Ex-Fender luthier’s

[J.T.S]

As title indicates, who are they, like John Suhr, Gene Baker, and eehh???
- guess there must be a bunch, which offers hand built guitars…
Please help me build a list in this thread.

[surfoverb]

John Page...His website is a shambles however.
http://www.johnpageguitars.com/

[surfco]

Yeah, his website just doesn't help.

[J.T.S]

Thanks, keep them comming... Comments such as build quality, mojo/fame, other threads etc. could make the thread more interesting, I know I dont add much, but I know almost nothing...
Should have linked to those two i mentioned, though I knowIimagine most have visited the sites...
www.suhrguitars.com
Gene Baker Guitars

[BrianF]

Fred Stuart, Alan Hamel

[Telehackster]

Michael Stevens

[J.T.S]

Never heard of any of them, thanks...

Found Fred Stuart's site , havent found any site on Alan Hamel, but read some reviews at HC...

[XKnight]

Here's a list of Fender Custom Shop personnel from Wikipedia.

* John Page (founder and actual CEO of John Page Guitars)
* Michael Stevens (founder and actual owner of Stevens Guitars)
* Mark Kendrick
* John English (1950-2007)
* George Blanda (Electric Guitar R&D chief project engineer)
* John Suhr (founder and actual owner of JS Technologies Inc., who built with Rudy Pensa the Pensa-Suhr MK signature models for Mark Knopfler in 1987)
* Jay W. Black
* Larry L. Brooks (contributed the Jag-Stang guitar for Kurt Cobain).
* Steve Boulanger
* Duane Boulanger
* Art Esparza
* Yasuhiko Iwanade (actual president of Gibson Japan)
* Ronee Pena
* Scott Buehl
* Dave Nichols
* Mike Bump
* Alex Perez
* Gene Baker (founder of Baker Guitars, responsible for the superstrat-style Showmaster series guitars, manufactured between 1998 and 2009)
* Fred Stuart
* Alan Hamel
* Mike Ponce
* Greg Fessler
* Ralph Esposito
* Jason Davis
* Yuriy Shishkov
* John Cruz
* Stephen Stern
* Louis Salgado
* George Amicay
* Todd Krause
* Dennis Galuszka
* Chris W. Fleming
* Jason Smith (son of Dan Smith, one of the employees who bought the Fender companies from CBS in 1985)

[Andy R]

Larry Brooks (jag Stang) made custom guitars after he left Fender, while he was working with Seymour Duncan. He wound his own pickups and had an amazing wood stash. I don't know if he's still building or not- he had a problem with extreme migraines. He built me a Strat when he was with Fender, in 1991, and he built me a killer, killer Tele when he went on his own-003! Swamp ash, birdseye neck, contoured body, left handed bridge, really dark red. The best craftsmanship ever.

[RodeoTex]

Ex-Fender luthier’s
What's with the ' ?
It doesn't belong there.

[Brett Faust]

XKnight ..There were many more apprentices that did not go on to become master builders at Fender. I was one of those.I left in 1991,long before most of the guys on your list arrived . Some of the apprentices went on to become the next generation of master builders and a few are in the R&D dept. today. Some builders went on to found their own brands.
I went on to work at Warmoth for many years. After a while I teamed up with some other great guys to found USA Custom Guitars,where you can still find me.

I hope that sheds just a little more light for you J.T.S.

[JCSouthpawtele]

What about parts makers and pickup winders. Abigail Ybarra is the most named. She showed Seymour a thing or two.

[Tele295]

Phil Kubicki www.kubicki.com

[J.T.S]

Originally Posted by RodeoTex

Ex-Fender luthier’s
What's with the ' ?
It doesn't belong there.

Thanks for correcting me, my bad english, sorry... But it seems to late to edit...

[J.T.S]

Thanks all for posting...

Brett Faust and JCSouthpawtele, Parts and Pick Up makers etc. are just as relevant for this thread, thanks for the information...

