A build for Ryan

It was a Sunday in 2018. Beth and I had just attended a concert at the Hudson River

Maritime Museum in Kingston, New York. The museum houses a school that teaches

boatbuilding and other crafts. We chanced to wander into a guitar-building class taught by Bill Sterling.

Suddenly it occurred to me: Since the age of 8 I had spent innumerable hours with my arms wrapped around this wonderful box. Yet despite doing plenty of carpentry and

furniture building, I had no idea how this magical object was constructed.

So I signed up and the bug bit me bad. Since then, I have taken a couple of more courses and built 13 guitars. Building those guitars was fascinating, absorbing and fun as each got a bit better than the last. But what I really wanted to do was work with guitarists who wanted a guitar designed and built specifically for them. So, a couple of months ago, I launched this website.

And then Ryan MacDougall, A Bronx fireman who lives locally, contacted me to say he

wanted to a custom guitar to replace the Martin he has been playing for 30 years. He

brought the old Martin 000 along when he came to visit. When Ryan’s guitar was made, side sound ports were not yet a thing. But this guitar has two small ragged ports courtesy of a toddler who smashed a Hot Wheels car into it!

Ryan and I spent two hours in my shop. We talked about what he likes and doesn’t like

about the Martin. He played and examined all my available guitars as well as early ones that are not up to snuff enough to sell. We talked about different woods for tops, back and sides and necks and other stuff like scale length and neck width and shape. And then he said, “Okay, I’d like to order one.”

I have to say, hearing those simple words was a highlight of my life. This is what I had

been striving for! I took out a bunch of tonewood sets for him to choose from. A few

days later I began building my first commission, an OM with a cedar top and cherry back and sides being made specifically for Ryan MacDougall.

Ryan's top and bottom roughed out.

Because Ryan lives locally, he’ll be stopping by to see his guitar progress and provide

input into all the smaller decisions that go into creating a guitar. I’ll keep you posted on our collaboration.