Ty Feigenspan Luthiery

My third guitar on my work bench. (Photo Credit:  Hannah Liddell Beyond the Treetops ) This project was all about growth . In the fall of 2015, my goal was to build a guitar similar to my first, but to apply the lessons I learned from my previous projects to improve on my design.   Improvements I used two TV Jones humbucker pickups instead of one.   Reason for the change:  I wanted to improve my tone.  It was worth the extra wiring. I used real guitar binding from stewmac.com . Reason for the change:  The plastic cabinet edgebanding I had used on my first guitar had started to peel off. I used a bridge with spring loaded intonation screws! As I mentioned in my previous blog post, it was a HUGE pain to adjust intonation on my first guitar because I had purchased a cheap bridge . CNC Work This project was a great opportunity to expand my capabilities with our shop’s CNC Machine (a computer-guided router).  I had experimented on this machine ...

I assembled this Telecaster-style guitar at a class at AM Guitar Works in the fall of 2015.  (Photo Credit: Hannah Liddell) In the fall of 2015, it had been two years since I completed my first guitar.  I was a year out of High School at that point and was wanting to find a way to keep moving forward in my guitar building dream.  At that point, I had been in contact with a guitar shop owner in Davenport, Iowa named Alan Morrison.  In addition to selling instruments and performing guitar repairs, Alan’s business AM Guitar Works offered guitar and amp building classes.  I decided that one of these classes would be a great next step. The class was held in the repair room at Alan’s guitar store.  The class size was small with just a few other students.  I had the option of choosing between a variety of guitar models and colors.  I chose to build a Telecaster style electric with a Sea Foam Green body.  The kit came with a pre-made neck, body, and ...

This solid body electric was my first guitar build. Inspiration It was a beautiful day in the Iowa countryside.  I was a high schooler taking a run past open fields and Amish farms, dreaming about the future.  I asked myself, “If I were to open a business in this area, what would it be?”  Then the idea just came to me - a custom guitar shop.   I didn’t really know what the process of building guitars involved, but the idea was so inspiring that I had to try. Research Research Research Has anyone ever told you, “You can learn anything on Youtube”?  It’s actually not too far from the truth.  I spent countless evenings scouring the internet for information on guitar building, determined to figure out the process.  After viewing many Youtube tutorials and guitar forums, I felt decently confident to start designing my project. Design My guitar plans. This was where it started to get fun.  I set up my dad’s big drawing easel in our house and sketched up...