Your Dream Guitar
Since you are looking at this page, I assume that you are at least entertaining the fantasy of having your own superlative custom guitar built. Perhaps the fantasy is moving towards realization, and you are narrowing down your choices. If so, congratulations! You’ve paid your dues in learning how to play, and you’re ready to take your guitar passion to a higher level, deepen the romance, and give yourself a musical treasure that will abide with you faithfully for many years.
It can be stressful, coming to a decision like this. Unless you have scads of money, having a custom instrument built can be a major financial decision. And you just don’t know for sure if the guitar you commission is going to be everything you’d hoped, until it is delivered, brand-new, into your trembling hands.
I’m glad to help you with your search in any way I can. There are more highly talented luthiers working today than at any other time in history, so there is a bewildering array of choices. I know that my guitars aren’t for everybody. No one thing can be all things. That said, I do hope that Edwinson makes it to the final cut on your list of custom builders. If the information in this website sparks your interest, and you think perhaps a custom Edwinson guitar would be a perfect fit for you, I will do everything I can to build your dream guitar.
The process begins with an initial consultation, either in person, or by phone and email. We need to interview each other, and see if we’re on the same page. This isn’t strictly business for me, it’s personal. We need to know that we are a good fit for each other. I need to know about your unique requirements, preferences, playing style, aesthetic sensibilities, and so on. And you need to feel completely confident that I can deliver the goods, exactly as promised.
If you’d like to start the conversation, just go to my contact information at the bottom of this page. Here are some Q&A basics to get started:
Q: How much is an Edwinson guitar worth?
A: That’s a complex question, which I’ll address later, but to cut to the chase, I charge a base price of $3500 USD for custom built EPS Performance and ECS Consort models. That gets you a standard (non-cutaway) model in full dress, no exclusions or shortcuts. I include the full trim package on every guitar, sort of as a personal trademark and artistic prerogative. Every fingerboard and headstock are bound, as is every sound hole and sound port. All purfling lines are mitered, not butted. I never use plastic bindings, only wood. Every guitar has a back headstock plate. Every guitar is built with premium tonewoods, intelligently and beautifully combined. Every rosette and headstock treatment is unique. All Edwinson guitars will share a family resemblance, but they will be individual guitars, like brothers and sisters and cousins.
On a custom build, you are commissioning a piece of fine art as well as a highly functional musical tool. Your ideas and desires are essential input at the planning stage. We co-design your guitar, same as if you were having a Bespoke suit made by a high-end London tailor.
The EFC and EFS Falcon guitars start at $3200 USD. They start at a lower in price than the above, simply because it’s so much easier, and more economical, to find excellent tonewoods for this smaller size guitar. I will only build the Falcon with the best woods available.
With all my guitars, price will vary according to the cost and availability of woods and other materials chosen, and the options you want to include.
Q: What about markups for options? How much extra for a cutaway? How much extra is a sound port going to cost?
A Florentine (pointy) cutaway adds $450 to the price. The point of the cutaway has to be fitted with a contoured internal support block, and cut in, bound and purfled with four more miter joints. Florentine cutaways are less risky to make than the Venetian, but there are more steps in their construction.
An open, bound sound port rings in at $160. The open sound port is supported inside with a high-density fiber laminate, and bound with 
hardwood, so the upper bout side should be impervious to cracking or other structural damage, even if you’re one of those people who uses the guitar as a percussion instrument. For an additional $50, I can make a contoured, hardwood port insert with a neoprene rubber stopper, if you want the closed-port option as well.
There is no additional charge for an open, bound sound port on the Falcon guitar. I consider the port to be an essential standard feature on that model. You’ll have to pay me extra not to put in a port, ha ha.
A sound port with sliding hatch will notch you an additional $450. The slider takes some very careful internal fitting and tracking to get a nice smooth action, and be sturdy enough to last for the full natural life of the rest of the guitar. I build it to be easily serviceable, should the need ever arise. (See the Sound Port article in the Design Philosophy section.) The slider itself is a two-piece laminate of ebony or rosewood, is bound on the port side, and fitted with a topside thumb button, fashioned of exotic laminated hardwoods.
Q: How about the headstock? What is standard, and what is an upgrade?
A: All Edwinson guitars come standard with the tapered Delta style solid headstock, fitted with premium quality Gotoh tuners. The Delta is tapered slimmer toward the crest, snake-head style, to accommodate a nearly straight string trajectory from nut to tuning post, and for even distribution of string pull tension. This headstock is also built to a tapered thickness from the volute to the crest, to keep it flexible and resistant to breakage. This has the same effect as the recurve in a bow, as there is some extra twang and resilience built in.
Front and back headstock plates are standard, for both structural strength and visual appeal. All headstocks are bound and purfled along with the fingerboard, in a unified theme. Each Edwinson model has its own Delta headstock, scaled to the guitar size.
