07/22/2026
The picture memories say I finished my first guitar 12 years ago today!
It’s a 7-string version of the design that became the Iris. The body is a chunk of anonymous white mahogany that I got at a yard sale (I thought it was spruce). Home Depot supplied the maple for the neck. Fingerboard, headstock cap, bridge base, and control plate are Osage from a midwest friend.
I went down the pickup winding rabbit hole right away, using the fine book by Jason Lollar as a guide. The blade cores were built out of hardware store soft steel, wood grain countertop laminate for the flats, all wound on a winder from sewing machine parts.
It’s obviously a bit clunky, but it plays well (for attempting multiscale on my first build), sounds okay, and I learned a lot. I owe a lot to friends online and IRL, like Chuck Tweedy Bonnell Guitars John Sonksen and many more on the MIMF.
all started here.