Artigner Custom Guitars
photos courtesy of Matt Artigner
by Ryan Ackerman
posted 2006-07-31
After my last article on painting custom guitars, I decided to investigate building a guitar from the ground up. After searching around the web for a while, I started looking up custom guitar builders to see what they were doing. After talking with many of them, I quickly became interested in the artistry and devotion to the craft...
A new, all Mahogany Archtop
That is when I ran across a master of hand-crafted mahogany guitars, Matt Artigner. Each and every Artinger guitar is built to perfection using only the finest materials and his ardent touch for over ten years. I had to find out what made this virtuoso tick.
He started experimenting with guitars after apprenticing under local master-cabinetmaker, John Angelino, through high school. He started Artinger Custom Guitars in 1997 at age 19.Matt says, "There is nothing that gives us more satisfaction than the bonds developed between our customers, their instruments, and ourselves. It's a wonderful experience that can never be found on a rack in a store!"
Matt stopped to answer a few questions for us here at ProMusicNews.
When did you start building guitars?
I technically built my first guitar at age 16, but spent most of my younger life past the age of 12 tinkering, disassembling and 'modifying' cheaper guitars that attracted me.
What inspired you?
I was a child of the 80's, so there was SO much sex appeal in guitars at that time, from crazy paint jobs, trems, and pointed head stocks, to whatever the guitar heroes of that day were playing....I was a complete sponge for MTV!
Who did you build your first guitar for?
My first client was actually my best friend growing up, who now lives in Arizona and still plays the guitar regularly! I think it was 1996.
My first major run - 1997
What is your favorite guitar build?
As far as my favorite project to date, it's hard to say because as I evolve and grow, and clients allow me more freedom to go into territories I haven't explored yet, I tend to think that almost every guitar has it's memories for me.
About how many guitars have you built?
I have built just over 300 guitars to date in the past 10 years since I officially started professionally.
What are the most memorable responses that you have gotten from the guitars you built?
As for memorable responses, that's a toughie too. I've made guitars for nearly all walks of life at this point. I can definitely say this--when a client calls me for the first time after a guitar arrives to them, and I can feel the excitement in their voices on how happy they are with the end result----that right there is the best feeling in guitar making!
Final arch is carefully carved and recurve begins to take shape.
When did you first start Artigner Guitars?
I officially started my company at the age of nineteen, and in hindsight, I'm thankful for taking on such a challenge when I was so young, fearless and naive!!!
Do you build acoustic guitars as well as electrics?
I DO build a few acoustics per year, but my primary focus and passion has always lied in carved top hollow and semi hollow electrics. If a builder has a firm grasp on what makes their particular versions of that type of instrument 'tick', and how to manipulate them for various situations, it's an incredibly versatile style of guitar that has more compositional depth and range than your standard issue bolt on plank with a pretty top. Also, there is an enormous amount of innovation that has taken place with that type of guitar recently, and I feel that there's much yet to be learned....I want to be a continuing part of that.