The strings break from the nut to the tuner posts at an optimal 12 degree angle, ensuring perfect tracking of the strings through the (perfectly cut) nut slots. Perfect contact is essential to the action and setup of the strung guitar. The slot head, carried over from Spanish classical traditions, is a brilliant design in both form and function. I took the best of it that I could find, subtracted some and added other, and adapted it into the steel string, Pogoda style slotted headstock. Additional price for a Pogoda slot-head is $400.
There are not as many options for slot head tuning machines as there are for solid headstocks. I’ve standardized on Gotoh vintage style open gear tuners, which are available in Nickel or Gold finish. Waverly tuners are available also, with more options in finish and tuner buttons, but they cost quite a bit more than the Gotohs. I’ve used both brands, and I prefer the Gotohs, because the machining and finish are consistently excellent. The Waverlys I’ve used have been spotty in quality.
Q: What other options do you offer for customization?
A: Once you’ve chosen which Edwinson model you want, you have a broad array of choices to go into your ideal instrument. The neck is carved to your preferred profile, and you can decide on scale length, fingerboard radius and width, type of fret wire, and a choice of tuning machines. You select the back, sides, and top woods, and I can help you find a combination optimized for your tastes, performance requirements, and budget. I am open to using all sorts of traditional and alternative tonewoods, so long as they have all the right properties of superior tonewood. I do not use second grade woods, only premium quality. I have a great relationship with several top-notch wood merchants, so I’m sure I can find what you want, if I don’t already have it in stock. We will also decide on trim details and inlay options. If you want a pickup system installed, I can help you choose a rig that best suits your needs.
We will arrive at a final price once we have all the details enumerated and agreed upon. The more information you can give me about your specific requirements, the better. I am available for consultation throughout the process.
Q: Do you do custom inlay work?
I have a 1940’s era hand-operated pattern engraver that I use to make custom inlay art. It’s a high-precision machine that has opened up all kinds of creative capability for doing custom designed marquetry and inlay. For custom work, I make a set of positive and negative patterns and use them to cut the inlay with the machine. The pattern engraver allows me to work to very exacting tolerances.
If you have an inlay idea you really want on your guitar, I will tell you if it is within my capability to produce, and how much it will cost. I won’t take on inlay jobs that are beyond my ability. I’m not that much of a specialist. If you wanted a very ornate tree of life inlay on the fingerboard, for example, I would subcontract that work out to an artist who specializes in inlay and marquetry art. In that case, you would be responsible for paying the artist directly, rather than through me. I will take charge of the collaboration once we strike a deal.
If such a collaboration is arranged, we will have to factor in the Artist’s production schedule, as well as my own. Also, please be aware that you are commissioning custom artwork separate from my own, and to employ the skills and talent required for such detailed and exacting work can be quite expensive.
Your satisfaction with subcontracted inlay work is between you and the inlay Artist. I cannot warrant another person’s work.
Q: What kind of case do you supply?
A: There are two options at present. For the EP and EC model guitars, the lower priced option is the Guardian case, a very nice quality, made in China, five ply hardshell case with black Tolex covering, gold hardware, leather handle, and green crushed velvet interior. I charge $125 for these, which is about fifty bucks less than retail. I use the dreadnaught size for the EP model, and the OOO size for the EC guitar.
The Guardian is an adequate case for my guitars, but I’m not building dreadnaughts and OOO’s, so the fit isn’t perfect.
I am now having custom fitted Ameritage cases made for the EP and EC models. Ameritage cases are the best thing to come along for my guitars since the beginning. This is a case befitting a very fine guitar. It’s made with 7-ply birch, built like a poshly appointed assault vehicle, and decked with highest quality hardware. The interior has a custom fit suspension padding system that exactly fits the Edwinson shapes. There is also a humidity control system, with desiccant packs and a humidifier. These are super high quality cases. Click Ameritage to go to their website.
I won’t insist that you choose the Ameritage, but it does get my platinum recommendation. These cases cost $480, which turns out to be cheap insurance for the proper care, protection, and longevity of your guitar. The Ameritage Case Co. has my unequivocal endorsement.
For the Falcon guitars, the best option I’ve found so far is a custom Blue Heron soft case. It’s very well made, and perfect for ultimate portability. It’s also a bit pricey for a soft case, at about $220 with shipping included. I am still looking for a hardshell case option. Unfortunately Ameritage does not build a Parlor size case. I have found that the Blue Heron case will fit inside a standard hardshell classical case, with the storage compartment removed. That’s double the protection, and still small enough to carry on an airplane. Click Blue Heron for a visit to their website.
Q: How long would I have to wait for delivery of a custom guitar?
