Pfeister Guitars – Another Guitar in Progress and Available for Purchase
Craig Pfeister of Pfeister Guitars has another very cool guitar in the works that is available for purchase. This guitar has a semi-hollow walnut and maple body. It’s surprisingly lightweight and resonant. The neck is a super responsive and warm goncalo alves (tigerwood) and black walnut neck with a goncalo alves fretboard.
The hardware is partially composed of found objects. There will be a humbucker in the bridge position and two single coils in the middle and neck positions. The neck pickup is about one inch further from the bridge than on most guitars, resulting in greater tonal variation. The two sound-holes at the top will be similar to this sound hole.
This guitar is currently available for purchase. You can pre-order this guitar now at a discounted price. See the pricing details below.
Price: $3300
*Pre-ordered and customized: $2970
*Price may be adjusted for alternate hardware upon request.
If you are interested in purchasing this guitar, please contact Boutique Guitar Resource by filling out the contact form below.
Boutique Guitar Resource is an authorized dealer for Pfeister Guitars. Please contact BGR if you are interested in having a guitar built by Pfeister Guitars.
Pfeister Guitars – Guitar In Progress and Available For Purchase
Craig Pfeister of Pfeister Guitars sent me some progress pictures of a guitar he is currently working on. The guitar features an incredible sounding and lightweight body. The top and back are black walnut and the neck is quarter sawn black walnut with a Macassar ebony fingerboard. The top needs to be seen to be appreciated. The grain’s contrast and ability to shimmer is amazing. The knobs and pickup rings will be hand cast pewter. According to Craig, the color of pewter is a perfect fit for this particular wood. This is going to be one beautiful guitar!
This guitar is currently available for purchase. You can pre-order this guitar now at a discounted price. See the pricing details below.
Price: $4000
*Pre-ordered and customized: $3600
*Price may be adjusted for alternate hardware upon request.
Pfeister Guitar In Progress
Back of Pfeister Guitar
Pfeister Guitars Black Walnut Top
Pfeister Guitars
If you are interested in purchasing this guitar, please contact Boutique Guitar Resource by filling out the contact form below.
Boutique Guitar Resource is an authorized dealer for Pfeister Guitars. Please contact BGR if you are interested in having a guitar built by Pfeister Guitars.
Interview With Craig Pfeister of Pfeister Guitars
Interview by Ron of Boutique Guitar Resource
Boutique Guitar Resource: Tell us about yourself and what got you interested in guitars.
Craig Pfeister: Even before I really understood stringed instruments, I was fascinated by them. I never had an interest in collecting guitars or anything like that, but I started getting really interested in making them just after high school. Basically, when I learned there were guys out there making guitars, I immediately wanted to know more. My wife, who was my girlfriend at the time, was about to go to college in Oakland, California. On not much more than a whim, I moved there with her and planned on learning at a place in the Bay Area. It didn’t pan out, but I ended up in art school after a year or two. Before I graduated, I got the itch to start building guitars again and it just went from there. That’s the short version of the story at least.
Boutique Guitar Resource: Are you a self taught luthier or did you have some formal education?
Craig Pfeister: I’m definitely self taught. Like I said earlier, I started learning when I was still in art school. At first I just wanted to fix up old guitars, but I quickly decided to build my own. it took tons of research and trial to do it on my own, but I made it work. The notes I took all throughout grade school and college are probably a fraction of the notes I kept while researching lutherie. I think it would have been much easier to apprentice, but, at that point, I didn’t know any builders and I had no clue where to find one who would teach me, so I just went in head first.
Boutique Guitar Resource: How has your degree from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco shaped the way you approach building guitars?
Craig Pfeister: I really think it’s defined the way I build. The longer I do this, the more I realize how much I still work like an artist and not a craftsman. At first, I wanted to make instruments that looked classy and basically showboated craftsmanship, but my art background kept creeping into everything I did. I still worked like crazy to hone my skills as a luthier, but, as far as design is concerned, I always approached it like an artist, even if I tried other wise. I could never make replicas or anything like that. I’ve just never had an interest in that kind of thing.
Finishes are the best example of how it’s impacted my work. I really don’t have much in glossy or glasslike finishes. I’ve made them before and I appreciate the craftsmanship, but that’s where it usually ends. I see it the same way I see painting on canvas. A person can paint a portrait that’s technically perfect, even to the point that it’s awe-inspiring, but, when all is said and done, it’s just another portrait. On the other hand, a painter like Picasso could paint a portrait that is technically a mess and even seems broken, but make it so beautiful and full of humanity that it can bring a person to tears.
Obviously I don’t expect that reaction with my finishes, but that’s the kind of mindset I build with, for better or for worse. If I didn’t go to art school and wasn’t bombarded with with art all day for all those years, I think I’d build much differently.
