Making his mark, one fret at a time
Chris Lounsbury, who graduated from McMaster in 1994 with a degree in economics, says hand-crafting a guitar for a skilled musician is the 'biggest thrill' in the business.
Fender, Gibson, Martin and Lounsbury – McMaster economics alumnus and Hamilton-based guitar maker Chris Lounsbury, that is.
For the past two years, Lounsbury has been crafting high-quality guitars for musicians who have commissioned him to create a high-end instrument tailored to the specific tone, shape and style that fit their needs.
“The biggest thrill is when I’m able to take one of my instruments and put it in the hands of a musician who is a better player than me,” says Lounsbury, who graduated from McMaster’s economics program in 1994.
Lounsbury attributes his progression into a high-end guitar maker to his passion for always wanting to take on tasks that challenge him. It was this desire that led him to focus on econometrics while studying at McMaster and to careers in both the econometrics and computer technical support fields.
Although a guitar player himself, Lounsbury acknowledges becoming a professional guitar craftsman is a bit of a stretch from his academic and professional background.
“I never became a fantastic player,” he says. “But I did become interested in the guitar as an object, as well as an instrument.”
The passion was so strong that Lounsbury, who is married with two young children, quit his job in computer technical support to attend a five-week intensive guitar-making program just outside of Gatineau, QC.
“It was the most intense period of concentration I’ve ever experienced,” says Lounsbury, who was joined by seven other students from as far away as Japan. “It was a lot like studying for finals.”
As soon as Lounsbury returned to Hamilton, he bought the tools and materials needed to construct two acoustic guitars. Those instruments were of such high quality that specialty guitar shops Folkway Music in Guelph and Toronto’s The Twelfth Fret offered to sell them on consignment.
That exposure led to him receiving inquiries from players who were looking for unique designs and tones. A guitar he was recently commissioned to craft included a mother of pearl inlay of a phoenix on the headstock.
“These are players who have a finely-developed ear and are looking for something unique,” he says. “It’s a bit like being a wine connoisseur.”
As for a musician Lounsbury would like to hear play one of his guitars, he says it would have to be legendary Canadian songwriter Bruce Cockburn or an established local musician, like Tom Wilson or Luke Doucet.
