Our Builder Profile this month features Stevenson Guitars of Quebec Canada, Guitars from north of the border. Ted Stevenson talks shop with Musicians Hotline this month and shares his story on Stevenson's line of guitars and basses. Traditional designs with modern technology are why Cutting Edge never felt so familiar.

MH: Ted, give us a history of Stevenson Guitars, and how you first got your start in luthiering.

Ted: I think it's a story you've probably heard a thousand times. A young kid brings his guitar in to the local hotshot tech that proceeds to butcher it prompting the young kid to start working on his own guitars. It kind of grew from there. Pretty soon word got out that I was pretty good at repairing and modifying and local players started bringing their guitars to me. A couple of years later I moved into a dedicated shop and started to build as well. I was never satisfied so I strived to make my guitars better and better. A few years later I got a job at a music store doing repairs and some building on the side. After working on several thousand guitars I decided that it was time to go out on my own and focus more on building. That was five years ago when I started Stevenson Guitars and started building full time.

MH: What and when was the very first guitar built that showcased the Stevenson brand on the headstock?

Ted: The first Stevenson branded guitar was basically a superstrat type guitar with a Floyd Rose, EMG pickups and a one-piece figured maple body built in 1999. I played with it for a couple of years and eventually sold it to a friend who totally fell in love with it. I sort of regret selling because it was the first one with the new headstock and Stevenson name on it but this guy is a great player and is putting it to good use.

MH: Stevenson Guitars are centered on traditional designs. Your motto is.. "Cutting edge never felt so good". Explain how the design of your guitars is true to this statement.

Ted: Well, I don't think that we are doing anything groundbreaking as far as design goes, but it's all the little things that make our guitars special. We have some very specific things we do as far as neck shaping, fretboard edges, fretwork, etc. You really have to play one to see what it's all about. Every guitar is built by one person from start to finish and I oversee every step so that it feels and plays just right. Our goal is to make every guitar feel very familiar to the player without the need for a long break in period. The biggest thrill I get is when a player picks up one of our guitars and just can't put it down. I guess if I were to sum it up I would say that Stevenson guitars have modern features like locking tuners, humcancelling pickups etc. while retaining the feel and vibe of a vintage instrument. Many players tell me the same thing so I think we're doing something right.

MH: Tell us about the different models that are available, and describe each.

Ted: We basically build two shapes, S-style and T-style. You can guess what the S and T stand for. The S model is very slightly downsized while the T is the "regulation" size. We build a Classic model for the purist but our most popular model is what we call the Pop Classic. It's basically a Classic with a humbucker in the bridge position. A local hotshot called it a "pop" guitar so the name stuck. Next up is the Custom, which has a figured maple bent top and scraped binding. Another model we make which is quite unique is the TC-Custom, which is a chambered T-style guitar and has the pickups suspended from the top. This results in a very unique sort of 335 type of sound, which a lot of players are really into.

MH: What characteristics do you feel are unique to your designs, and make them play and sound so well?

Ted: I think it comes down to hand selecting every piece of wood and then building the guitar correctly. All of our wood is stored under very specific conditions to ensure stability and good tone. We pay attention to every detail and take nothing for granted. The end result is a guitar that feels like you've been playing it all of your life. We are also winding our own pickups, which we feel complement our guitars very well. We are all players so we know if a guitar feels and sounds right.

MH: Stevenson has also ventured into the Bass, and amplifier market. Tell us about your great basses, and a new amp line.

Ted: We just finished prototyping some basses and we will be launching the line at NAMM, January 2005. They are fairly traditional looking without really looking like anything else and since bass players are generally less conservative than guitar players it gives us the opportunity to try a few new things. We built our first guitar amp for the January 2004 NAMM show just to demo the guitars. The response was so great that we decided to go into production with it. Thanks to input and encouragement of people like Nobu Hayashi of Velvetsound in Japan we were able to go from prototype to full production model in only a few months. The amp is called the GTA and is basically a two-channel amp with separate EQ for each channel. The clean channel was voiced to sound like a nice old blackface but with some unique twists that make it sound somewhat unique. The high gain channel can go from slightly overdriven to full on screaming metal. The GTA's are only available in Japan right now but should be in stores in the United States very soon.

MH: Who do you think has influenced your style of building guitars the most?

Ted: I started playing guitar in the 80's and I would have to say that my biggest influence was John Suhr. I have complete respect for guys like Suhr, Anderson and Tyler. These guys are pioneers in the boutique instrument world and I hope to one day make a contribution as well. Even though we are now technically competitors I still look up to these guys and I feel there is room in the market for all of us. We all do things a little differently and that's the great thing about building, it allows the builders personality to come through in subtle and not so subtle ways.

MH: Tell us about the many custom options that are available on your guitars.

Ted: There is almost nothing we won't do or at least attempt to do. Apart from the headstock and body shape the skies the limit. Whether it's a particular type of wood or a special finish or neck shape we will do it. We offer all the standard options like figured maple tops and custom electronics but we also welcome input from our clients. I think it makes us better builders.

MH: What type of players do you feel your guitars are best suited for?

Ted: So far, the types of players who play our stuff tend to be session guys. Players who make a living with their instruments and need them to work properly and be consistent. Apart from session players and sidemen, the majority of our guitars are sold to hobbyists, some of which are just unbelievable players who decided that being a pro was not for them. Everyone who plays our guitars does so because they appreciate what we do and that's really cool.

MH: Are your guitars sold direct or through dealers, and how many dealers are currently offering your guitars?

Ted: We do a little bit of both. In Canada we go direct only because the market is really quite small. In the US our main dealer is Boston Guitar Works and we are slowly building a network of dealers to represent our guitars. In Japan Ted Ogawa of Shasta Trading distributes our guitars. Both of these companies were very supportive in the early stages of Stevenson Guitars development and we are looking for more dealers of the same caliber to represent us. Customers are always encouraged to call the shop and talk about their order. We love the one on one relationship with the player because it always results in a better guitar and a satisfied customer.

MH: In closing Ted, what do you feel is your philosophy on luthiering, and what do you feel has attributed to your success?

Ted: My philosophy is simple. No compromise. If a guitar is not perfect it does not go out the door. I am my own harshest critic and it can be tough sometimes but the guitars are always better because of it. I oversee everything and do a lot of the work myself. Since our shop is still small I work on every single guitar we make and I would like it to stay that way for a while. I put a lot of hours into building but in the end it's all worth it because I love what I 'm doing and the feeling of making someone ecstatic over a guitar is priceless.

Stevenson Guitars Inc.
2575 A Remembrance
Lachine, Quebec H8S 1X4 Canada
(514) 639-8041
www.stevensonguitars.com