Pfeister Guitars Abused Blues #1
Pfeister Guitars 33 Electric Guitar
Pfeister Blackfoot Electric Guitar
Boutique Guitar Resource: Where does your inspiration come from when designing a guitar?
Craig Pfeister: That’s tough to say exactly. I’ve pulled visual inspiration from everything from music to novels. You’d have to get into the funhouse inside my head to get that one. I’m not even sure half the time.
I do get a lot of inspiration from different artists and art movements. I sympathize especially with the “futurism” movement. I think their philosophies on beauty are brilliant. They found beauty in art to be tired and used, so their reaction was to find beauty in the loud machines of their time and exploit the violence around them as beautiful things because it was truthful. It’s a tough concept to grasp completely, but it falls in line perfectly with my work. One of their greatest philosophies was the idea that everything gets old and it’s worthless to try to pretend otherwise, so they would display ugliness and violence and decay as beautiful because it was inevitable (hence the name futurism). I approach my guitars in much the same way. I try to exploit the fact that they will eventually age, so I build them to look that way and to age in a way that will make them look “better”.
One guitar in particular that’s on my website, the “Abused Blues” is the best example of this. I built that guitar to look shiny and pretty and all that, but I hated it when it was done. It looked perfect, but that bothered me. When it was being finished I noticed a small nick on the back of it and I decided right there that I have no interest in pretty pristine guitars. I dented it more intentionally and I loved the results. After that came whole series of scratching it, denting it, dropping it, and dragging it on the floor until it looked how i wanted. Recently I removed it from sale and lit it on fire, amongst other things. It’s the most tortured looking instrument i’ve ever seen. I absolutely love it.
As far as sound is concerned, I probably draw most influence from blues, even early blues like Robert Johnson. I don’t try to mimic the tone at all; it’s the honesty in the music that interests me. My goal is get a sound that’s as “human” and honest as that music.
Boutique Guitar Resource: You incorporate some very unique finishing ideas into your instruments. Tell us about some of the different things you have done to your guitars and where do these ideas come from.
Craig Pfeister: The ideas come from all over. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve come across a light pole or old wall that’s given me a great idea. One of my favorite ideas came to me upon seeing a lime caked soap pump.
Many of my ideas come from working with other artists. Until very recently, there were a few metal sculptors working with me in an old factory building. They all have a style that comes across as very natural and gritty. I took a lot of influence from them and that building. They also gave me a lot of tips of metal finishes and things like that which, by altering the methods, I was able to apply to wood finishing. We’ve since moved, but I still work with a few of them.
When I do clear finishes, I like to make them as thin as possible. It took me a long time, but I recently found a method of hand rubbing polyurethane that’s hard and super thin that I’m very pleased with. When I do natural finishes like that, I like to leave the pores showing and keep the wood looking like wood.
My other finishes get a little weird. I recently rusted a wooden guitar. It definitely got some interesting reactions. I’m working on one now that it’s going to be even more remarkable. That’s all I’m going to say about it for now, though.
Pfeister Guitars 33 Electric Guitar
Pfeister Guitars
Pfeister Guitars Headstock
Pfeister Guitars
Pfeister Guitars
Boutique Guitar Resource: What is your favorite part of the guitar building process?
Craig Pfeister: Definitely hearing the guitar for the first time. Even if the guitar isn’t done, stringing it up, plugging it in and hearing those first notes is an incredible feeling. Before that point, the guitar doesn’t seem alive. When you finally hear it, it’s like your Frankenstein monster waking up. You get this amazing feeling that you created something and it now has a voice. Just having those moments makes the whole job worth it.
Boutique Guitar Resource: What are some of your favorite woods and what properties attract you to them?
Craig Pfeister: Black walnut has become one of my favorites. The sound from the wood is almost ideal for guitars. It has a very “woody” and slightly bright sound that is absolute gorgeous. it’s also one of the easiest woods to work with. I’m amazed that more builders don’t use it. It’s recently becoming more popular with boutique builders, though, especially those of us who don’t really care for tradition.
Redwood is one of my favorite sounding woods. I would use it all the time, but it’s so soft that it’s almost impractical. If you dropped a redwood bodied guitar, it would look smashed where it hit the ground.
Th sound Cocobolo can make is stunning. Even people who can’t hear any difference in woods can hear how amazing it sounds. Its sound is broad and it rings for what seems like forever. It’s hard to come by large pieces and it can be dangerous to work with due it’s toxicity. If not for those things, I’d use it all the time. It doesn’t even require a finish. It polishes to a shine with its own wax. It’s amazing stuff.