[scubadoo]

Originally Posted by RodeoTex

Ex-Fender luthier’s
What's with the ' ?
It doesn't belong there.

I wonder if your Danish is as good as his English?

[EunosFD]

Vince Cunetto:

http://www.vinettoguitars.com/

[schoolie]

Originally Posted by Brett Faust

XKnight ..There were many more apprentices that did not go on to become master builders at Fender. I was one of those.I left in 1991,long before most of the guys on your list arrived . Some of the apprentices went on to become the next generation of master builders and a few are in the R&D dept. today. Some builders went on to found their own brands.
I went on to work at Warmoth for many years. After a while I teamed up with some other great guys to found USA Custom Guitars,where you can still find me.

I hope that sheds just a little more light for you J.T.S.

Brett, you and the crew at USACG are master builders!

[mudbean]

Originally Posted by RodeoTex

Ex-Fender luthier’s
What's with the ' ?
It doesn't belong there.

Yes, good point ... he may have really intended to inquire about an ex-Fender luthier's birthmark, or an ex-Fender luthier's disturbing personal habits.

I don't speak Danish, at all.

mud

[John Page]

surfoverb,
Yeah, my site has been a bit dated for a while. We've been putting band-aids on things while we've been building the new site. We just put the new one up tonight. We will still be adding sound files, expanded galleries, additional reviews, etc., but I think it not quite the "shambles" the old one was... lol!

Check it out and please let me know what you think!
Cheers!

http://www.johnpageguitars.com/2009/

[Telehackster]

Originally Posted by John Page

Check it out and please let me know what you think!

http://www.johnpageguitars.com/2009/

That's a nice site, very impressive. I would love to play a P-1 sometime, but I'm afraid that I'd end up wanting another guitar I can't afford.

[surfoverb]

Originally Posted by John Page

surfoverb,
Yeah, my site has been a bit dated for a while. We've been putting band-aids on things while we've been building the new site. We just put the new one up tonight. We will still be adding sound files, expanded galleries, additional reviews, etc., but I think it not quite the "shambles" the old one was... lol!

Check it out and please let me know what you think!
Cheers!

http://www.johnpageguitars.com/2009/

Hey cool man this one works! I didn't mean to call you out, I just found your website a few days ago myself.

[jays0n]

Oh wow, the John Page guitars are really nice looking.

John, if your still around, thanks for making the Bullet while at Fender. I was given an 81 in 81 or 82 as a gift, and that pretty much kicked off my interest in playing big time. (I still have an 81 Bullet BTW, which you can see in my photos here at TDPRI)

j

[John Page]

Originally posted by Surfoverb:
Hey cool man this one works! I didn't mean to call you out, I just found your website a few days ago myself.

Cool... I'm glad you feel this one works better. Running a one-man shop is always a struggle trying to balance everything. The web site is the first to suffer... it sure as hell isn't going to be the guitars! My son is a web designer, but he has a real gig doing it and helping me with my site development is an after hours kind of thing. We work on it when we both have then time (800 miles away from each other... the magic of the web).

Oh, and I didn't feel you called me out. You just stated your opinion and that's what these discussion boards are all about. We had been working on this new site for the last couple of months. Your post just gave us the bump we needed to concentrate on it... so thanks!

Cheers!

[boris bubbanov]

Thank you, John, and Brett, for checking in with us. I hope more of the guys on Xknight's list (and others) will come out from the shadows; I have a feeling we're being watched with interest by many many folks out there.

My belief is that getting the work done right is way more important than monkeying around with time consuming websites. I've got a couple of sources that've stopped the web stuff altogether and I've resolved to accept that - I do not mind at all.

[John Page]

whoops hit the wrong button... damn newbie!

[John Page]

jays0n Oh wow, the John Page guitars are really nice looking.

John, if your still around, thanks for making the Bullet while at Fender. I was given an 81 in 81 or 82 as a gift, and that pretty much kicked off my interest in playing big time. (I still have an 81 Bullet BTW, which you can see in my photos here at TDPRI)

Hey... you're welcome! I loved the Bullets, they were my first full product design and patent at Fender, so they have a special place in my heart.

