Guitars

Old Man Winter Stratocaster

This guitar started my whole path down the custom guitar road. One day while fighting a case of cabin fever during the winter, I decided I needed a project. I have been a hobby guitarist for a while and thought that maybe blending my passion for design with my interest in music would make for a great boredom killer.

You can find a write up on the full build HERE.

Colorado Telecaster

This guitar was designed to capture the heart of Colorado. It was a present for my dad and I wanted to illustrate things he would like from the area. As one of the truly “western” states, what better guitar to represent it than a Telecaster? This was the first time I ever dabbled in a DIY guitar kit.

Check out the full build HERE!

Steampunk Epi Special

This guitar was done as a quick budget build. Epiphone Special II guitars are not exactly known for their quality, but they do make a decent entry into the world of music. For that alone, it was worth saving. It was for my brother, who is a band teacher and needed something cool to hang on his wall.

Steampunk has seen a big resurgence in popularity with many new games focusing on the visual aspect of it. The theme fit perfectly for both ease of build and eye-catching appeal. A clockwork design was laid out and hand-carved into the wood. Using some metallic paint picked up from the local hardware store, a rustic finish was added to make the guitar look like a worn piece of bronze.

Native American PRS SE

I always wanted a PRS due to the cool bird inlays and amazing tone. I thought it would be cool to honor the past incorporating a Native American theme. Westerns always interested me as a kid, so this was my chance to capture a bit of that essence in a fun design project.

Check out the blog post HERE!

Patriots MIM Strat

This MIM (Made In Mexico) Strat was done as a Christmas gift to a die-hard Patriots fan. At the time, the Patriots were defined by their dynamic duo of QB Tom Brady and TE Rob Gronkowski. I decided to narrow the guitar down to illustrating an all-too-common scene of Brady tossing a TD to Gronk with their Super Bowl wins on the side.

Now, as a Bears fan, this one was a bit difficult for me, ha! But it was for a great customer and I enjoyed the challenge of trying to capture a moment in time that also was representative of an era. To keep within the budget of the client, the MIM Strat was chosen for both it’s reputation for being a great instrument at a reduced cost as well as having a good solid body foundation to carve from.

After the carve was done, I did something a bit different on this one and used some custom created stains so that I could paint while also not losing the wood grain. It resulted in a somewhat “washed” look that I really loved.