About Tim Reede

As a child in the sixties I remember hearing guitar music that opened a whole new dimension of expression. Bands like Jefferson Airplane, Jimi Hendrix and Crosby Stills Nash and Young. This attraction has led me to work with music for much of my life. In junior high school I helped the school orchestra, and in high school I worked with a mobile sound system that traveled to small towns for schools dances. As I grew older I worked as a DJ for a radio station and a college nightclub, In 1986 I went to school at the Recording Workshop in Ohio and studied sound engineering. When I moved to Minneapolis I worked as a music buyer for a record store called The Electric Fetus. I started playing the guitar in college in 1981. I formed a band in 1988 and in the following years we released three recordings on a local label. I first began modifying guitars for myself and others in 1988, trying new ways to make guitars play and sound better.

In 1993 I studied woodworking at Minnesota State College Minneapolis Technical earning many academic awards and graduating at the top of the class. I have worked professionally as a woodworker for over fifteen years. During that time my work has appeared in numerous publications including Architectural Digest, Builder magazine, on the cover of Midwest Home magazine, in the luxury magazine Marq, Guitarmaker Magazine, and on the TV show "Home Time". In 2003 I enrolled at Minnesota State College Southeast Technical to study musical stringed instrument repair and construction. I graduated with highest honors.

Guitar making seems to be what my life has been pointing towards all along. My mother is an artist and my father is a retired science professor. This right brain and left brain upbringing is very useful in the building a guitar. I pay a great deal of attention to how small changes made to the design of an instrument affect the final voice. And it is also important that the guitar be an object of beauty.

My mission is to create instruments that are beautiful, have superior sound quality and are a joy to play. I accomplish this by using time honored materials and methods that have proven to be worthy. I use a dovetail neck/body joint, scalloped X bracing, hot hide glue and lacquer finish. I do enjoy the diversity of the guitar family. The variety of shapes and sounds is of constant fascination. Each guitar has its strengths, and that can lead to new creative directions. When it comes to guitar design, I began as a traditionalist, but I am also finding new designs that offer features that the modern player desires. Still, all of my guitars are made based on a traditional foundation.

Tim Reede Custom Guitars have been displayed across North America at the Newport Guitar Festival in Newport RI, the Healdsburg Guitar Festival near Healdsburg CA, the Art of Guitar exhibit at the Plains Art Museum in Fargo ND, and the The Newport Guitar Festival in Miami Beach FL, The Woodstock Luthiers Showcase in Woodstock New York, and The Montreal Guitar Show in Montreal Quebec.

 

 

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