Boutique Guitar Resource: What do you look for when picking wood for a guitar?
Craig Pfeister: It really depends on the function. If it’s for a neck, I look for grain first. Straight grain is very important in necks. You can never tell how the tension inside the wood will react later in time, but straight grain significantly increases the chances of it being stable. For body woods and fretboards, I go for looks first.
Any piece I use, even if it’s a thin top, has to sound great. No matter how good it looks, if it doesn’t sound right, I wont use it. I spend hours at a time at hardwood stores just picking up and tapping wood. My wife can vouch for that. It’s hard to put back wood that looks great if it doesn’t sound good, but it’s worth it. Once it in my shop, I still listen to each piece over and over to pick the ones that will go well with each other. It sounds obsessive, and it probably is, but the results are always worth it.
Pfeister Guitars
Pfeister Guitars 33 Electric Guitar
Boutique Guitar Resource: If you had to pick one luthier to build a custom guitar for you, who would you pick and why?
Craig Pfeister: I’d probably pick someone like Tom Bills. I can’t see myself making a guitar like one his any time soon, but I’ve always loved his work. There’s a subtlety to his designs, but they’re recognizable and seem to demand attention. If I tried to make something like one of his guitars, I’d just be copying him.
Boutique Guitar Resource: Who are some other guitar builders that you admire?
Craig Pfeister: I’ve always appreciated David Myka’s work. He has a subtlety to his designs that you don’t see often and, although I haven’t played one, they sound great from the little I’ve heard.
I also love Phil Sylvester’s (Pheo) work. I love his attitude toward guitars. He alway seems to be saying “Whatever, I like it”.
Boutique Guitar Resource: Take us through the building process of one of your guitars.
Craig Pfeister: I usually begin thinking about a design a long time before I start making it. Picking out wood can take me a long time. Like I said before, I’m very picky about matching pieces tonally. They also have to work visually. Trying to find the right combination can be a long process.
I’ll normally start by gluing the body together, if it’s multiple parts, and gluing neck laminations. If it’s a chambered body or semi-hollow I’ll route it out first, obviously. I like to work on something else while one thing is drying. That’s why i usually work on a few guitars at one time. When the bodies are drying, I’ll start making fretboards and preparing the necks.
I carve the necks by hand, but, surprisingly, it takes me much less time to carve a neck than to carve a fretboard or body. For the bodies, I use a few different tools, depending on what I’m trying to do. I always fret the guitar after the neck has been glued to the body.
Once everything is together and fretted, I start finishing. This process can take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks, depending on what I’m doing. After that I install the hardware, wire it up and start the surprisingly long process of fine tuning everything.
Boutique Guitar Resource: What do you feel is the most important part of the building process?
Craig Pfeister: Carving the neck, for sure. That includes the fretboard too. The neck contributes a ton of the overall tone. On something like a solid body, it’s responsible for most of the tone. It’s also the part that determines the playability and comfort of the guitar. When somebody falls in love with a guitar after playing it, they’re usually falling in love with the neck.
Boutique Guitar Resource: Tell us a little about the pickups you use for your guitars?
Craig Pfeister: I really don’t go too crazy with the pickups. I think the sound of guitar pickups is one area they got right early on. I like to make my own, but I make them like standard PAFs or single coils. If I buy a set, I favor Bare Knuckle Pickups. They’re a little pricey, but they sound better than any other passive pickups I’ve tried.
Personally, I prefer high output pickups. They’re a little less forgiving than normal or low output ones, but I absolutely love that sound. I fell in love with that sound hearing Hendrix play the blues.
I’ve been toying around with ideas for low impedance pickups, but I haven’t made them yet. It’s looking good on paper, but I’ll need to really test it out first.
Boutique Guitar Resource: What is the typical wait time when ordering a custom guitar from Pfeister Guitars?
Craig Pfeister: I’m still trying to come up with a good answer for that. A build can take anywhere from a couple months to a few months. If a person orders wood I have in stock and a body shape I’ve already made, then it’ll be significantly shorter than it would be otherwise. I haven’t been in the business long enough to have a waiting list yet, so my time, from order to completion, is still pretty short.
Boutique Guitar Resource: Out of the guitars you have designed and built, do you have a favorite?
Craig Pfeister: Actually, I don’t think so. Every guitar has been my favorite in one aspect or another, but I haven’t made one yet that’s been all around my favorite. That’s just my preference, by the way. I’m not saying there’s been no “best”.
Ever since art school, I have a hard time liking my old work. Even if it’s absolutely perfect, I’ll see it as something from the past. In a way that’s good: it means I’m always improving and evolving. But, at the same time, I always only want to talk about what I’m doing or about to do. I can’t even stand to see my past artwork, even if it’s good and I used to love it.
