Workbench and News

New Videos with Matt Thomas

September of 2023, Matt Thomas came to the shop and recorded a handful of new demo videos with four guitars. Visit my Youtube page at https://www.youtube.com/gerberguitars. Below is one of two demos recorded with guitar #83.

Case Place guitar storage racks, now available!

For the past couple of years I have been selling guitar storage racks. I have now ramped up production and developed an official website with online ordering. These storage racks are for the player who has too many guitars and no proper place to put them. That’s you! They are affordable, robust, and will look at home in any space.

Visit the website at gerberguitarstorage.com

New Prototype LS16 added to “available for purchase” page.

I’m excited to have completed a new prototype, which was presented at the 2022 Woodstock International Guitar Festival. Click on the link to the Guitar Gallery page for more info and photos. Video coming soon….

Click here for photos and more info.
Click here for listing on “Available for purchase” page.

Woodstock is almost here, new guitar available soon.

I’m wrapping up this guitar which will be going to the Woodstock International Luthiers Showcase in October. It’s currently in the finish process and should be ready just in time for the show at the end of October. It’s an RL15.5, with birdseye maple back and sides and redwood top. It will be available for sale directly from Gerber Guitars, so if interested please inquire.

My most special guitar to date - for Bella. It’s a Gerber Baby guitar!

About three years ago I thought it would be fun to start a few “smaller” guitars for my two kids, who were then 4 and 7 years old. The kids watched as I picked out some nice Koa for the back and sides, and cedar for the soundboard. I drew the shape of the body, bent the sides over a hot pipe, made one rim, and got started on one soundboard. Then….everything stayed on the shelf for two years. During that time, I promised my daughter Bella, that her guitar would be finished for her 10th birthday, which was July 11th, 2022. I had a couple years to work on it, and assured her it would be finished on time! She made sure to give me a hard time and joke with me that it would never be done on time (I have a reputation of being a procrastinator). Did I procrastinate? Of course. But it was done the day of her birthday, just in time. I had a blast making it, and it sure is fun to play.

It is a small tenor guitar, with four strings, 20” scale length, and a 10.5” lower bout. It’s roughly the size of a baritone ukelele, which makes it smaller than a traditional tenor steel string guitar. It packs a punch, and is nearly impossible to play quietly. Now to make the second one for my son….

#71 Completed

#71 was started a spec guitar (actually I was hoping to build a guitar for myself), back in 2020/2021. But when it was time to start a guitar for Cedar Rock Studio Guitar Gallery in late 2021, they saw it and asked if they could take over the build. I agreed and a few months later it was ready for delivery. This was a special guitar with made with some of the best materials I had in the shop. The “Tunnel 13” soundboard came from Bruce Petros of Petros Guitars, and the claro walnut set was one of the best walnut sets in my inventory. Photos and video below.

#74 Completed

#74, with Malaysian blackwood back and sides and Swiss moon spruce soundboard is completed. A few years ago I purchased a few large, and very heavy, boards of Malaysian blackwood. The boards had amazing color, straight vertical grain, and interesting patterns. I knew that there would be some nice guitar sets inside. This is the first guitar to be made with one of these sets and I couldn’t be happier with the result. Malaysian blackwood is part of the Diospyros genus, same as other ebony species such as Gaboon ebony and Macassar ebony. I consider Malaysian blackwood to be very similar to Macassar ebony, which I have used several times in the past few years, and which has yielded very good results.

Here is a link to my current inventory of Malaysian blackwood sets.

A short video demo follows the photos below.

Amazing new back and side sets added to inventory

I’ve been collecting various new back and side sets over the past year or so, and finally got around to officially adding them to my inventory page. I have four amazing sets of figured Spanish Cedar (a very rare sight to be seen), four amazing sets of Hawaiian Koa, East Indian rosewood, Claro Walnut and Eastern Black walnut. Click on the links to visit the pages. Quick look at some examples of what was added below!

#73 Final Photos. RL14.5 with Cocobolo back and sides and Swiss spruce soundboard.

#72 Final Photos

#72 Video Demo…working on making better recordings.

