Koenke guitar in progress, unfinished archtop with f-holes in workshop

Steve’s guitar building philosophy

While many of today’s guitars are assembled with prefabricated parts or through automation, Steve builds his signature guitars by hand, allowing him to customize the tonal characteristics and provide consistent quality, playability, look, resonance, and musicality.

Steve’s guitar building philosophy is guided by precision and ergonomics. He selects premium tonewoods from domestic and exotic raw lumber of the highest quality, which are then seasoned for months or years, in many cases, to achieve the optimal moisture content. He joins each part of the guitar, ensuring maximum tightness of the neck joints and seamless bookmatched top and back plates. His truss rod channels are precisely machined on proprietary fixtures designed by Steve himself, leaving no room for sympathetic vibrations. His goal is to preserve the integrity of each instrument and the unique art of luthiery.

Custom hand-wound pickups

Steve builds a variety of top quality pickups for electric guitars and basses. Each pickup is carefully and personally wound by hand. If you're looking to achieve superior tone and express a unique sound, he can help you achieve the desired tone for your guitar as well as pickup rewinds.

Curious about the pickup winding process? Watch Steve wind a pickup by hand using his trusty Mojotone pickup coil winding machine.

“I’ve been completely immersed in the craft every day for the past 27 years. I love the entire guitar building process — procuring the finest tonewoods, creating new designs, making sawdust, sanding, and spraying finishes. I know I can’t compete with the big guitar manufacturers, and I don’t want to. All I want to do is make guitars that are exceptional in aesthetics, sound, and playability.”

— Steve Koenke