Pfeister Guitars Blackfoot
Pfeister Guitars Blackfoot
Pfeister Guitars
Pfeister Guitars 33 Electric Guitar
Boutique Guitar Resource: What do you see in the future for Pfeister Guitars?
Craig Pfeister: I’ve been toying with the idea of starting a cheaper line of guitars. They’d all be up to my standards, but I might make them all somewhat similar to each other and make the process faster. Right now, it’s just an idea. I have a lot ideas for them, but that will have to come later. I’m getting some help with setting it up, but I’m trying to not rush it.
I hope to start making some metal bodied guitars soon. I can’t say too much more yet, but it’s probably nothing like what people are thinking. I think by using metal I can reach new tonal grounds and create visuals like nothing anyone’s seen before.
I should be offering nylon string guitars on a regular basis soon. I somehow didn’t realize it until recently, but that’s one of the most common requests I get. I’ve been liking them more and more and I plan to offer them frequently.
I’m also planning some pretty unique instruments in the near future. In my next “batch” one of them, which I’m very excited about, will be my own wicked version of a resonator. I also have plans for basses, baritone guitars, and few other things.
People are starting to recognize my work for it’s style, which is good, but I think a lot of people think it ends there. I want to take the instruments to new areas tonally and functionally and really show people what I can do.
I would like to thank Craig Pfeister of Pfeister Guitars for taking the time to answer the questions in this interview. You can learn more about Craig and his guitars at:
Pfeister Guitars
Boutique Guitar Resource is an authorized dealer for Pfeister Guitars. Please contact BGR if you are interested in having a guitar built by Pfeister Guitars.
A New Guitar From Pfeister Guitars
This is a new guitar that was recently finished up by Craig Pfeister of Pfeister Guitars. The guitar features a 24.75″ scale, chambered mahogany body with wormy/spalted soft maple top, walnut neck, hand-rubbed satin polyurethane finish, and a buffalo horn bridge and nut. The rust is real and was grown on the wood. Craig is building some very unique and different guitars. It is always nice to get a breath of fresh air from guitar builders like Craig that are doing something different.
Boutique Guitar Resource is an authorized dealer for Pfeister Guitars. Please contact BGR if you are interested in having a guitar built by Pfeister Guitars.
Pfeister Guitars – Handmade Guitars From Luthier Craig Pfeister
The Luthier:
Craig Pfeister received a BFA from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco before he began Pfeister Guitars. Ironically, he wanted to learn to build guitars when he got to California, before art school was even an option. Craig began learning to build while still in school. Still, he is glad he took that route. Being surrounded by artists for those years and being forced to constantly push his creativity and skill helped him more than he ever thought it could. Craig quickly learned how far you can push your brain at any given time and he makes it a point to do so often.
Like most guitarists, Craig has been playing since he was about thirteen and immediately fell in love with the instrument, blah, blah.
Pfeister Guitars is located in the RiNo art district in Denver. RiNo is a fairly new, but quickly growing, art neighborhood in what used to be an industrial area bordering downtown Denver. The abandoned factories we all work in have a noticeable influence on the artists’ work, Craig’s included. Pfeister Guitars is located in the Tar Factory, which is shared with other artists, mainly sculptors.
The Guitars:
Craig believes that all art forms are, in the basic sense, crafts. Even painting is a craft; it’s up to the painter to make it art. On top of skill and experience, art requires humanity and imagination. Craig approaches all builds with that in mind.
Every guitar here is one of a kind and always will be. Music is the peak of human expression and he aims to make instruments which elicit that. Craig is not trying to be outrageous or controversial with his builds, rather he is trying to inspire the same way music has inspired these guitars, both visually and tonally.
He also believes that guitars are a perpetual work in progress. He makes all of the guitars, not only to be durable, but to age with grace. He favors distressed finishes over shiny, glass-like ones for a few reasons. The main reason is that he does not want the guitar to feel like a burden in the musician’s hands. He wants the guitar to feel completely natural and wants the guitarist to feel proud of the wear and tear given to it over the years.
To learn more about Pfeister Guitars, visit:
Pfeister Guitars
Pfeister Guitars 33 Electric Guitar
Back of Pfeister 33 Electric Guitar
Pfeister Blackfoot Electric Guitar
Pfeister Guitars Blackfoot Electric Guitar
Blackfoot Electric Guitar from Pfeister Guitars
Pfeister Guitars Abused Blues #1 Guitar
Back of Abused Blues #1
Abused Blues #1 Guitar From Pfeister Guitars
Boutique Guitar Resource is an authorized dealer for Pfeister Guitars. Please contact BGR if you are interested in having a guitar built by Pfeister Guitars.