Guitars by Steve Heizer

My name is Steve Heizer, and I build guitars in my home in Yellow Point, an area on Vancouver Island near Ladysmith, British Columbia.  I build several styles of classical guitars, several styles of steel string guitars, a flamenco guitar, several styles of mandolins, lap dulcimers, hammered dulcimers banjos and ukuleles.

Classical guitars   Steel string guitars   Mandolins  Other instruments  Current projects  Links

Instruments currently for sale    Some folks I know   Other Instruments For Sale

I build pretty traditional instruments - tried and true bracing patterns, materials, techniques and body shapes.  I sometimes let myself go in selecting wood.  I don't seem to be able to stop building classic guitars out of non-traditional woods such as dogwood and madrone as well as the more conventional rosewood and yellow cedar.  I have used fir tops in several instruments and find it to be a wonderful tonewood - but not traditional like red cedar or spruce.   Non-traditional instruments are harder to sell, but often possess delightful qualities of sound and appearance that people who want a truly unique instrument will appreciate.

Steel-stringed instruments seem to be more acceptable with some of the more exotic woods, so I have some wild woods here, waiting for the right person!  I've got a good supply of flamed Australian Blackwood and some very nice quilted maple.  The most outrageous is a set of 'blister sapele' from Bob Cefalu.  It will be a daring person who has this extraordinary wood converted to a guitar!  Recently I got some fabulous figured bubinga.

My guitar building strengths are a healthy respect for tradition and a lot of attention to detail.

To reach me call 250-722-3115 or email me: sheizer@telus.net 

The photo below shows my work bench with a bunch of partially finished projects.  These are several projects that I am working on currently - a koa dreadnaught, a cocobolo parlor, a yellow cedar classical, and a re-fret job on an old Epiphone banjo.

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