A: With my current workload, I ask for about five or six months. It will most likely be sooner, but I need to have some wiggle room. I won’t rush the process or cut corners; it’s done when it’s done, and my inspector (me) has very high standards.
Commission work takes priority, of course. I’m always building guitars, whether they’re pre-sold or on spec. I have several very nice, already built specimens on display at the Guitar Emporium in the Ballard neighborhood of Seattle. If you want more information about any of these, send me an email, or contact Robb Eagle at the store, (206) 783 7607.
I will also be documenting the progress of current projects on this website. If you want, I can also photographically document the process of your build, and give you a photo CD when I deliver the guitar to you.
Q: What are your payment terms?
A: I will begin work on your guitar immediately upon receipt of a 50% down payment. That allows me to purchase all materials, get your custom case started, and pay the electric bill. I will keep you closely apprised of progress, and give you a firm delivery date as soon as I can. When I deliver your finished guitar, the 50% remainder is due. If you need more flexible terms than that, I’m sure we can work it out.
Q: Do you have a guarantee on your guitars?
A: Absolutely. It reads like this:
Your Edwinson Guitar is warranted against defects in materials and workmanship for the life of the original owner, or until such time as I am incapable of providing service because of old age, decrepitude, senility, or death. If a problem arrises through fault borne solely by me, the builder, I will render the necessary repair, modification, or replacement of the defective part(s) at no charge, minus shipping costs.
Not covered under this warranty are: Damage caused by exposure to extremes of heat or cold, moisture or dryness; Accidents, intentional or otherwise; Improper handling, maintenance, or care of the instrument; Damage caused by improper stringing, or otherwise forcing the instrument beyond its natural capability; Normal aging, and wear through appropriate use; Hot-rodding or modification by anyone not myself; Service or repair by anyone not myself; and acts of God or Nature that I cannot control.
Pickup systems, truss rods, tuners, and any other part not manufactured by me are covered only under the manufacturer’s warranty, if any. My installation work of such items is warranted, though.
I guarantee your complete satisfaction and delight with your new guitar. If it does not measure up to your wishes for legitimate, objective reasons, I will refund your purchase price, contingent on future sale of the guitar. If you ordered a guitar with highly customized features, such as your name inlaid in block letters on the fingerboard, I can only provide a refund on the parts of the guitar which do not need to be rebuilt to make it marketable, and then, only after the guitar sells.
I’m living pretty close to the bone, but I will do right by you. My reputation and continuity depend on it.
A brand new guitar takes a little time to settle into itself and achieve perfect stasis. If your new guitar needs some fine tweaking on the setup, or needs to be dialed in to your preference, I will be happy to provide that service free of charge, for the first year of your ownership. That makes us both happy.
Q: If your guitars are everything you say they are, why are they at a lower price category than, say, Manzer, Goodall, Ryan, Olsen, and other top names?
A: I strive to build instruments that compare well with those guys, but I’m only ten years into this, and full time for only two years. I can’t consider myself to be in that league for awhile yet.
These many luminary builders have been at it a good bit longer than I have, and have earned their reputations (and prices) by way of their consistently brilliant, impeccable, visionary work, and hard-earned wealth of experience. I worship the guitars of many other makers. And these makers are the architects and artists who created this renaissance of the modern acoustic guitar, in the heyday of now. I owe it all to them.
I am honored that many of the world’s finest luthiers that I’ve met consider me to be a colleague and peer. I’ve found many friends in the biz at the Healdsburg Guitar Festival, which I’ve attended five times. I’ve met my greatest heroes there.
I am a full fledged journeyman luthier at this point, with thirty plus guitars successfully completed, but I’m still paying my dues. This website is my first online presence. Up till now, I’ve been largely invisible, outside of my little universe.
When I was at the Healdsburg Guitar Festival in August 2009, several people (mostly other luthiers) opined that my guitars are underpriced. Hmm, that’s a nice complement, I thought, but I’m holding the line where it is for now, so I can get traction in the marketplace, and establish my brand as a legitimate and desirable player. I’ve got my whole life wrapped up in this work, for the long haul, and I want my guitars accessible to lots of real people, players who are as hungry as I am, and needing the right tool for the job. That’s what I’m in this for--making beautiful, professional quality tools for discerning musicians. I will give you a lot of guitar for the money you spend on an Edwinson.
If you want more information direct from the source, here is my contact info:
Stephen J. Sheriff
Edwinson Guitars
5306 Roosevelt Way N.E.
Seattle WA 98105
phone: 206 271 8743
email: edwinsonguitar@yahoo.com
I am at your service, for any queries or questions you may have. If we work together to create your dream guitar, it is my intent that the experience will be as exciting and rewarding for you, as it will be for me. Your Edwinson guitar will exceed your best hopes and expectations.
So be it. -S.
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