What led you to commission a custom guitar?

[jklotz]

I've been toying with the idea of commissioning a guitar for some time now. But not being able to play any guitar from any custom builder has kept me from taking that leap. Heck, I've never been in the same room with any guitar built by the folks you guys talk about here. But I've got some specific needs in terms of string spacing, nut, neck profile, etc that I'm convinced I won't be able to find on the rack.

So what led you to commission your first custom build? How did you go about selecting a builder? Had you played that builders guitars before ordering one? Or did you just take a very expensive leap of faith? How did it turn out? Any words of wisdom you care to impart on the uninitiated?

[TomB'sox]

I wanted to give myself something special and I just started looking around at different sites and listening to sound clips and looking at prices. I called a couple of luthiers and chose the one whose guitars I liked on clips and in reviews and who seemed great to work with. That happened to be Steve Kinnaird and I have never looked back.

So yes, I think there is a leap of faith there, but after a couple of months of research I felt good and was not disappointed.

Please bear in mind, this was before I even knew about the AGF, you have that at your disposal which is a huge heads up over what I had.

There are also events like I hold (B.I.G.) if you are in no hurry. In my case we have between 7-10 high end luthiers at my home and they all bring 3-4 guitars or more with them...you play all their stuff, you talk to them, become friends and either commission something or like happened last time, find something you like right there and bring it home with no waiting!

PM me with any questions about commissions etc. I would be glad to talk with you as since my first, I have done too many lol!

[dylanheeg]

I may be a bit of an outlier, but for me it is about special circumstances and heirlooms, and not really about custom specs, playability or tone. The aesthetics are as important, if not more important to me. For example, for me, I had a custom guitar built to commemorate each of my 4 kiddos. I hope they take up an interest, and I can give the guitars to each of them some day.

I don’t play professionally any more, or record much anymore, so the performance of the guitar is not as critical to me. Most of my ‘performing’ these days is yodeling around a compfire to Willie Nelson and Johnny cash . And of course I dare not being any of these beauties into that environment.

So for me, when selecting a builder, it was important that they were flexible enough to do some original ideas around designs and aesthetics.

[dylanheeg]

Here is some more great advice - talk to mr Tom B above ^^^^^

Before my latest build, I spoke to him and he was a wealth of knowledge about a set of builders he thought would meet my needs. I ended up going with Patrick Morrissey based on his recommendation.....you can see the other recent thread about it to see how it turned out

[Kerbie]

I've done four or five of them and I'm so glad I did. I first did it because I couldn't find what I wanted hanging on a store wall. So, I researched for quite a while, played a ton of guitars and finally realized customs were the only way to go. So, I had it built.

TomB above is a great source of information and if I can do anything for you along the way, let me know. I wish you the very best.

[jklotz]

Thanks guys, I'll reach out to Tom for sure when I get closer to pulling the trigger.

[nootis]

In my case, I bought a used Stehr from a dealer. Before I bought it, I had some brief dialog with Joel asking him about the guitar. I ended up buying it and really bonded with the guitar. I maintained my dialog with Joel, and of course he sunk his fangs into me to hypnotize me into a commission. Apparently it was really potent, and I ended up commissioning another. This was probably around 2013 when I started this journey. Since then, I have attended numerous shows like Healdsburg, Memphis, Santa Barbara, Woodstock, B.I.G., etc. and have been introduced and befriended a lot of great builders and ordinary folks like me that share a passion for bespoke instruments. Attending those shows allowed me to narrow down certain builders that I admire, and has also led to additional friendships and commissions.

Not the kind of leap of faith that Tom took or that you might perhaps take, but in the end we are all embossed in the same fabric. Needless to say, it's a great community to be a part of.

[D. Churchland]

I commissioned my first guitar at 19 or 20. Been so long I actually can't remember exactly.

I had saved all summer and I wanted to get something different. So I ordered a Metcalf (not building anymore) dread in black walnut. Something that at that time wasn't super popular or commercially widely available.

