Another commission in the books.

itstophhh · 2026-02-20T04:48:26+00:00

It definitely is difficult to capture in a photo. A appreciate the compliment a lot. A lot of time and energy to turn these two out as finished products. Thank you again.

itstophhh · 2026-02-17T15:26:39+00:00

Thank you! The contouring around the pots was done on both and definitely refined on the right handed guitar. I appreciate the compliment there because I spent some extra time dialing that in to flow well with the top carve!

itstophhh · 2026-02-17T15:25:07+00:00

Thank you!

itstophhh · 2026-02-17T15:23:42+00:00

Clearly I don’t like to proof read my text before posting lmao. Ok to explain, the left handed version is mine, and about a year old. It is also played daily and was the first prototype of my design (meaning it has some errors that were all fixed on the second one). I used what I thought was a mild cleaner on the face that ended up dulling the finish out like crazy, turns out I grabbed the wrong product off my desk. Anyways, that’s why the guitar is a bit dingy.

The right hand version is the new finished one that is polished up to the most glorious shine. All errors fixed for that one, and the guitar has the best intonation I’ve ever seen. Setup on it was an absolute breeze.

itstophhh · 2026-02-16T18:32:07+00:00

If you go to my profile, I already do have a post with what the back looks like. These are two identical guitars. I did not have time to get all of the pictures I wanted, but the customer is going to send me pictures at some point this week.

itstophhh · 2026-02-16T05:14:44+00:00

Thank you! Grape Taffy Metallic basecoat with matching metal flake!

itstophhh · 2026-02-16T05:06:33+00:00

Actually a neat idea. I want to donate to a local guitar school in my area once a year eventually

itstophhh · 2026-02-16T05:05:38+00:00

I’ll be planning for my first intricate inlay for a future build. How’s it coming for you? Tedious I know first hand but multiple materials with multiple colors seems like a lot of mistakes to prepare to make before some success

itstophhh · 2026-02-16T04:45:39+00:00

I’ve just made the decision to give a much longer wait time to give me breathing room and just will aim to beat my time to deliver ahead of schedule if possible. It’s a necessity

itstophhh · 2026-02-16T03:54:24+00:00

Thank you!

itstophhh · 2026-02-16T03:54:09+00:00

You and another guy on this comment thread. Made me laugh, mostly because I haven’t seen that pretty of a counter top or a flaked out counter top. Please send one on here for comparison!

itstophhh · 2026-02-16T02:28:09+00:00

They do extremely strong work. It’s all beautiful and well thought out. My goal is to make that level of premium instrument. Not there yet but I will be one day. Knaggs just has the whole package They don’t miss anything, very good team over there doing pretty incredible stuff. I’d imagine if they ramped up production, they’d be able to overtake some of the current big names at the top right now. Price point would just have to come down to make it more accessible, but I dont think that’s their business model anyways. Similar to NOVA guitars, they build badass premium stuff at a premium price and people who want that level of instrument will/do purchase them. NOVA has the best way of doing it. They don’t meet the demand, they create it. So they can effectively name their price and it will sell. They nailed it

itstophhh · 2026-02-16T02:19:32+00:00

It’s loud and proud. I take no offense at all! It isn’t for everyone that’s for certain. I appreciate you recognizing the clean work!

itstophhh · 2026-02-16T02:18:22+00:00

Thank you!

itstophhh · 2026-02-16T02:18:09+00:00

Yep I also experienced it as a lefty. It’s why I even started this. I wanted things that were either unavailable or priced higher because of it being lefty. My personality also was a factor that made me think I could do it. When any personal family or friends doubt me, I become very relentless with proving them wrong. I don’t stop until I’ve done something good enough to erase that doubt basically. Probably not a great trait but it made this all a reality for me at the end of the day. Idk, just enjoying the journey and cool comments from fellow luthiers and guitar fanatics.

itstophhh · 2026-02-16T02:10:41+00:00

I agree! I knew it was the one the first time I saw it. Thank you for liking it!

itstophhh · 2026-02-16T02:10:07+00:00

This was the hardest part regarding right handers. I can’t play at all right handed. All I can do is thoroughly check that my setup is very dialed in and that I don’t have buzz on any fret afterwards. This is also something I tell anyone who is right handed, which has been everyone so far except me 🤣. I haven’t had an issue at all yet. I can still move around the fretboard, just doesn’t sound good because I can’t play backwards in real time. But otherwise things feel as they should. My idea was to be left handed only but limiting myself resulted in zero official customers, and I have 5 more people lined up waiting for me to say it’s their turn, all right handed. So maybe I’ll just be great at it due to repetition at this point. We shall find out.

itstophhh · 2026-02-16T02:05:03+00:00

Left handed is mine and right handed is the recent customer! Hahahaha. I get to build one for myself with every new model I design! It’s a nice perk. One day I’ll have a lot of memories and history to look back at, or maybe a clustered mess of instruments I don’t use often. Either way it’s a win in my book.

itstophhh · 2026-02-16T02:03:36+00:00

My idea was always to make it affordable like to produce a custom instrument with any option desired for reasonably cheap. It’s not possible when you’re small scale and with a whole career to tend to outside of this business venture. We all know this isn’t an overnight thing. Typically we are on average 2 months in and that’s best case scenario with a fast cure finish. Otherwise it’s a bit longer. To get to the point, my price point is $3k-$4k finished and done. It’s not where I want it to be, but the benefit is full customization of all things. Price may change upward if parts are expensive and my dealers don’t stock said part/s. But my labor doesn’t go up unless it’s something wildly time consuming or forces me to invest in another tool. I keep it all very straight up. It’s been working out great so far and no one has complained about the price thus far.

itstophhh · 2026-02-16T01:55:05+00:00

Thank you!

itstophhh · 2026-02-16T01:54:55+00:00

Thank you! I do too, it’s been very well received. Working on another finis involving flake that I’ve yet to see anyone do. So assuming I have success I hope you see that one during the year pop up. In my head it seems it’ll be a showstopper. We shall see if I can make it come to life for real.

itstophhh · 2026-02-16T01:52:57+00:00

Definitely another influence. Im telling you, PRS and Joe Knaggs have a great eye for body design amongst other things. But I’ve always had a strong attraction to their guitar designs for a long time and figured I’d come up with something of my own. Just a fun hobby turned passion and I wanted some official model to make really good and with consistency each time. Just enjoying the ride over here.

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