Molter Guitars » Guitar Blog

I am still here

danny — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 01:00:55 +0000

It has been a long time since I have made a post here on my website but here goes. 2011 was a very strange and slow year for me and my guitar making. I completed 1 guitar for a customer and started 2 others. I am almost finished with my quilted mahogany DCS that I have been working on forever. It will be a spec guitar that doesn’t have an owner…Yet. The other guitar I started is an indian rosewood 8 string baritone model.

I haven’t got very far with these guitars because’ I guess I am going through a midlife crisis. I bought 2 vintage motorcycles and I have been trying my hand at restoring them. I have actually sold one of the bikes and have been concentrating on restoring the remaining bike , a 1964 Yamaha . I have also been restoring a 1990 Jeep Wrangler. I guess I have been watching to much “Orange County Choppers” and telling myself I can do just as good a job as they do . I guess I figure that if I can build an acoustic guitar from a log I can tackle restoring a little motorcycle and a Jeep. We will see how they come out.

With all that said, I want to let everyone know that I still am in the guitar making business. It is my true passion. If you have always wanted a custom guitar please don’t hesitate to contact me and we can talk about how you want your dream guitar to be.

The Most Common E-mail

danny — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 01:45:32 +0000

I just wanted to post this about the constant e-mails I receive on my website that ask if I can teach people how to make guitars. I am flattered with the interest that so many people would love to be my apprentice. I unfortunately do not have the time to teach the many years of knowledge that I acquired through trial and error . I wish I had as many custom orders for guitars as I have had requests to learn the art of lutherie. If I did, I would become a very busy man with a very long waiting list. Thanks again for the interest in my craft. Don’t give up , keep looking

Quilted Mahogany DCS

danny — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 22:22:58 +0000

Here is the latest pictures of my current project. This is a DCS bent sides model with quilted Mahogany back and sides and a Western Red Cedar top. I have incorporated an armrest with burl Walnut. I have also cut the signature side sound holes and also a single Benedetto style upper bout sound hole. I have got an amazingly figured Cocobolo fingerboard and bridge for this guitar. I haven’t decided about the fingerboard inlay yet but I am leaning towards a simple brass vine inlay at the body join. This guitar will be very simple with extravagant appointments. Can’t wait to see the finished product.

[Show as slideshow]

New Amp Build

danny — Sun, 01 May 2011 20:59:45 +0000

I finally have completed my new amp build. I copied the cabinet design from a Vintone Amp that I previously owned. I used mahogany for the cabinet and joined it with through dovetails. I stained the mahogany with a rich dark brown to match my bedroom furniture. I have a Jensen 10″ alnico speaker in the cabinet and have used oxblood speaker cloth to finish it. I have not been able to test the amp yet after about 1000 solder joints but I will soon see how it sounds.

[Show as slideshow]

Aha moment (Dale Cockley)

danny — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 02:09:08 +0000

I was in my shop working on a guitar when I heard an advertisement on the TV. I was not paying to much attention to the add until I heard what was being said. I heard “My name is Dale and my aha moment came when I was playing my guitar”. This wasn’t exactly what was said but that’s what I heard and it caught my attention. I stopped what I was doing and looked up and realized that the Dale on the commercial was Dale Cockley. Dale is a good friend of mine, that I have made 4 guitars for. He is the inspiration in my DCS model. His story on that commercial was about how he was playing his guitar “baby” at The Ronald Mcdonald House and a little girl came up to him and listened to him play. The little girl had just had a cochlear implant and his guitar playing was the first music she ever heard. Dale was very emotional in the video and when I realized it was one of my guitars that made the first music that little girl ever heard, I got very emotional myself. It really made me think that my gift, for making guitars, is really a gift from God, that he has given me, to glorify him. I am not much of a guitar player. I consider myself more of a woodworker than a guitarist. There is definately a reason I make guitars. God knows what that reason is, and the more I realize his plan in my life, the more it makes sense. Maybe that is the reason I decided to make a guitar for Chris Tomlin. It also might be the reason I finished constructing the guitar the day before his concert, that just so happened to be in my city at my Church.

Check out Dale’s Aha Moment that has his testimonial . http//www.ahamoment.com/pg/moments/view/13742

Special Delivery

danny — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 22:19:52 +0000

I finally got to deliver the benign cutaway to my favorite performing artist “Chris Tomlin”. Myself and my family were so excited to be able to meet Chris and give him this guitar. He really inspires me with his music and hopefully this guitar will inspire him to keep writing unbelievable songs and performing all over the world.

[Show as slideshow]

Initial coats of lacquer on the Benign Cutaway

danny — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 03:35:27 +0000

Well I have put the first coats of lacquer on the benign cutaway. The lacquer on the Macassar Ebony really reveals the black and brown stripes beautifully. The curly Koa bindings really match the ebony nicely. The Mahogany, Curly Maple, and Bubinga 5 piece neck looks really nice. I have put a Walnut burl headstock , to match the Walnut burl armrest, and bound it with curly Koa and inlayed a brass peace dove with an abalone olive branch. I also am very happy with the figure in the bearclaw Sitka top. If everything works out this guitar will be playing all over the world.

[Show as slideshow]

BC with binding

danny — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 01:02:47 +0000

I have bound the benign cutaway with curly Koa. It has awesome figure that is a really nice contrast against the striped Macassar Ebony. I have also installed a WBW underside purfling with the binding and under the Walnut burl armrest.

[Show as slideshow]

Coming Soon

danny — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 02:54:06 +0000

I have decide to build myself an new amp. I used to own a Vintone boutique amp that I sold. It was a “Champ” model, constructed with black walnut and oxblood cloth. I was very impressed with the quality craftsmanship of this amp, and decided that I would try my hand at creating something similar to the Vintone. I am going to use curly maple to construct the cabinet and use half blind “cherry inlaid” dovetails to join it. I will also trim the cabinet with cherry adding to the “boutique” style of the amp. I have purchased the wood and have begun putting together the chassis. I have a long way to go and many hours of soldering ahead of me but I can’t wait for the finished product. I might even offer these amps / cabinets for sale depending on how it turns out. I will also offer speaker cabinets to match if someone is interested. Who knows, it’s a dream, but I still have 3 guitars going right now so it might take longer than I want. It’s only time!!!!!!!

Other woodworking projects

danny — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 02:16:29 +0000

Here are a few of the projects that I have been working on instead of guitars. I built a secretary desk for my Daughter . It came out nice but I wasn’t to happy with the finish. I used a poly and stain mix and did not get a very smooth finish. I am used to a mirror finish on my guitars and this is not close to any mirror. Oh well, I stick with guitars.

I also made some pistol grips for a friend of mine who had a vintage 22. I used Brazillian rosewood and engraved a fishscale patern on them. They came out really nice and dressed up the gun a little bit.

[Show as slideshow]