I've got a Bullet story, since I designed it I was getting serial 001 made for me. It had this killer flame maple neck, the body was Page Pink (hey, it was the early eighties) with gold hardware. It was completely done except for final set-up, and it was sitting in the R&D Model Shop. That night there was a fire in the buildings and we lost everything... INCLUDING MY 001 BULLET!!! Man I was pissed. Oh well, I never did get a Bullet.

Cheers and enjoy it!


Bubanov,
Happy to be here!

[scubadoo]

Hey John, great to see you here. The website looks great, as do your guitars, and i really like the pickguard design, very unique.

I'm hoping to start out as a luthier, do you have any advice for a young guy?

Cheers
Dave

[jays0n]

John, thanks so much for that lil Bullet story, that is both great to hear, and yet sad as well, as you lost 001. I do love my Bullet, (will be banned from TDPRI but) it is my #1. I lost my original 81, while being a stupid kid, but got another not to long ago and the shop where I got it did a fantastic job shooting that one I got, if interested in seeing one again in really new condition:

http://www.grouseguitars.com.au/sold...nderbullet.htm

Since I start with a John Page guitar, I imagine I will have to get a new John Page at some point. The site and guitars look awesome.

As the othrers are saying, thanks for sharing and chatting with us here.

Jayson

Originally Posted by John Page

Hey... you're welcome! I loved the Bullets, ....
I've got a Bullet story, ....

[John Page]

scubadoo Hey John, great to see you here. The website looks great, as do your guitars, and i really like the pickguard design, very unique.

I'm hoping to start out as a luthier, do you have any advice for a young guy?

Cheers
Dave

Thanks for the kind words Dave! As far as becoming a luthier... my suggestion would be to start off by buying a decent book or two on the subject. Places like Stew Mac have a bunch of them. Study it, you know, really get to know what it's talking about so you can build it in your mind first. Then go out and buy yourself some relatively low-cost wood, like Poplar, and start by making just a body. For your first few builds I would suggest just making the bodies and buying the necks until you understand the relationship between the two really well... then delve into the neck building. The reason I suggest the body building first is that way you can enjoy some success without major frustration and hopefully that will encourage you. Take your time, don't rush, develop your eye for detail, learn to see with your hands too. There's a lot to learn, but have fun doing it. Nothing it quite a cool as building a guitar and then playing it and realizing "Hey I built this"!
Cheers!

jays0n John, thanks so much for that lil Bullet story, that is both great to hear, and yet sad as well, as you lost 001. I do love my Bullet, (will be banned from TDPRI but) it is my #1.

Ahhh... they won't ban you for that statement! I always looked at the Bullet like is was a baby Tele... it just didn't "drop 'em" yet!

Do you know why there is a star and numeral "1" in the logo? This is a test...

[scubadoo]

[quote=John Page;1869069]Thanks for the kind words Dave! As far as becoming a luthier... my suggestion would be to start off by buying a decent book or two on the subject. Places like Stew Mac have a bunch of them. Study it, you know, really get to know what it's talking about so you can build it in your mind first. Then go out and buy yourself some relatively low-cost wood, like Poplar, and start by making just a body. For your first few builds I would suggest just making the bodies and buying the necks until you understand the relationship between the two really well... then delve into the neck building. The reason I suggest the body building first is that way you can enjoy some success without major frustration and hopefully that will encourage you. Take your time, don't rush, develop your eye for detail, learn to see with your hands too. There's a lot to learn, but have fun doing it. Nothing it quite a cool as building a guitar and then playing it and realizing "Hey I built this"!
Cheers!


Thanks John, wise words for sure.

I've actually built 3 tele's so far and am in the middle of my first neck. I'm having a blast!

[John Page]

scubadoo
I've actually built 3 tele's so far and am in the middle of my first neck. I'm having a blast!