I think what drew me to a independent luthier was the idea of something being a bit more individually made than simply part of a batch. I kept going with the luthier built side of things with the commssion of a weissenborn (again something at that time that wasn't super popular or widely available) and I kept both guitars for many years.

For me at that time I liked the idea of things being made in smaller numbers, small batch is a popular term these days and it fits well.

[iim7V7IM7]

So what led you to commission your first custom build?

My first “commissioned” guitar was a custom archtop guitar 20+ years ago. I was looking for a specific scale length and nut width and some aesthetic options. This was not a luthier made instrument, but a custom version of factory instrument. I subsequently commissioned a number of electric guitars (Strat and Tele) from custom builders over the next decade with some ergonomic features, desired hardware and pickups. I commissioned a luthier made archtop about 8+ years ago. My first luthier made acoustic flat top was about 7+ years ago. I was looking for some ergonomic, aesthetic and tonewood options and was interested in the custom design and build process. So it was not a sudden decision, but a process of trust gained over two decades prior to pulling a trigger.

How did you go about selecting a builder?

I started by researching online on this website and some others to identify a list of luthiers to investigate further that were generally recommended by others. From this, I looked at their work, models offered and price points to try to cull down my list to 4-6 builders to reach out to. I arranged phone calls with each of these and had a discussion both about my goals, their work, their build queue and their perspective on what they recommended for me. Based on what I heard, I asked 3 of them to quote a custom guitar. I selected the one that I felt best understood my goals.

Had you played that builders guitars before ordering one?

No

Or did you just take a very expensive leap of faith?

Yes

How did it turn out?

Wonderfully, I still have that guitar today (along with many others) and it still makes me smile when I play it.

Any words of wisdom you care to impart on the uninitiated?

There is simply no way to 100% know that you will like a custom instrument. It is ALWAYS in some respect a leap of faith. That said, there are some best practices that I feel can increase your probability of success.

• Online opinions on forums like this are a fine place to “start” but that is just that.
  
• When looking at base prices, assume that it is not uncommon for options to increase that price 20-50%. Some players do buy stock models, but it is more frequent to see upgrades.
  
• Attend a luthier exhibition (Artisan Guitar Show, La Conner Guitar Festival or Woodstock Invitational Luthiers Showcase) to:
  1) meet luthiers and
  2) audition their work yourself. One player’s opinion of “great” may not be “yours”.
  
• Spend time understanding what you have liked in other guitars and disliked in others. Let a builder see you play (in person is best, but a video can work) to understand your style, pick attack and hear YOUR description about sound (people use inconsistent words to describe sound so let them hear what YOU are describing) so you can establish a common understanding to communicate.
  
• Choose more experienced luthiers who have reached a point of consistency in their work and have had their guitars proven in the real world for decades. Less experienced builders can build some fantastic guitars; but whether they have reached a level of consistency is a risk.
  
• Listen to your luthier’s recommendations vs. coming in with a preconceived notion regarding tonewoods. They know their guitars and the quality of their stock better than anyone.
  
• Ask about how they prefer to communicate with you before and during the build (cadence and method). Ask what decisions about your guitar will be made during the build that will require your input or approval. Try to understand their business practices (e.g. deposit, payment schedule, warranty policy etc.)
  
• By doing this, the odds are high that you will get a guitar that you will truly love. That said, if you go through the same process say 10 times will there be 2 or 3 of the ten guitars that you like best? The answer is YES. It is not that any of them are BAD guitars. Finding your ideal guitar is inherently an empirical journey. You need to play many guitar types, tonewoods and builders work to get to that point in my experience. There is no getting around this. Very few people can do this, but some do. I think if someone is doing this once to get your “dream” guitar, just be happy with the guitar you get because it is likely a great guitar.

My $.02

[Chipotle]

I didn't even know such a thing existed until I found out about it here. Curse you, AGF!

The idea of getting a guitar that was exactly what I wanted--tonally, ergonomically and aesthetically--was very attractive. I've always been one to go for the "unusual" option, the rare model, custom or semi-custom, in various areas (from guitars to automobiles to home renovations).

