Design and finishing philosophy: My goal is to build simple, straight forward electric guitars that  inspire the artist. Guitars we all love to pick up and play. Guitars with songs in them.

What is "hand built"?

Assembled by hand is the definition of hand built. That's what I do. Just like a $5k to $10k mastercraftsman custom shop guitar, one person, me,.. assembles s. talkovich electric guitars one at a time.

I spec out my bodies and necks for my guitars and my necks and bodies come from USACG, we've had a long history and they are are the best. I'm a fan of the CNC machine, It allows small custom builders like myself to blend technology i.e., accuracy and consistency with hand-built elements at an affordable prices for regular folks who love fine guitars. I contend the art comes once you have an idea,.. and a recipe. 

I season the wood in my shop before I start the finishing process. I final shape my necks and final sand the bodies and roll my fingerboard edges by hand,.. the smooth conture of that fingerboard edge makes for a fast profile. I finish the backs with satin lacquer for a silky feel with no drag. Glossy lacquer necks can be sticky, my process of spraying the back and front, satin and gloss respectively takes more work but the results are definitely worth the effort and time.

The standard industry finish loads up the body and neck with thick coats of finish over a day or two and then sand flat. I apply thin coats of nitrocellulose lacquer directly to the wood over a couple weeks for the thinest finish I can apply. I sweat each coat, use a slower process, I let the lacquer dry and gas out every couple coats. I expect my body finishes to sink into the grain slightly over the first year and age with use. The beauty of lacquer is how each layer bites into the layer below, fuses together and sinks into the wood and of course how lacquer hardens and ages with use.

I shield my electronics, pickups, controls and pickguard with copper and connect the grounds with a star ground pattern. Over the years I've developed a system that shields, but doesn't drain treble. I hand fit the neck to the neck pocket. I take my time and get a tight fit. A client recently had his guitar plek-ed and my neck pocket fit and set up received glowing reviews from the big time West Coast plek guy.

I source the bone for the good, hard stuff and I hand shape the nut. I spend some time here, use a "wider than standard" string spacing and round the top of the nut to eliminate sharp edges.

I level and polish the frets by hand with special attention to upper fret "fall away" and the fret ends for a smooth, broken in feel.I adjust pickups, set the neck relief and adjust the truss rod several times as the neck takes the string tension, I set neck angle and the correct saddle height for the best string down-pull across the saddles. My set up process may take days,.. every guitar has to please me first. 

I build a few guitars at a time. i take my time with each project Half of my guitars are played by artists in the Atlanta area although i see my guitars show up in Europe as well. Many are roots, blues and country players who also spend time on acoustic guitars, some are jazz players and a couple are country pickers.  I value their input and it's rewarding to see and hear the products of my experience and labor in the hands of gifted musicians who make 'em talk and sing. You seldom see a "talkocaster" for resale, folks hang on to 'em.

s. talkovich Guitars are built from trusted "Made in the USA" suppliers. All my necks and most of my bodies are made for me by USACG in Washington state. My pine bodies come from trusted suppliers who specialize in seasoned eastern and sugar pine. My bridge hardware comes from Glendale in Texas. All this ensures the tightest specifications, dimensions and quality. Necks and bodies are acclimated in my shop for further curing before finishing.