History
The Beginning
In 1997, Cory Batson was working for a custom millwork company with his brother Grant. They grew up in a very artistic family and both have always had an affinity for art, woodworking and music. Cory’s guitar had just been stolen in a car-jacking (yes, that’s right a CAR-JACKING! ) and Grant had just sold his ‘67 Mustang to purchase a hand-made George Lowden guitar. This guitar was (and still is) inspiring. Cory was desperate to own such an instrument, however, he was flat broke. The custom furniture shop proved to be a convenient place to try his hand at building his own guitar. After all, he was surrounded by wood and tools.
He bought a book and the journey began. The first model was impressive for a first shot, but it just wasn’t to be compared to that Lowden. Over the years, the passion and determination grew. Cory has not slowed down in his pursuit of building the guitar of his dreams. That first guitar still sits in the shop and though it’s nowhere near the quality of the guitars made there now, it always gives inspiration and a smile.
The Brothers
We’re just a couple of ordinary guys. We like things that look cool and work great (Reef, thirst-quenching sandals come to mind). When we started building guitars, years ago, we just had a passion for music and wood and a strong desire to create with our hands. We didn’t have any big ideas about who we were or how we might impact the guitar community. We just loved being in the shop, loved creating & designing and thinking outside the box. Growing up, our dad was always inventing tools or mechanisms that made life more practical and efficient. So, its easy for us to say that innovation has always been a part of our DNA. We are always looking to make things better. Both of us are perfectionists (thanks, Mom) and are pretty technically inclined and artistic, (thanks, Dad) but Cory’s technical precision defines him as the “engineer” while I (Grant) take on the “artist” role.
We both get bored quickly, so change, for us, is good. Since the conception of our first guitar, each has been one of a kind and has a feature not found on a traditional guitar. We’re still not done and we like it that way.
The Carport Story
Our bracing has been one of our favorite things to play with. After 10 years of researching and understanding other luthiers’ theories and staunch positions, we could not help but notice the compromises and adverse theories of others, which also seemed plausible. Like politics and religion, it seemed each had credence and flaws. We remember a carport that our dad built when we were young. We lived in a very flat part of central Texas, where you could literally see for hundreds of miles and those winds would rip across the country-side like a cattle stampede. They even once ripped the door of our chicken coup open and our golden retriever had a field day. Anyway, back on track… Our dad wanted a structure that would span over 30 feet but that would withstand the strong winds. He needed something strong, yet very flexible. He took a 4 inch steel pipe and welded a ¾ inch sucker rod to each end (if you’re unfamiliar with oil field lingo, sucker rods are the steel rods in a rod pump system), then bowed it out and placed some spacers intermittently. It was the perfect solution. It was a sort of flexible, bowed truss.
When we began unthinking and rethinking the traditional flat top guitar, we remembered this truss. Sometimes inspiration comes from strange places. Recalling Dad’s carport design was just what we needed. All of our key design changes have been targeted at one central goal: to make the sound board, or the “drum head”, produce more. This truss was an essential piece that got us re-thinking the top-bracing and how we could help it to do its job.
Today, bracing is still something we love to play with, and with having no “hole” to deal with, it’s much easier. The Carport Truss helped us jump outside the box and it felt so good that we decided to stay out.
About Jan…
JAN BATSON was born on October 20, 1951, in Crane Texas. From her childhood she was on a mission to help and please others. She befriended everyone she met and her positive attitude and winning smile were infectious to everyone around her.
In 2004, having never smoked a day in her life, she was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer. Determined that she would live as long as she was alive, she served others for the next year and a half. She cleaned, cooked and prayed for others in need until she was unable to make it out of bed. The impact of her life is still felt in the small world we live in.
In Loving Memory, we dedicate our passion for guitar-making to our mom, Jan Batson. She was a champion, full of passion, grace and love. She brought a smile to everyone who knew her. We love and miss you, Mom.