electric guitars

designing and crafting tools for sonic expression

I've been playing guitar for most of my life and I have some specific ideas about the features I want in an electric instrument. Unable to find an off-the-shelf guitar to suit my specific needs (and desires), I decided to utilize my woodworking and design skills to create some unique instruments.

I had played Gibson and Fender brand guitars for many years and I loved the individual characteristics of each instrument. Yet the most attractive combination of features for my hands and ears would incorporate Fender's 25.5” scale length (for high-tension, snappy, chiming strings) with Gibson's maple-topped mahogany body. Add to this some coil-splitting humbucking pickups and a wrap-around tune-o-matic style bridge for a guitar that will cover about any musical situation called for. These ideas led me to designing and hand-crafting the Big Orange Solidbody in 1996.

The Big Orange Solidbody was everything I had conceived it to be and today it is still my main instrument of choice. Along the way I had a few ideas about some various woodworking techniques I wanted to try, including a specialized jig for creating a radiused top on a guitar. The Teleradius was the result.

big orangebig orange solidbody

Conceived as my "do-all" instrument, The Big Orange Solidbody combines the best elements of traditional Gibson and Fender designs. Fat tones and snappy chime are the basis of this guitar's vocabulary.

blonde teleteleradius

Featuring a radiused birdseye maple over mahogany body, the Teleradius speaks clearly with the volume rolled off, thanks to the high-frequency bypass filter. Drive an amp hard by simply cranking the volume knob, allowing the the Duncan Hot Lead Stack to do its thing.

semi-solidsemi-solid

The Semi-Solid features a one-piece chambered mahogany body with a thick birdseye maple top. The string-through-body design, modified teardrop f-hole, and cherry sunburst finish accentuate the body shape.