“It plays exquisitely and the tone is perfect. You have an incredible talent and I marvel at the perfection of the binding, inlays, seams, finish and all of the detail throughout. It continues to be a joy to play and show off.”
– Richard “Goose” Gustafson. Lead guitarist for Deep Blue Creek. Durango, Colorado.
THE GUITAR OF YOUR DREAMS
Welcome to Raven Guitars, the home of a fun and unique guitar buying experience. This will be a collaborative journey between you and myself with the goal of designing and building the custom instrument of your dreams. The details that go in to the sonic, tactile and visual style of a guitar are considerable. You may have strong feelings about many of the various elements, and there are surely a few you have yet to consider. Whether you want to be intimately involved with deciding every nuance of the design, or simply trust in my expertise as a luthier, I am here to guide you through the many exciting possibilities. I welcome any creative inspiration you might impart, so the instrument you design is truly your own and one-of-a-kind.
The adventure begins with a discussion about your playing style and how you intend to use your new guitar. Once we define what musical type experience you are looking for, we will select the body size that best meets those needs and determine other tactile factors like fret board scale length and neck dimensions. From there, we will investigate the beautiful tonewoods available—the woods we use for the back, sides and top of the instrument. The options are plentiful, and my building process produces a balanced and beautiful tone regardless of the type of wood that catches your eye. We will also discuss and choose the woods we use for the fingerboard and bridge, two very important elements of a guitar.
Finally, we will talk about the trim, or bling we use to make your guitar stand out and leave a huge visual impact. I will walk you through the choices of binding and purfling, position markers, head stock overlay veneer, and the various styles of rosettes, which give your guitar its distinctive presence. Again, I invite you into the design process to any degree that suits you; dive in elbows deep, or “just make me a fantastic guitar.” Every detail is customizable, and I want this experience to be enjoyable so you end up with a guitar you love to play and is uniquely your own.
It gives me a great deal of joy to see—and hear—one of my instruments bring out the best in a player. My goal is to build a guitar that will inspire you, give you tremendous enjoyment, and through this, elevate your musical abilities.
Once the construction of your guitar is underway, I will provide you with updates on progress and may contact you for required design decisions to be finalized. I will also send you photo updates that document your guitar’s growth from raw pieces of wood to the finished instrument.
For detailed information on what comes with every Raven Guitar, visit the PREMIUM FEATURES page.
Non-custom Raven Guitars may be available. Visit the AVAILABLE page to see if I currently have any in stock.
PRICING
The current base price for a made-to-order, custom Raven Guitar is $7,500. Please contact me to be placed on my Order List, and learn the details of how your exciting guitar-building journey begins.
I build guitars one at a time to devote my full attention to the quality of your instrument. Most independent luthiers build guitars in batches of four or more at a time. This makes perfect sense from an economic and productivity perspective, but for me, building in this way would impinge on the pure joy I get from woodworking and putting my heart and soul into the details of your custom guitar.
Reserving a spot on my Order List requires a $700 deposit, and is applied to the total amount due upon the completion of your guitar. I will give you an estimate of when the construction of your guitar will start. As the start date nears, I will contact you and begin the fun of designing and filling in the details. We will discuss your playing style and exactly what you’re looking for in a guitar. We can completely define all the options and details at that point, or just get the rudimentary details down and decide all the particulars as construction proceeds. You will be provided with a photo gallery of my current stock of quality tone-wood to choose from or I will order special stock for you.
Before construction begins, I’ll send you an invoice with all the details we talked about and a quote for the final cost for your approval. I will notify you once I’m ready to start building your guitar, and 50% of the total cost is due prior to beginning construction.
The balance is due before shipping the instrument to you. Build times run from six to eight months.
Payments can be made in US currency by cash, personal check, money orders or Pay Pal (3% transaction fee added).
SHIPPING
All of the shipping, transportation, duties and insurance fees are the responsibility of the client and will be paid prior to shipping the completed guitar. I will contact you with the particulars.
GUARANTEE
I’m sure you will love your new Raven Guitar, and please take seven days to be sure. If after that period you are not completely satisfied with it, I will accept it back and you will receive a full refund upon its resale. I will absorb any differences in the resale price. Guitars with certain personalized design elements are exempt from this guarantee due to challenges with resale. Hopefully this guarantee will give you peace of mind, so you can enjoy our collaborative guitar-making process completely.
WARRANTY
Raven Guitars are covered by a limited warranty to the original purchaser during my working life as a builder, against defective materials or workmanship. Upon notice of any defect, I will repair or replace the part or material at my discretion.
This warranty does not cover cracking of the wood or finishes due to improper temperature and/or humidity climate control, damages incurred by misuse, alterations, modifications, accidents, neglect, natural disaster or normal wear. All shipping charges for instrument warranty repair are the responsibility of the customer.
Please reach out to me if you have any questions or want to order a guitar.
Thanks! Eric
