Ken Hooper Guitars ('37 D18)

[yukonkornelius]

Well, I was only 6 months or so into a two year wait for my Hooper, but as luck would have it, I was at the right place at the right time and was able to bump up the list a bit. One of Ken's customers had to bail out of a build that he had scheduled, and I was fortune enough to take his place. My '37 D-18 will be #79. My birth year is 1979, and as many of you know, this wasn't a great time in the history of guitar building. So a true birth year guitar isn't something I'd ever really looked for, or wanted. This Hooper D18 will be #79, and I'll get it at age 37 (a 1937 style build). Pretty cool!

I flew down to Ken's shop on Monday and picked some wood for my build. What a day... First off all, Ken couldn't be a nicer guy, and couldn't have been more hospitable or accommodating. This entire process has been a pleasure from the very first phone call that I made to Ken, long before I even placed a formal order. Well, this trip was no different. My only complaint is that the visit was too shot. What a great day!

I chose some incredible OLD Honduran mahogany that came from the late Ted Davis' stash, as well as a GORGEOUS red spruce top and a very cool, highly figured piece of Brazilian Rosewood for the headstock veneer and the end graft/heel cap.

We chose the woods and discussed all the specs of my build. Man, I couldn't be more excited! Ken was kind enough to have a guitar there for me to play as well! It turns out that #20 (a D18) is a lefty that was made for a local friend. Ken arranged to have it there for me when I got there. What a treat that was! This guitar exceeded my already high expectations. It's about 4 years old and from what he tells me, it gets played a lot. It's open and LOUD. I could feel each pick of each string in my chest. And light as a feather!!! It's an incredible guitar...

As great as all of that was, the best part was being able to watch Ken work. I've been to Martin many times, and most recently visited the Collings factory. I had a wonderful time at both, but there's nothing quite like watching a one man show. It was really something. You can just really tell how much goes into every single aspect of the build. It's hard to put it into words, but it just seems so much more authentic to me. It was a true pleasure to watch.

I'll post some iphone photos of my woods later, as well as pix of #20 and updates from Ken as I receive them, but for now, please take a look at my website for a few shots that I took around the shop.

www.georgeschneider.com

[J.R. Rogers]

Congrats on getting your build going early! Looking real nice. I'd like to hear more about his guitars. Nice photography, too. What is the story with the fish under the hood?

JR

[CoolerKing]

Nice! Looking forward to following along. Maybe the first Hooper thread in the custom shop.

[yukonkornelius]

Originally Posted by J.R. Rogers

Congrats on getting your build going early! Looking real nice. I'd like to hear more about his guitars. Nice photography, too. What is the story with the fish under the hood?

JR

Hi Boss Man! Ha. Long time...

Ken is quite an artist, and he likes to scribble a little something under the hood that is personal for each custom. He gets to know them pretty well as the build approaches.

Here is a favorite of mine. It's for a customer who is an avid coon hunter. (yes, apparently that is still a "thing" in the south. Ha)

[yukonkornelius]

Originally Posted by matthewpartrick

Nice! Looking forward to following along. Maybe the first Hooper thread in the custom shop.

Thanks. Just to clarify; the photos on my site are NOT of my build. I picked the woods and Ken joined my back while I was there. The above photos are of #74. A D18 that he's currently working on. Mine will be #79. But I'll post more as I get them. This was more of an intro.

[Marcus Wong]

I love how he does those little scribbles. They add such a personal touch to the instrument though it won't be seen by many. Congratulations on your upcoming build!

[Gallopinghost]

Wow, great photographs! Thanks for sharing those.

I really connect with this thread. My Mother was a photojournalist for the Nashville Tenneseean, Memphis Commercial Appeal, Orlando Sentinel and a few other papers--back when there were newspapers. She passed in 99, but your style of photography reminds me a lot of the photo-stories she did over the years. I hope you get an opportunity to do more once the build gets going in earnest.

I'm #77 on Ken's build list--a 12 fret dread based on John Arnold's blueprints of Norman Blake's '34 D-28. I can't wait! I've been on the list two years this March and it sounds like we're going to get it done this summer. Ken is a great guy, it's pretty cool to see him doing his thing.

Funny, I didn't know he did the sketches in his guitars. I owned a used D28 a few years back and never thought to look inside for artwork. Doesn't surprise me in the least--a dog will hunt!

-Nate

[yukonkornelius]

Originally Posted by Gallopinghost

Wow, great photographs! Thanks for sharing those.

I really connect with this thread. My Mother was a photojournalist for the Nashville Tenneseean, Memphis Commercial Appeal, Orlando Sentinel and a few other papers--back when there were newspapers. She passed in 99, but your style of photography reminds me a lot of the photo-stories she did over the years. I hope you get an opportunity to do more once the build gets going in earnest.

I'm #77 on Ken's build list--a 12 fret dread based on John Arnold's blueprints of Norman Blake's '34 D-28. I can't wait! I've been on the list two years this March and it sounds like we're going to get it done this summer. Ken is a great guy, it's pretty cool to see him doing his thing.

Funny, I didn't know he did the sketches in his guitars. I owned a used D28 a few years back and never thought to look inside for artwork. Doesn't surprise me in the least--a dog will hunt!

-Nate

Nate,

Thank you for your reply! I can't wait to see your guitar. Sounds amazing!

A lot of times Ken just signs his name and who it's being built for. That's still pretty cool, if you ask me.

[yukonkornelius]

Ken will be rocking and rolling on this starting next week. I'll be taking another trip down to his shop in two weeks to check things out. Can't wait!

For now, here are the woods.

-old growth Hampton Bros. Adirondack Spruce top

-OLD set of Honduran Mahogany from the late Ted Davis' stash.

-Gorgeous Brazilian Rosewood headstock veneer


Ken joined the back, (and sanded it to remove some oxidation) and the rest should be on it's way shortly.

[antsdmb]

Can't wait to watch this one unfold, George! The pedigree of the woods speaks for itself!!

[dunc3862]

I'm looking forward to seeing Nate's 12 fretted being built as well as Georges 18. As the proud owner of one of Ken's D-21 BRW builds, and having owned 3 other Hooper's, I can tell you that Ken is one of the absolute best!!!

Hope to see fellow Hooper fans at the "Chicken Stew" this Saturday at Hooper Guitars!!! Eating starts around 1:00 PM.

[dunc3862]

I owned a used D28 a few years back and never thought to look inside for artwork. Doesn't surprise me in the least--a dog will hunt!

-Nate[/QUOTE]

Nate...The D-28 you had didn't have any special artwork inside...I checked when I had it.

[Uncle Dude]

Looking forward to hearing reports on this. The UMGF thread with the Hooper versus the 38 D-18 were really interesting.

[justonwo]

Originally Posted by yukonkornelius

Hi Boss Man! Ha. Long time...

Ken is quite an artist, and he likes to scribble a little something under the hood that is personal for each custom. He gets to know them pretty well as the build approaches.

Here is a favorite of mine. It's for a customer who is an avid coon hunter. (yes, apparently that is still a "thing" in the south. Ha)

Great little detail there. I love it.

[Gallopinghost]

Originally Posted by dunc3862

Nate...The D-28 you had didn't have any special artwork inside...I checked when I had it.

LOL, thanks for chiming in, David. It's actually comforting to know I didn't miss out on the fun.