Well then my suggestions were a tad after the fact, eh? I have a suggestion for the neck work though. Buy yourself a couple of good pattern makers rasps for the neck shaping. The Nicholson #49 and #50 are the ones I use. They're a bit pricey but worth every penny. They'll take a lot of the drudgery out of shaping the back profile. You'll obviously need other files to clean up the shape, sandpaper to smooth out etc., but a lot of people don't use the rasps first.
Just a suggestion from an old guy... ;-)

Hey, and I'm glad you're having a blast! A lot of folks forget to do that while they're building.

[scubadoo]

Originally Posted by John Page

Well then my suggestions were a tad after the fact, eh? I have a suggestion for the neck work though. Buy yourself a couple of good pattern makers rasps for the neck shaping. The Nicholson #49 and #50 are the ones I use. They're a bit pricey but worth every penny. They'll take a lot of the drudgery out of shaping the back profile. You'll obviously need other files to clean up the shape, sandpaper to smooth out etc., but a lot of people don't use the rasps first.
Just a suggestion from an old guy... ;-)

Hey, and I'm glad you're having a blast! A lot of folks forget to do that while they're building.

Thanks John.

I'm not familiar with those rasps, i'll check them out. You're spot on about using rasps, I used one of those microplane rasps followed by files and a spokehave. The microplane can dig deep but goes through the maple so quickly.

Cheers
dave

[jays0n]

John,

Ahhh man, no way, you got me there. Have done a lot of searching for Bullet info in the past, and even tried to start a Bullet yahoo group to get more info, but this is not a piece of data I had seen. The suspense is now killing me. Please tell, please do tell.

Originally Posted by John Page

Ahhh... they won't ban you for that statement! I always looked at the Bullet like is was a baby Tele... it just didn't "drop 'em" yet!

Do you know why there is a star and numeral "1" in the logo? This is a test...

[Beatbx]

John, I just finished reading the text part of your Tom Watson interview. Yours is a real cool story and thank you for sharing it.

[John Page]

jays0n John,

Ahhh man, no way, you got me there. Have done a lot of searching for Bullet info in the past, and even tried to start a Bullet yahoo group to get more info, but this is not a piece of data I had seen. The suspense is now killing me. Please tell, please do tell.

When I designed the Bullet I was still giggin' a lot and still reading the trades... like Billboard. The Billboard charts always had a silver star around the number of singles/albums that were shooting up the charts quickly. They were usually the "hits" So I thought that the phrase "Number one with a bullet" which was a classic DJ/industry phrase, would be a great advertising campaign for it. Fender marketing chose not to go with it... so the decal never made any sense. But what was funny, as a side note, the very next NAMM show after I released it, an import company... maybe Tokia or Hondo, basically ripped off the design and called it the All Star... siver star with the numberal one in it and all. Funny stuff!

Beatbx John, I just finished reading the text part of your Tom Watson interview. Yours is a real cool story and thank you for sharing it.

Wow... you're a patient man... that interview is way long! The audio portion is even longer. Thanks for the kind words though, I was happy to share.

Cheers!

[tiktok]

I remember reading the history of the Bullet article by Dan Forte back in the 80's GP. Hats off to the man who took that difficult brief and produced some decent guitars!

[tele0053]

Shake Some Action by the Flaming Groovies, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, (opps excuse the '60's Beatles cliche), I know that the song was actually a '70's song but it shouldn't have been, it sounds more '60's than the'60's with the reverb on the plinckey lead guitar solo.
A REAL GROOVSTER IF THERE EVER WAS ONE!

[Johnny Isaacs]

I love my Bullet!

Johnny Isaacs

[jays0n]

Wow, great story. John, thanks a ton for sharing all of that with us. It is a perfect sales pitch and I used that catch phrase as a title for this shot of the headstock on mine:



This is the Fickr page with the title #1 with a bullet
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaysonlorenzen/3227205273/


Also great to see the other Bullet heads chiming in.

j