GALLERY: Modern Builder Vault 2010

"Cobra Guitarsяlaunched in early 2010 by Jimmy ""Cobra"" Carbonetti and Eli Apolloяspecializes in relicуd, worn-and-torn guitars. Thus far, Cobra has tackled four of his favorite рold-timeyс models. рI had experience building and relicуing Strats and Teles,с he says, рso building our own versions was a natural starting point for Cobra guitars.с In addition, theyуve introduced a model reminiscent of a Les Paul Junior and another guitar inspired by the relatively obscure Fender Starcaster. Pictured: Cavebean"

"A local go-to repair guy since his teens, Thorn Custom Guitars owner Ron Thorn has been offering custom inlay and other guitar design and builder services to numerous companies since 1993. In 2000 he began putting the Thorn name on the headstocks of some of the many guitars he was building. Together with his father and the rest of рteam ThornсяJohn Gaudesi, Nick Viglienzoni, Tony Ramirez, Glenn Matejzel and Martin BravoяThornуs Glendale, CA operation builds approximately 50 custom guitars a year and also provides custom inlay services for many guitar manufactures, such as the Fender Custom Shop, Ibanez, Schecter, Yamaha, and numerous boutique builders. Pictured: SoCal Custom Series R/S and G/T models. "

"рSoon after learning to play, I began buying old, junker Kays and Harmonys with my chore money,с remembers Matt Artinger. рFor years, I tore apart and rebuilt those guitars. I ended up building my first guitar from scratch when I was 16. It was a Martin from a dreadnought kit.с But Artinger didnуt approach guitar building as a hobby or something to fiddle withяhe knew this was going to be his life. To improve his woodworking abilities, Artinger took a job helping a local master cabinetmaker, and then at age 19, he founded Artinger Custom Guitars. The shop has had some up and down moments over the years, but Artinger is still glad he made the decision to be a luthier. Pictured: 10th Anniversary Florentine Hollowbody, Art Deco Archtop"

"Worland began as a hobbyist 20 years ago with little more than a passion for guitars and a background in design engineering. He says the hobby рgot out of control,с and in 1997 he became a full-time luthier, creating Worland Guitars in Rockford, Illinois. He started building acoustic and archtop guitars, and slowly broke the mold, using different tonewoods like walnut, redwood and amboyna burl, as well as exploring new shapes, string configurations and instruments. By building both traditional and exotic instruments, his two different styles of guitars work like a ying and yang for his creative motivation. Pictured: Live Edge Lap Steel, HarpaStar"

"Normandy Guitars founder and CEO, Jim Normandy, left of the white-collared world of banking for the land of luthiers and has never looked back. When Normandy was ensconced in the stringent corporate world, he adopted different rules and alternative methods to get the job done. So itуs no surprise that when he wanted to construct an acoustic bass for himself 15 years ago, he thought of everything but wood. He considered plastic, fiberglass, and other composite materials before landing on aluminum. ""After I dialed in the perfect thickness and grade of aluminum, the instrument took on tonal characteristics all its own,"" Normandy says. ""Aluminum is brighter and sustains longer than a wood guitar. It also doesnуt feedback like wood."" Pictured: Alumicaster, Black Crow Engraved Alumicaster"

"While most builders are grabbing the last batches of endangered species of mahogany and rosewood, Kauer generally goes with Spanish cedarяaka South American mahoganyяand ambrosia maple. рSpanish cedar is an amazing, warm, clear sounding mahogany that is also very light weight and ambrosia maple is just as fantastic sounding as Eastern maple,с says Kauer. рIуd rather put all my efforts into making the most of what I think is the best-sounding, most-reliable tonewoods available to build something I know will sound good and I wonуt run out ofи and to be honest, Iуm tired of seeing 10-top after 10-top [laughs]. What I truly enjoy about the Spanish cedar and ambrosia maple is they create a familiar sounding guitar that still produces its own voice and character.с All of Kauerуs standard Daylighters are an offspring that is one-third-Jazzmasterяbody styleяone-third Les Paulяscale length, radius and humbuckersяand one-third Firebirdяplaying position and neck access. Pictured: Argonaut"

