APPROACh

Building concert quality guitars for discerning players

  It’s all about the sound and playability. Those are the main priorities. I am building instruments to satisfy the most discerning with a level of craft required to give the professional player an instrument that inspires and is responsive to their touch.   I came to luthiery as in a roundabout way; as a musician first and then as a builder and repair person. I hope that my range and years of experience playing, repairing, studying instruments and building them by hand has given me the tools to deliver the finest instruments to you. 

This is a singular craft that is about careful consideration and refinement of every part; all in the goal of building a meaningful, superbly functional, and aesthetically pleasing object. 

It’s not just about fine woodworking or construction techniques and plans. The woodworking aspect is a means to an end. It’s about you and what you hear and feel. We want everything to come together with the design and materials to create a guitar that inspires you.

The process is a collaborative one.  

All of the choices in materials and design are the collaborative vision between us.   Every aspect is considered with regards to ergonomics, aesthetics, and sound production.  I want to build an instrument that fits you: your hand size, aesthetic, and your playing style. Understanding your needs is the most important aspect of building a custom instrument.  I look forward to working with you.

Sincerely,

Max Sipe

My guitars can be purchased two ways–

1. Directly from me that are made to order. Working together we can bring your guitar to life by finding the materials and design that best fits your playing and aesthetic.

2. Retail through dealers in North American & Europe including Guitars International, The Rosewood Guitar, and Siccas Guitars.

Feel more comfortable with a phone call?
You can reach me at 503-706-0910 during business hours on the West Coast.

Luthier & Musician

A throughline to my life has been the combination of music and making things with my hands.

I started in music early as a child.  I had piano lessons starting at an early age.  I started playing electric guitar in middle school and then continued music studies at the University of Portland where I studied classical guitar with Jeff Ashton.   At the same time that I was into music, I was also a kid that liked to build things.  I was always drawing or making model planes and cars. I liked wiring up electronics and building speaker cabinets.  At University I worked in the maintenance facility and got to be hands on with all the mechanical systems (HVAC, electrical, plumbing, etc)  I was painting some cars after University as well.  I made some furniture for fun.  After University I was teaching music and taking guitar lessons with Scott Kritzer and he pushed me to make a proper business plan.  He was trying to get me to do that in regards to a performing career but the only thing I really wanted at that time was to build a guitar.  All that led to building the 1st guitar in 2005. 

I built my first guitar in 2005 because I was looking for an instrument I couldn’t afford at the time as a working musician.  Little did I know that it would open the door to a future career years later.  

The first guitar wasn’t all that great but it got me hooked somehow. I had to try to make a better one.

I ended up leaving teaching and performing and eventually started working for Kerry Char in his repair shop.  That is where I gained a lot of guitar building and repair experience.   I was there for about 6 years and got to work on an innumerable number of instruments.  The best thing about repair work is learning what not to do.  Learning the skills to fix things is important but, maybe more significant is that I got to see how so many guitar designs failed over time.  Working on and examining acoustic instruments from past decades and centuries was invaluable.   

I kept slowly building guitars during that time in Kerry’s shop and eventually built up enough business to leave and focus on building my own guitars in my own shop.  I’ve been building full time ever since.

In working on and measuring so many instruments, it’s obvious that there are many different ways to make a great guitar and also, more importantly, the wants and needs of players are so different.  For example, someone with a powerful right hand technique is probably going to enjoy a certain type of guitar than a player with a very light touch and vice versa.  It’s why I do make the various models with many options.  Hopefully, my years of experience helps me produce an instrument that really fits with each individual who orders one.