The Fremont guitar is named after the street on which its source of materials was built.
Our home was built in 1898 in Romeo, MI. We are only the 3rd owner of this home. The family of the original builder lived here into the mid-1990’s. He also built a few other homes in the village around the turn of the century.
The attic above the garage, or “carriage house”, is filled with wood scraps, old doors and unused stock from his time as a builder. For the Great Guitar Build Off of 2021, I decided to build a guitar from this material.
The main body is made from a pine floor joist. I decided to leave the exposed side rough, leaving the original paint lines and nail holes. The top is made of oak from an old door. I designed the top to mimic the wooden floors throughout the home, down to the century of wear and dirt in between the boards simulated with coffee grounds. The body shape was inspired by the drop-horn design by Rick Kelly of Carmine Street Guitars.
The control cavity, neck and jack plates were fabricated from an old shovel I found in the attic.
The current neck is a pre-dyed neck purchased on Etsy. However, I’m currently working on designing and building a neck from oak found in the attic to match the highly figured oak built-ins and trim throughout the house.