"J. Backlund Design appears to be the brainchild of Spacely Sprockets and George Jetson, but it all started with a chance encounter on a Harmony Central forum. Luthier Bruce Bennettяfrom Warrior Guitars and Bruce Bennett Music Labsяwas blown away by artist/designer John Backlundуs flying car-like guitar drawings. рWhen I saw Johnуs drawings they hit me like a bolt of lightingиit was something I wanted to see in a guitar store,с says Bennett. рThey invigorated and inspired me as a builder because of their unique designsяI instantly wanted to build them.с Pictured: JBD-100, JBD-200"

"A adherent of the building philosophy of luthiers Travis Bean, Marc McElwee and John Veleno, Kevin Burkett's custom guitars sometimes have similar quirksяsplit headstock and machined aluminum necks with wooden bodies. рI cut my teeth on building years ago by repairing and restoring Travis Bean guitars,с he says. рI really like bringing them back from the dead. They are just super cool guitars.с Unlike his predecessors, however, Burkett takes the metallic-element guitar to another level. He builds guitars with aluminum bodies (Hulett T6061) and necks (Alcoa T6061) with stainless steel frets that come loaded with EGC custom pickups. His aluminum and Lucite models have found fans in bands like Mastodon and The Melvins."

"The son of a physicist who also played classical guitar, Clint Dougherty always enjoyed both music and science. As a musician, his first love was drums, but he later fooled around with bass and then ended up bonding with the guitar last. Heуs been building Black Mesa Signature modelsяwhich feature a range of customizable options and wood choices on unique body stylesяfor more than 10 years. But perhaps his most distinguishing work is the player-friendly, science-based adjustments he came up with to try to bring Leo Fenderуs ideas into the 21st century. рI wanted to find new and better ways to build things within the parameters and restraints imposed by the physics of lightweight, hand-held tension structures, rather than simply replicating familiar instruments,с Dougherty says. And then his wife ignited an рAha!с moment for him that inspired implementation of his TorsionLogic neckяa proprietary, rear-mounted bolt-on design that provides extreme access to upper fretsяon familiar body styles such as Stratocasters and Telecasters. Pictured: Logicaster"

"The one-man shop based in Johannesburg, South Africa, is run by woodworker and furniture designer-turned-luthier Murray Kuun. After 20 years of designing and creating less musical wood creations like beds, kitchen countertops, and entertainment centers, Kuun decided to add luthier to his woodworking r▌sum▌. For about nine years, Kuun constructed violins ranging from the 18th century classical instrument to the hand-carved, jacaranda-based X-bow, which resembled a futuristic a crossbow more than a violin. Three years ago he moved into the world of archtops and acoustics. In a short amount of time, Kuun has developed several models, including the Norma Jean Family guitars dedicated to his favorite American actress, Norma Jeane Mortensonяaka Marilyn Monroe. Pictured: Sonata"

"William Jeffrey Jones Guitars is a one-man shop in southern Missouri where Jeffrey Jones pours his decades of commercial carving and sculpting experience into a line of handbuilt custom guitars using local woods like walnut and sassfras. Jones has been running a table saw since he was a kid, thanks to the tutelage of his woodworking father, Willy. His artistic skills led him to a career sculpting toy prototypes for companies like McFarlane and NECA. He has played guitar for 35 years, and his desire for creative freedom eventually brought him back to the guitar. Pictured: Kronos and Proteus."

"By trade, Howard Robinson is a period furniture designer, fitting some of the United Kingdomуs finest period homes with gorgeous, expertly built pieces of furniture. In his spare time, heуs the talented luthier behind Lindsay Wilson Guitars. Though known as a furniture designer, Robinson has been building guitars since his youth. It all began with a Rosetti Lucky 7 acoustic that went through numerous conversions as he went through schoolяelectric bass, SG bass, double neck guitar, and eventually two cricket bat basses. It would be decades before this hobby would turn into a craft. Ten years ago, he was inspired by a magazine cover featuring a Hollywood actress holding a stripped mahogany Fender Precision Bass. Soon after, he began building guitars one at a time. Pictured: Custom guitar built with reclaimed Cuban mahogany, maple neck, ebony fingerboard, and Karelian birch pickguard and headstock with Grit Laskin-inspired Samurai inlay."