I am currently taking a Guitar Repair and Design course under the tutelage of Mike McConville. This man’s a genius, and he’s very very very good at what he does. If you have an unplayable instruments that you area looking to make usable again, he’s your man. If you are looking to enhance your instrument to bring you to the next level of playing, he’s your man.

Anyway, I want to talk a little  bit about Picasso. When I say Picasso, what do you envision?

Perhaps something like this comes to mind. Three Musicians is, after all, one of his most famous pieces. However, here is one of his early works.

Well? Not to shabby for a sixteen year old, huh?

The reason I am taking a course on actual guitar design is to fully understand how *real* instruments function. Not to say that my instruments aren’t real…. but they are certainly not traditional. I’m a firm believer of studying the foundations before attempting to build on top of it.

The form factor of guitars have developed over a long time. Learning what works and how it all comes together is a very humbling experience. A lot of thought has gone into making guitars throughout the ages. Stumbling into making my own without learning what I can from the best would simply be blind arrogance.

I am from a visual arts background so my initial instinct is form. I have to continuously remind myself that function precedes form in these cases. At the end of the day, it has to play, and play well, or it is essentially useless.

Therefore, I am happy to say that in order to build better mini instruments, I am learning how a full-sized one operates. On top of that, the course is ridiculously fun! If you have the time and means, I highly recommend it.

Here are some pictures of my latest work on a bass guitar. I am converting it from fretted to fretless. It is still a work in progress.