I found the luthier based on what I saw here from a number of makers, plus some local Google searching. It's always a leap of faith, since you have no way to guarantee an instrument not yet built will fulfill your expectations, but I did get to see another of the luthier's instruments--similar to what I wanted--played live, as well as YouTube samples.

[justonwo]

I don't think of guitars as "custom built" so much as I think of them as "luthier built." The distinction, for me, is that I'm not looking for something that is custom tailored to my specific wants/needs. I might pick woods and some appointments in collaboration with the builder, but in general I stay away from having them "customize" the voice in some way. I just want them to implement what they consider to be their ideal sound.

As iim7V7IM7 mentioned, it's always a leap of faith, even with builders whose work you know well. Any builder who's being totally honest will admit that there is always an element of unknown in the outcome of any build. Usually, I consider the unknowns to be a pleasant surprise and part of the fun. Occasionally, I get a luthier-built guitar that just doesn't do it for me. Not often, but it does happen.

One build went very south for me, but that experience has mostly been an outlier. I would caution anyone against commissioning based on reviews from an internet forum or even sound samples. There simply isn't any substitute for sampling a builder's work. Ideally, you want to play more than one example because you also want to gauge consistency.

One of the best possible places to find a luthier-built instrument is at a major guitar show - obviously, not in the cards now. Barring that, there are a few high end stores that carry a lot of luthier-built instruments. If you aren't picky about having a particular spec of wood or dimensions, buying a spec luthier-built instrument is often a great way to go. There's no replacement for being able to play the actual instrument you intend to buy if you have some uneasiness about doing a custom build. And, of course, buying used guitars from a particular builder is also a good way to get a great guitar without the worry of immediate depreciation.

[BlackKeys36]

For me it was playing a small bench luthier guitar for the first time and realizing it had something special that none of my 100+ factory guitars in my lifetime had. I ended up purchasing that guitar from a friend later down the road, but between then I commissioned my first build.

I watched thousands of videos online, emailed and called shops that have carried or carry many small builder guitars, and waiting until one jumped out. For me, that was a Wilborn Lion that TNAG sold as their first Wilborn. I watched every video Ben had ever posted (some I watched a dozen times) and opened an email dialogue with him. It took almost no time once I had made contact for me to know that I wanted to own one of his guitars.

I now own one of his earlier guitars that I purchased from another AGF member and have played one of his Nautilus at BGS, but when I commissioned I had never touched or heard one of his creations in person.

I will say that, though Ben's work is impeccable and his guitars sound amazing, a lot of my decision was around the fact that he showed a passion in his videos that made him the type of person I wanted to support. He has a contagious enthusiasm about guitars and guitar-building that sold me as much as the guitars themselves did.

Last week while I was building with Steve Kinnaird and Ryan Middlebrook of Kinnaird Guitars I questioned them some on the differences between their guitars and, to borrow your words, high-end "off the rack" guitars. In short, there is a 10ish% of care and building to the specific woods selected that is essentially impossible for a large factory builder to accomplish. For example, the Lutz top for my guitar was pre-deflected and then sanded and braced to its specific and unique characteristics. We could have built 10 Lutz-topped guitars and all 10 would have been a little different in those characteristics. That just isn't feasible for a company that will make 1,000+ guitars today. Anytime you add "production" into the mix you will almost surely have to make compromises. I don't say that to take anything away from the factory builders. They have a place and what they have built and accomplished is nothing short of incredible.

All that said, it is very possible to commission a guitar and be disappointed in the outcome. You won't find many negative reviews here, but in private conversations you will find that many people here, through experience, have found builders that they love and builders that they think make pretty guitars that do nothing for them sound-wise.

With the large guitar shows not happening right now, a great way to play some builders would be to find some people near you that would be willing to meet up. I haven't been active on AGF for long and already know a handful of local guys here and have met up with one to play.

Good luck in your search; it can be a really fun part of the process!

