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How it all Started |
A new idea.....
After graduating in 2003 with an MBA, my wife surprised me with a guitar. It was a beginners classical guitar, and something I had no idea what to do with, and I was shocked. We had driven out to my parents one day almost a year prior to graduation, and before we had children, and were listening to one of our CDs. I had made a quiet remark to her about how I'd love to learn to play acoustic guitar that well. I never mentioned or thought about it again, but she listened.
I spent six months trying to teach myself to play, then ended up taking lessons at Chicago's Old Town School of Folk Music....probably one of the best venues in the country to learn to play guitar at any age. I soon realized that the style I was learning was not appropriate on the classical, and that I might have an easier time learning on a steel string. I tried to convince her I needed another guitar, but she didn't buy it (literally and figuratively). | |
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My father found an old guitar that had been poorly repaired, and painted an ugly yellow with regular house paint. He wanted a weekend project, and decided to strip the paint, and fix the guitar, then refinish it. The lower bout on the bass side had been cracked and caved in, and he wanted to actually insert a replacement peice and refinish it. He called me up with this idea, and asked me to find some information on how to fix guitars.
I searched and searched, and found a ton on how to build guitars, and none on how to fix them....it seems repairing guitars is a bit of creativity, skill, luck, and black magic. Now that I have built and repaired a few (and by no means have any expertise) I can say with certainty that creativity and black magic are higher on the list than others.
After a few conversations, he decided to forgoe fixing an old cheapie and decided to build one for himself. Well, I couldn't let the poor guy go it alone, so I built one too, and was hooked! | |
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....becomes a passion.
Since the first guitar, I have built standard, Martin-style acoustics, completely custom electrics, completely custom acoustics, and have even branched into the wild world of percussion with the Cajon.
I am not one to continually repeat the same design or style of guitar. I find that I enjoy exploring new ideas, new designs, woods I haven't experienced before. Each new build adds to my experience and skills, but also results in a totally unique guitar I can honestly say has never been built before. I have used many of the concepts pioneered by some of the best luthiers of the past and today, and have adapted them to my own ideas or needs.
The combination of all these ideas results in a stunning, one-of-a-kind instrument sure to please anyone that has the opportunity to pick one up and strum a few chords. I build according to my own ideas and designs, but also build custom instruments for those with their own ideas and no means to execute them. If you have an idea for a guitar and no way to try it out, email me at ken@nocturnalguitars.com. I'd love to hear about it. | | |
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About us
