an acoustic guitar hand-made in the U.S. But now, while other artisan industries have been automated out of existence (or exported to countries with cheaper labor), American guitar making flourishes.

Peace, love and lutherie

The group responsible for the custom-made industry, which includes more than 3,000 luthiers in North America who make about 150,000 guitars a year, can be described in one word: Hippies.

Until the 1960s, most acoustic guitars in the U.S. were made in factories owned by Martin, Gibson and a handful of other companies, explains Tim Olson, the founding editor of The Guild of American Luthiers’ American Lutherie.

Then hippies came along, who, Olson says, weren’t concerned with making a lot of money. Instead, they saw making guitars as a way of life. “They didn’t come at it from an angle of ambition. It was more of a free-spirited curiosity,” he says.

Lucky for the fledgling handmade guitar industry, Gibson and Martin made some of their worst guitars in the 1970s (both have had major comebacks since then). That, combined with the folk music revival, increased demand for good acoustic guitars, and allowed the handmade guitar industry to put down roots.

And the industry continues to grow robustly thanks to one trait from its hippie past — cooperation — a trait that remains the driving force behind the industry’s culture. Leaf through a copy of the industry Bible, Acoustic Guitar magazine, and you’ll find ads for workshops taught by the top luthiers. Guitar makers swap techniques, which shores up the entire industry, creating more demand and more opportunities for more luthiers.

Cooperation extends to big manufactures as well, says Rick Davis, a guitar builder who is the head of the Association of Stringed Instrument Artisans. The manufacturers have recently started hiring custom builders to help design new models, he says.

The case for custom

Custom-made guitars fall into two general categories: Those made as art for art’s sake (check out Beyondthetrees.com for examples from luthier/artisan Fred Carlson), and those made to suit an individual musician. Davis says guitar players often choose to commission a handmade instrument as “a matter of feel. A customer might say, ‘gosh I love the way Martins sound, but I hate their neck. I love way Taylors play, but I don’t like the sound very much. So I want a Martin with a Taylor neck. A custom maker can do that.’”

A custom maker also cherry picks from a woodpile to select only the best pieces. And, Davis says, a custom maker can take advantage of the wood’s individual qualities. Factory-made guitar tops (the most crucial piece of wood for a guitar’s tone) all have the same thickness, Davis says. But “every one of my tops is probably a little different, because I’m shaving off a couple of thousandths at a time, looking for that absolute moment when it just lights up and says, I’m there.”

A custom maker can also add inlays that you choose or design.

The cost of a custom-made guitar starts at around $2,000 — though the average price falls between $3,000 and $5,000 — and runs up to $50,000.

Meet your maker

But there’s more to buying a custom guitar than just price. It is a major commitment of time. Craftsmen often have a backlog of months or years. The more in-demand their skills, the longer you’ll have to wait. Small shops and few, if any, employees mean productivity is often limited to 12 to 20 instruments a year.

Your first step as a potential buyer should be to learn about guitar making yourself. Find out what goes into building a guitar so can better communicate your needs, and understand the luthier’s questions. Also be ready to describe your playing style — do you prefer flat picking, open tunings, what string gauge do you prefer?

Next, attend a guitar show where you have the best opportunity to look, listen to and play a variety of custom guitars. Take the opportunity to meet and speak with the builders. Some upcoming events include:

• The Newport Guitar Festival, August 6-8 in Newport, R.I. (www.newportguitarfestival.com).
• The Guild of American Luthiers’ annual convention and exhibition, July 7-11 in Tacoma, Washington (www.luth.org).
• Healdsburg, Calif., guitar festival, August, 2005 (www.lmii.com).

You can also browse the Web to find luthiers near you. You’ll find lists of guitar makers on both the Guild of American Luthiers and the Association of Stringed Instrument Artisans Web sites.

Look for craftsmen who specialize in the type of guitar you want. Then ask for references. Talk to the musicians who play the instruments to make sure they’re satisfied with the workmanship.

Confirm the price and methods of payment. Most custom guitar makers typically expect half up front and the rest on delivery.

And finally, find out what happens if you’re not satisfied. With most makers you’re stuck, but some may offer a limited money-back guarantee.