Custom guitars and instruments in Oklahoma City workshop

Hand Made Instruments Since 2014.

My career in Luthiery began as a guitar player. From a young age playing the guitar was central to my life and identity. After pursuing a degree in Classical Guitar Education/Performance, I discovered my love for working with my hands. It was not long before I was building my first instruments and I have not stopped since.

As a player, I am always chasing the perfect sound in my instruments. I believe there is something profoundly important in how a player connects with their instrument to create art. As musicians we are always searching not only for a muse, but a link to a state of self expression and inspiration. As a luthier I take great care to craft a vehicle to connect artists to their creative selves.

I strive to do this through the instrument’s responsiveness, sound palette, visual aesthetic, and comfortability. I hold this work in the highest regard, and I think you will feel the difference.

View of a wooden bridge structure seen through a small, irregularly shaped opening, with parts of a wooden table or surface and a paper visible in the foreground, in black and white.

Inside a Kusbel Guitar

  • Neck Joint- I build my guitars face down in a Spanish Solera, and attach the neck the old way, with a Spanish Heel. With no removable joints and no truss rod cavity, I believe traditional necks are much better contributors to the guitars voice.

    Glue - Hide glue is used for all joints on the soundboard, and traditional tentallones are used to connect the soundboard to the sides in place of modern linings.

    Finish - French Polish shellac is the traditional finish for a classical guitar. It provides a seal from the elements while maintaining the thinnest most flexible surface. Many modern finishes restrict the vibration of the soundboard.  I believe the labor intensive French Polish offers the best sounding instrument with little to no contenders. 

    Strings  - I design my instruments with Nylon strings in mind. Modern manufacturing offers us carbon and other string alternatives, but I believe there is a richness to the nylon strings that is essential to my sound. 


  • From composite materials to modern features, I believe technology has much to offer, even for a traditional instrument.

    I use Carbon Fiber in my build process primarily because it adds strength & consistency to my building.  All of my instruments use carbon fiber neck reinforcements, and I often employ carbon fiber laminated braces to achieve the best strength to weight ratio. 

    Sound ports, fretboard radius, elevated fingerboard, individual nut & saddle compensation, pickup installation, and altered scale length are a few Modern Designs I often incorporate into my instruments. 

    Double Top - On a few rare instances I have played double top guitars that left me in awe, but in my opinion most double tops fall far short in tone production all for a significant boost in volume and attack speed. My latest venture into innovation has led me to prototype a hybrid double top. This design is technically a solid top guitar with a small portion of it hollowed out and replaced with Nomex. The aim of this design is to keep the traditional functionality of the soundboard while reducing its mass in an attempt to gain volume and attack speed. 

  • For the time being, I have no required models to choose from. I am open to building just about any combination of options and materials. Full customization.

Build Your Custom Instrument

Services

  • Set Ups

  • Refrets

  • Crack / Brace Repair

  • Intonation Adjustments

  • Pickup Installations

  • Replacement Nut / Saddle

  • Custom Guitars

  • & More

About

  • Oklahoma City Based Luthier

  • Custom / Boutique Guitars

  • Focus in Classical Guitar & Ukulele

  • Steel String & Electric Guitars upon request