I started playing guitar when I was a kid, 10 or 12 years old. I never really got very good, but I always enjoyed hacking around with friends and playing some of my favourite songs.  My first guitar was a rented acoustic.  I can't remember the make, but I clearly remember the high action, the fret buzz and the poor tinny sound. After about a year of lessons with that rented piece of crap, my parents felt I was going to stick with it and bought me an El Degas Les Paul copy. For an inexpensive guitar it played & sounded great, and I had it for many years.

During that time I did a lot of upgrades to it including pickups & tuners as well as experimented with coil tapping switches. A lot of this was trial and error, with many tips picked up from Guitar Player Magazine. I even built my own distortion pedal from a plan that I found in the same magazine. The parts cost me a small fortune and it didn't work very well, but it was a learning experience.

Over the years I have also owned a Fender 12 String Acoustic, a Sigma Nylon String and a 'pre lawsuit' Schecter Strat that I built myself from a kit. It was Black with a White Pickguard and a Maple neck and finger board. (I copied one of David Gilmour's strats.) All of these are long gone now, hopefully to good homes. I really wish I never sold the Schecter. It was a fantastic guitar.

Currently I own a 1965 Fender Mustang (all original), a Danelectro DC 12 String Electric (re-issue) and a Takamine 6 String Acoustic. I have also recently acquired an original Apollo Guitar from the late 60's or early 70's. It is in pristine condition.

I have always been interested in woodworking, and because of the previous tinkering I have done with my guitars, I decided a few years ago to try my hand at building an electric guitar. My first attempt turned out pretty good and this interest has since grown into a passion.

The first several guitars I built went to family and friends, but then the word got around and in the last couple years I have sold a couple dozen guitars… mainly in Southern Ontario but also in Nova Scotia, Florida, California, Ohio, South Carolina, Colorado and even the UK. The next two are going to B.C. and Norway.

I build new guitars from new & vintage parts as well as turn old beat up guitars into new usable instruments. I like to show off the grain of interesting and unusual woods. I also don't worry about some of the inherent flaws in wood such as small knots, sap lines and worm holes. These things add character to a guitar and the result is a unique and affordable instrument.  I primarily use water based stains and clearcoats, but occasionally will use certain oil products (like Danish Oil) that don't hide the beauty of the wood. I don't like thick 'plastic' finishes that disguise the body of the guitar and cover up the natural beauty and flaws of the wood. If that's what you want, then why build it out of wood...?

I consider the guitar to be a piece of art, which can evolve and change during the building process. I never know for sure what a guitar will be like until it is completely finished.

Please take a look at my work on this website and if you are interested or even just curious, please feel free to send me an email.