Gallery/News

Latest News

6/28/18

Yes it's finished!

5 string bass.

Neck through design.

Black Walnut/Maple/Peruvian Walnut center. Top and back laminated of the head stock are from the same piece as the drop top.

Carbon fiber beams one two way truss rod Macassor Ebony fingerboard.

34" scale,16" radius "Punisher" mop inlay Jumbo frets.

Hipshot Ultralite tuners.

Body wings are Black walnut with Hard Maple laminates.

Salvaged Bostogne Walnut drop top.

Hipshot bridge.

Bartolini Classic passive dual coil pickups.

Dark Glass preamp.

Custom Skull knobs.

11/30/17

Just about done with the new 5 string. I'm going to use a new water base finish on this one. Looking forward to see how it buffs out.

Up next will be a set of acoustic guitars that I will build in tandem. Red Spruce, Rosewood back and sides. One is sold the other I will keep to be played by potential patrons. More on this soon!

5/5/17

Yes it's been a year since my last update, that can't be right!!

First, thank you for being here and for those of you who have periodically come back to see what I'm up to thank you for checking in.

I have been commissioned to build my first from scratch acoustic guitar. I am very excited about this because this has been in the front of my mind for a long time and I have been gearing up for this as well.

Well anyway doing this on the side does have it's drawbacks.

But in the near future that may change.....

05/10/16

New project!

5 String Bass

And a custom 5 string bass neck conversion..?

01/09/2016

It's a new year already! I couldn't be busier than anytime in my life. "A good problem to have"

10/17/15

Thank you for all the great comments. It's been a long journey to this point and I appreciate the continued support.

I have 4 great new tops in Three figured Claro Walnut and one Buckeye Burl. One of the walnut tops is already spoken for. A custom 5 string bass will be its new home. These were not wet down for appearance.

07/04/15

So...time is going too fast. A lot has happened over the last several months and I am hankering for more progress on the new ones. I have been blessed by so many people interested in what I'm doing. I am inspired by the enthusiasm that they bring and will be incorporating that energy into my work!

On a personal musical note. I am playing the Triax Bolt only and have even put my beloved PRS(only guitar I have wanted to played for 23 yrs.) in lockup. The Triax is now my favorite jam,record,play out and go to guitar!

I have 2 potential total custom builds coming up as well. Thank you for being here!

Stay tuned..

03/07/15

Wow what a winter it has been. It has been enduring to say the least. But it reminds me of when I was a kid. Like a real winter.

Meanwhile I have had a little time in between 30 degree and below zero days to progress on some guitar building.

The first Triax bolt on is done and sounds amazing. I have to say this may be my finest sounding guitar yet. I have refined my version of a thin neck. The players that have tried it are giving me very positive feedback. This one features:

Sepele Mahogany Body

West Coast Myrtle Top/Figured

Hand Rubbed Oil Finish

Sepele One Piece Neck Bolted on w/hardened bolts & incerts and Hand Rubbed Blended Oil Finish

Pau Ferro fingerboard w/Medium Jumbo Frets

Graphtech Nut

25" Scale

Triquery inlays

Sperzel Tuners

Gotoh 510TS-FE1 Tremolo/Bridge

Golden Age Pickups -The Hotter Version

CTS Pots

Orange Drop Capacitor

This one is a prototype! However I am taking orders for these with the custom features prescribe

10/19/14

On September 25th our sawmill burnt to the ground. The main building and equipment. That has been an real job to clean up and figure out what to do from here on out. However, we are moving forward and still have enough equipment to do mill work and will be sawing again in the near future and of course, I can still make guitars!

I hope to have time soon to assemble three guitars that are just about cured after painting.

When the weather is not good I will be making guitars all day and producing the best quality guitars that I can! Cheers......

7/20/14

I assembled an SG for a good client. It came out very well.

5/17/14

Working on several prototype bodies to go with the necks posted below.

Meanwhile I have been doing a lot of repairs, refrets, and a couple of custom Strat bodies.

Have also got in some more of that Roasted Maple. This has become one of my all time favorite neck woods! I will be doing a Bass neck very soon with this remarkable wood.

Finally some time to build again, though not complaining

I have been quite busy!