One of my ongoing goals for the past year has been to make better recordings of my guitars. The videos that are made by the various dealers with whom I work are invaluable and always appreciated. But I enjoy recording too, and I love playing, so why not make my own videos and challenge myself to come up with new material to record with each new guitar? That’s what I’ve been doing, and hopefully, will continue to do. Along with that comes the challenge of developing a standard for recording, so that sound samples from guitar to guitar are honest and consistent. I want to have a library of samples, to better help you, the player and client, make your best choice when it comes time to figure out how to put your guitar specifications together. I think I’ve taken a step forward with this video of #72, which is heading to it’s new owner now via Cedar Rock Guitar Gallery. The xy mic placement really cleaned up the sound, versus a straight on stereo placement, and I was more careful to consider the distance between the microphones and guitar. Minimal post processing with zero EQ should equate to an honest sample from guitar to guitar. The biggest challenge for me now is to play for two minutes without an obvious mistake or distraction! I hope you like the videos.

#69 RL15.5 with Black Walnut and Swiss spruce is finished!

This RL15.5 was commissioned through The North American Guitar in Nashville. This was very much a collaboration with the client, who had some terrific ideas and a vision for a “sunny” guitar. We went all out with a spectacularly figured wood called Australian sheoak, and used it for the headstock, fretboard, and carved rosette. Bordered by maple and yellowheart purfling lines, the walnut and sheoak come together to give that light and lively appearance that I think the client was after. I can speak for myself and say that I’m really happy with the result and I’m thankful for good vibes working with the client on this guitar. I hope they like it! Oh, and it sounds killer! With light weight Swiss spruce and walnut materials, and a French polish finish, it has all the mojo that I want from one of my guitars.

#70, the first RL14.5, finished and heading to Europe

This is the first RL14.5 to leave the workbench, and I couldn’t be happier with the result. It hits every mark that I hoped to hit, with a beautifully full and balanced voice in a very comfortable and small package. This guitar was a custom order through The North American Guitar so stay tuned for a video with their wonderful production team soon. Many thanks to the wonderful customer who patiently waited for this guitar. He was so terrific to work with and I hope this guitar brings him much joy.

#68 is completed and for sale at Blue-G Guitars in Japan

This RL15.5 with cocobolo back and sides and Swiss moon spruce soundboard left the shop last week for Blue-G Guitars in Japan. I have been working with Blue-G for several years now, and I truly value their partnership in bringing Gerber guitars to East Asia. This guitar was a benchmark level guitar for me, and I couldn’t have been happier with it’s incredibly full, rich, and lively sound.

Video recording of #66 played by Ryan Gerber

I really enjoyed having this guitar around the shop for a couple weeks after it was completed. It inspired a new song, and I wanted to get a recording before it left the shop. Enjoy!

New guitar for Cedar Rock

This RL15.5, #66 is all wrapped up and will be heading to Cedar Rock studio in just a few days. Walnut back and sides and Swiss moon spruce soundboard, cocobolo trim, soundport, and Brazilian Rosewood bridge and fretboard. I can’t wait to make some recordings with this guitar, it’s a tone monster!

Ready for finish - March 2021

This RL15.5, #68, is heading for the finish room. I chose to stay with a somewhat understated look to let the quarter sawn cocobolo stand out. Swiss spruce soundboard, Madagascar rosewood bridge, fretboard, and headstock. Indian rosewood binding with curly maple and bubinga purfling.

On the Bench - February 2021

Work has begun in earnest on this RL15.5 with cocobolo back and sides and Swiss moons spruce soundboard. This guitar was ordered by Blue-G guitars in Japan, and will be delivered in early Spring 2021.

New videos - November 2020

This is #59, an RL15.5 model with Madagascar Rosewood back and sides and a Swiss moon spruce soundboard. This guitar was commissioned by Fine Luthiers in Korea. The demo was played by me, a guitar maker who doesn’t have as much time for playing as he used to, so take it easy on me!

New Website!

I’ve felt the need to refresh the website for a while, and finally gotten around to it. I think the new template is nicer to navigate, and I have updated recent photos and videos. I’ll be continuing to add to the site and fine tune it as I get time, but this is a good start. If you notice anything that needs to be edited, or if something isn’t working properly please contact me. Many thanks!