[tadol]

From your initial post, it sounds like you know what you want in a guitar, but can't find a model that meets your ergonomic desires. That would be a great place to start - know what guitar really floats your boat, but doesn't have the specs you really want, and talk to that shop to see if one could get built with those specs. I know Martin has some custom options, and small shops like Santa Cruz do a very wide range of custom specs on almost any of their models. That can frequently get you an outstanding guitar that you already know, physically modified to meet your needs, at a reasonable price.

If you do want to pursue a solo luthier build (which is a great experience if done well) then knowing the model and tone profile that you want will be a huge time saver. But you really want to try some of their guitars, and to look at examples of their work to make sure that their general aesthetic works for you. I remember playing a little maple guitar by Bruce Sexauer he called "the Artifact" that he had distressed and stained to look (from a distance) as though the guitar was a very well played 80 year old, but still meticulously well hand-crafted - not something that looked from a machine. It convinced me that I needed to get one of his guitars. Well, that particular one went to Australia I think, but I now have 4 of his guitars, the last of which is the only custom I've ever had built, and it was from some Mad RW and swiss spruce that we picked up together while at the Cremona Music Festival. But even with this build, I wanted a Sexauer guitar, not a Tadol guitar built by Bruce, so other than a few specs that I wanted in nut, saddle, neck, and I knew I wanted to have one of his classic and unique assymetric fan fret designs, but I pretty much let Bruce handle the details in his way, and I now have a beautiful Sexauer guitar which is fully matched in its beautiful sound by the wonderful memories it holds.

But you will never find a post about a custom build where the buyer reports anything less than that, right? But you may notice a large number of very lightly used custom guitars for sale. People get caught up in materials and design and specifications, but end up with exactly what they want, and it really isn't. Used instruments are actually a great way to try out a builders work for a very reasonable price, especially if you know that the build specs will work for you. My first 3 Sexauers were all "previously owned" and they are great, and because my cost basis is so much lower, when I am ready for the next Sexauer, I can get most of my money out of a couple of them to apply to the new one - still really thinking maple -

You can't afford to do it very often (or, I should say, I really can't) so take your time, make the effort to try out a variety of builders, and absolutely understand where you are in your decisions about the instrument, and about the object - It's a perspective thats hard to achieve until you've maybe gone too far pursuing the object, at least once -

[Guitars44me]

After commissioning a couple R.Taylors and playing and owning dozens and dozens of high end guitars by well known small shops and single Luthiers I lucked out.
A fine AGFer who had bought and sold with me previously had John Kinnaird's
99th build FS here. When I got it it smoked everything I had ever played. When I reached out to find why Mike sold it he said he was commissioning one. When I asked in a bit whether he was happy he said he had ordered another!
That did it and I called John K.
I did have multiple ideas for an extremely ergonomic performance instrument and John was super easy to talk with and only shot down a couple of them! Hahaha

We are on build #5 in four years now and the thread is up here in the Custom Shop.

Obviously I Love what John and I have cooked up...

And I never would have known how right for me his work is if not for the AGF.

Also, another plug for talking to Tom Bsox! And Hard to go wrong with any of the fine Luthiers here.

Enjoy the search and may your dream instruments reach you soon!

Salud

Paul

[The Bard Rocks]

I like the idea of having something that no one else has, something made to suit my own wants and desires. And the build process is addictive, a lot of fun. I enjoy being involved from afar.

What brought me to it? First, the ice had been broken by an autoharp I had made a decade earlier. I had stopped being satisfied with my high end guitar; it was too quiet for me to hear myself when playing with others, so i determined that a boutique was the way to go and I played them every chance I got. There were more shops back then and i traveled some to visit them. then while trying out a H & D, the guy had a used Kinnaird there to try. I tried it, loved it even though it was not perfect for me. So I did some research on this Kinnaird guy and made the discovery I could get a new one, completely custom, however I wanted it, cheaper than I could get the used one (well, it was fancy). To me that was a no-brainer. somebody who always liked being a bit different, I haven't been the same since.