Next up and ready is a one piece Ancient Kauri bodied modern strato kinda guitar. This stuff is really nice! Roasted Maple neck, Pau Ferro fingerboard. Custom hand wound pickups by Kent Armstrong. Stay tuned.......

03/14/14

First one done (above), but still experimenting with pickups and contours. 2 and 3 well under way. Pics to post by the end of the month!

Stay tuned.....

07/04/13

I will be building 3 modern s Strat style guitars. The necks will be posted soon.

04/22/13

Larry's bass has been picked up. {Photos in gallery} The 2 Tek bridge has added alot to the already resonate tone wood. Can't wait to hear it live.

Next build in progress ?

01/05/13

Almost ready to finish Larry's Bass. Just added the other dragon inlay(see pic above). I will be using an Acrylic Lacquer this time around, sanded out a to a satin sheen. I'm getting excited now. Stay tuned....

New neck leveling device in play. More accurate than ever action!

12/31/12

I salvaged an original Gibso* Les Pa*l Jr. that was converted (to put it nicely) to a Les Paul like, two humbucker guitar. Apparently the people that did this had no router and used a power drill and a dull chisel, maybe even a hatchet to cut out the wood. Oh and the black enamel paint job was a job was fun to remove too..

I replace 3 generations of reposted wood,had to oversize with old growth Mahogany to get the bad wood out.

Because of budget I only did what was necessary and we opted for an oil finish,new bridge and better electronics. What a nice guitar! (pics above and to the right)

Also, check out my new logo. These will be on all my guitars from now on. Stainless steel. I will supply anyone with the source upon request. (e-mail me)

05/29/12

A few new projects in the works. First is Larry's Custom Bass(work in progress)see pictures at the top of this page. All Walnut with 2 Maple stripes with Peruvian Walnut accents in the neck. Macassar Ebony fingerboard. Stay tuned.

Next are two new designers already in progress that will be part of a standard model line of guitar that will be available by next year. Picture will be posting as available.

12/13/10

Business has picked up at the mill, and I have had many home projects this fall to tackle. But now it's just about time to start a new guitar. What will it be?

6/01/10

"Blue" is finished!

1/20/10

(Blue) is almost done.I'm spraying her at present.It will take another week to complete the finish I have chosen.There will be 25 coats this time around>I'm using Colortone water base lacquer,the same finish as the 12 string.This time I have better equipment and I'm able to apply more even coats.On the green guitar,I use water base poly/pre catalyzed,which requires less coats and is a one part application.Both require at least two weeks to cure before I can sand out and buff.So far I haven't decided which I like better,although the poly is simpler,it's harder to finish out.Picture at the top is the "Blue" after stain.More to come.........

12/11/09

Its been a busy fall at the mill and in the guitar shop

The (Blue)6 string semi hollow is well on its way (gluing her together today) and I will post pics of that soon.Meanwhile I have had a lot of new and old friends blessing me with instrument repair and mods.I love new challenges and welcome anybody who has a wood & or instrument problem to send them my way.

The new pictures at the top are as follows:top is 1 piece walnut neck with crotch overlay and Bocote fingerboard made by me: left is Kyler's walnut guitar,made by himself:right is my experimental 2 x 12 guitar cab,that turned out to be better than expected:bottom is the neck for the (Blue) guitar work in progress.Have a Merry Christmas.............

10/09

Next guitar will be a 6 string version of the 12 string (red eagle guitar),in blue.Chambered body.One piece Honduran Mahogany neck/Gabon Ebony fingerboard 25" scale

One piece Honduran Mahogany body/Curly Big leaf Maple top

8/09

Unfortunately "Passion Play" is no longer a band. The "Passion Play" My space page will slowly convert to feature my guitars. I will leave the "Jethro Tull"covers up until I record more original tunes, hopefully sooner than later. Thank you for reading this.....

http://www.myspace.com/passionplay1

6/09 , color and more by highlighting part of me and selecting the options from the toolbar.

We will be at the Ohio Guitar Show on Sunday June 14th at the Aladin Shrine Temple,Columbus,OH

http://www.ohioguitarshows.com/

Please feel free to email with any questions or inquiries.