My Guitar Story

When I was ten years old my parents thought it a good idea for me to learn to play guitar.  This was the mid-1960s, mom was a stay at home mom and dad a machinist. For Christmas they bought me this little, inexpensive Sears guitar. We were a working class family so there was some sacrifice when they paid for me to study music and guitar with a local teacher, Alfred.

I studied with Alfred until I was 15 when he came to my parents and told them that he had taught me all that he could. Read that…he’s an impetuous teenager with too many other things on his mind beyond study and practice.  Yup!

Around 2008 I met and became good friends with John Mann (of Paul Reed Smith Guitars fame). John knew my skills as a woodworker and one day challenged me to build a guitar.  I thought, what the hell, and gave it a try. Guitars have been a part of my craft ever since.

I don’t build to order.  Guitars are such a personal expression of the player’s art that I decided early on to avoid the stress of trying to meet a player’s expectation or build dreams.  Instead, like the painter who creates their own art and offers that art to a patron or buyer, I build one-off guitars – creating my own art as a builder. 

Each guitar (usually) when it is complete is offered for sale.  I showcase the guitar and its build on my Facebook page WGR Guitars, as well as my YouTube channel.   

This is Honey. Honey was the first guitar I built. All Maple with a Mahogany main body. It was beautiful and sold within weeks of being completed. Was completely surprised and very happy.