A tour of Hodges Guitars

[lw216316]

Hodges Guitars is one of our sponsors.
I recently discovered that Ken Hodges is a neighbor located just 10 miles from me. Ken invited me to stop by and take a tour of his shop.
So I did and thought I would share my experience with you.

Let me say that I did not know Ken before this,
had never owned, played or seen one of his instruments,
and have no financial interest in promoting his shop.

So, hopefully this will be an unbiased report.

The tour / visit lasted about 3 hours and we had wonderful discussions about
the details of guitar building, including -

bracing -
wood selection - grain patterns, unusual sources of wood - some with great history and stories - (Ken has a fine collection of tone woods,)
characteristics of various woods

kerfling,
bridges -material and placement,
binding, use of bone for nuts and saddles,
joint methods - dovetail vs bolt on,
finishes and how they affect tone,
factory guitars vs custom guitars,
tools - Ken has an extensive collection
12 fret and 14 fret, scale length

what works well for bluegrass style vs what works well for finger style

I played a couple of models and was impressed with the tone of each
- although I did not play much because I'm so used to wide necks
1 13/16 or 1 7/8 - that I fumble if I try to play something more narrow...
Ken did not have a wide neck model available for me to try -
so I did not get to put one to an extensive test run....
- and I am used to 12 fret models and his examples were 14 fret.

Ken can build 12 fret models and whatever nut width you want ...
he just did not have a 12 fret, wide neck in the shop at the time.

There was an acoustic / electric guitar he had that is one of the most beautiful guitars I have ever seen.
It makes use of some blood wood inlay around the sound holes and is
spectacular. The back is also very beautiful and uses an unusual wood
that has a natural stain in it that is unique.

I did not think to take a camera with me but Ken has a web site,
a blog and is on Facebook - where pictures and other information is available.

My sense is that for Ken this is a 'labor of love' and that the profit motive is not his driving force. He has already been successful in the business world and retired from it and does not depend on guitar sales 'for his next meal'

It was obvious how much he enjoys building guitars -
especially talking about the wood.
He has a background in furniture building. The hardwood floor he installed in his house is lovely.
His attention to detail and making sure the build and quality are right was also apparent to me.
He is very knowledgeable about guitar construction -
answering ever question I had to my satisfaction.

In my opinion Ken is an honest and truthful man of integrity.

If you have never owned or played a custom made guitar -
I can tell you there is a world of difference compared to most factory made guitars. The reason is the individual tailoring of each component to bring out the best sound in each instrument. I also think you often get a better selection of wood. Of course you also get to spec out your guitar with
exactly the components you want.

I did not discuss prices with Ken. There was a price tag on one of his models and I think it was very reasonable - It was in the range of a top of the line factory guitar for some companies - and you get a lot more for your money compared to one of them.

I hope this review with be of value to anyone considering a Hodges guitar

Thanks Ken Hodges for the tour and your hospitality.

- Larry

[Hodges_Guitars]

Thanks Larry! I am humbled with your review. You are certainly welcome for a return visit any time.

If any of the rest of you would like to visit, consider this an invitation. Just let me know ahead of time that you are coming so that I can be sure to be here.

Thanks again,
Ken

[naccoachbob]

Larry, it sounds like your visit with Ken is every bit as pleasurable as my visits with Stephen Kinnaird, who lives in my home town.
Your "review" was more articulate than mine, but I left with the same feeling that I'm hearing from you.
Were you as scared to touch some of his guitars as I was?
I can understand if you were, his gallery has some very, very nice instruments.
It's very apparent to me from my visit, your visit, and the many posts that I read on here that these true luthiers are really nice people to be around. To a man (woman) they've been friendly and always ready to give good advice.
I know Steve has helped me a ton in my beginnings in building.
Bet you'll never forget your visit. Keep going back
Bob

[lw216316]

Bob,
People love to share and talk about the things they truely love -
I've found that to be the case with each of the two
one-man-luthier shops I've visited. They love what they are doing.

Three years ago I did not know what a saddle or a nut was on a guitar -
a crazy cowboy who saddled up his guitar instead of his horse ?

...anyway, since then I've learned what I can,
and learned some things from Ken.

I don't plan to build guitars but knowing more about the construction of a guitar helps me in knowing what to look for in a guitar that will match my style of play.

If you know some detail about guitar construction then it will make it much easier for you to communicate with and spec out a guitar to your luthier
(if you should decide to have one built for you)
AND
I think you will be much more likely to be satisfied with the end result....
you will have a better idea beforehand of how each component or technique will effect the tone and playability.

Even if you don't have a custom guitar built,
being better educated about guitar construction can help you in your purchase of a 'factory' guitar.

- Larry