About

My name is TJ. I build guitars.

Technically I’m not a luthier, as I’ve never apprenticed, never built an acoustic, and never done a fretboard or re-fret.

I just enjoy building electric guitars. I like taking a clunker and making it easy on the eyes, ears, and fingers.

Fixing an old broken guitar demystified the process and made me interesting in building one from scratch.

I started by building a cheap Leo Jaymz DIY kit as way to learn guitar building, finishing, electronics, etc… and I was hooked.

I moved on to finding custom bodies and necks online, hand selecting my own pickups, doing custom wiring, knobs, buttons, etc..

I experimented with active electronics (EMG pickups), wiring mods (treble bleed, neck-on, coil splitting, 50s/60s wiring), onboard pedals (EMG Afterburner, GFS Tube Amp).

I studied the fine art of setting up an electric guitar, the most critical part of the building process.

I found that any guitar with a straight neck can be made into a playable guitar with a little love and attention. Some of the best “players” were cheap DIY guitars or entry level Squiers with minor upgrades.

Eventually, after about thirty or so guitars, I started running out of room in my studio. I needed to slow down my output before my wife left me alone in a house full of guitars.

So, I went further down the rabbit hole. I set out to build and finish the entire guitar, neck and body, completely from scratch.

I was particularly interested in the style of Doug Irwin, who designed and built guitars for Jerry Garcia. I thought it would be fun to attempt his laminated “Hippie Sandwich” approach and build my own homages to Tiger, Wolf, and Rosebud.

I built a little wood shop in my basement.

I bought some wood.

And just like that, Elysium Guitar was born.

Elysium is a literary allusion to the afterlife. Now, I’m not a church going man, but I do know that when I’m lost in a ripping guitar solo, whether it’s me or somebody else…

Man, if that ain’t heaven, I don’t know what is.