Guitars | champlinguitars

I hand build guitars from scratch, one at a time. I start with quality seasoned woods, follow with a lot of elbow grease, and finish with patience and utmost attention to detail and set-up. I am mostly inspired by instruments from the 20's through the 40's as far as looks and sound goes. While my aim isn't to make direct copies of anything, I still keep one foot pretty firmly rooted in tradition. I'm really fond of ladder braced guitars, so I build quite a few of them, though I also offer X-bracing on most models. All guitars feature a hand cut dovetail neck joint, and a hand rubbed french polish finish. I love using domestic wood, and occasionally use reclaimed wood from old furniture and the like. I always aim to build an instrument with soul, guts, and power. I want it to be an inspiring instrument that gets played again and again, and is hard to put down. Below are the models I currently offer. Please click on the pictures for further details. For a whole lot more thoughts and ponderings on my approach to this craft, please follow the link here to philosophy.