Custom Acoustic Guitars Built by Hand

The top is the soul of the guitar. More than any other component, it shapes the tone, the resonance, the way the instrument breathes and responds under your hands. It's also the first thing the world sees when you play. Make it count.

You'll notice that a clear, pristine, "catalog perfect" top is rarely my first choice. I'm drawn to wood with character: figuring, color, grain that tells a story. A top doesn't have to be flawless to be extraordinary. Often, the most visually striking pieces are also the most acoustically alive.

If you spot handwritten notes on a piece, those are data sets from baking cycles. I bake each top through several cycles to set the cell structure and crystallize the sap or "pitch". You may also see small caramel colored dots scattered across the surface. That's residual pitch rising out of the wood under heat. The result is a top that performs better sonically from day one and responds more predictably to seasonal changes over the life of the instrument.

My tonewoods are curated, not cataloged. Each piece is chosen by hand for what it offers, sonically and visually. Browse what's available and let me know if there's something you don't see so I can source it and get it into the shop to acclimate. Don't be afraid to be bold…the guitar we create should look as good as it sounds.

Many years ago I began buying tops from a sawyer named Mario DaCosta in British Columbia. I've built a lot of sets from his wood. The sets with the funny names are usually his that he named after some feature or color of the tree. Fantastic tonewood.

The back and sides of a guitar don't drive the sound the way the top does, but they can definitely shape it. Think of the top as the performer and the back and sides as the room it performs in. They color the tone, focus the projection, and add their own character to the mix. Construction methods matter a bit more than wood choice here, but species still has a voice, and I've noted the general sonic tendencies for each one in the collection.

I've gathered these sets over many years, some for their sonic qualities and some purely for their beauty. A great back set is also a visual statement. It's what you see every time you pick up the guitar, it's the wood closest to you while you play, and often the color and figure of these sets can be visually stunning. That's worth caring about.

Browse the collection and choose boldly. If you don't see what you're looking for, let me know and we'll track it down.

I've built guitars of all shapes and sizes over the years, but these three body shapes are where I've landed after decades of building. I've kept what I love about certain shapes and left behind what I don't. What remains is very intentional.

The Salon is my take on the parlor and 00 size guitars. The narrower upper bout nods to vintage shapes while the modified X brace gives the lower bout a voice that punches well above its historical roots. Small but not shy.

The Orquesta has its roots in the Martin OM, but softening the waist and letting those curves flow more naturally into the upper bout improves the resonance of the entire chamber and gives the soundboard more room to breathe. It's a familiar shape made more of itself.

The Siñ (sin-yuh) is my flagship. It carries the power of a dreadnought and the focus & balance of a Grand Auditorium, and it does both without compromise. It's also the platform I reach for when a build calls for something more like a baritone or a 12 string, and adding a cutaway is always an option. A workhorse that doesn't quit.

These three shapes cover a lot of ground, but if you have something more traditional in mind, reach out. I'm always happy to talk through options.