Tim Reede Biography

I grew up in Marshall Minnesota. My father was a national park ranger, then became a science professor. My mother was a physical therapist and a visual artist. I was always encouraged to be creative and to try to understand how things work. In my youth I remember hearing music that opened a whole new dimention of expression for me. This attraction has led me to work with music for much of my life.

In high school I worked with a mobile sound system that traveled to small towns for schools dances. With money earned, I bought an electric guitar. In college I studied broadcasting at Southwest State College in Minnesota and I worked as a DJ for a college radio station. After college I worked in the machine shop of BH Electronics by day and in the evening as a DJ at Earth 2, a nightclub.

In 1986 I studied sound engineering at The Recording Workshop in Ohio. After graduating I moved to Minneapolis and worked as a music buyer for a record store called the Electric Fetus, and I formed a band that released three recordings on a local label called Big Money Records. My band was voted one of the best new bands in the Twin Cities of 1989. At that time I began modifying guitars for myself and others to make them sound and play better.

In 1992 I studied cabinetmaking at Minnesota State College Minneapolis Technical and became a professional craftsman at a custom cabinet shop called Choice Wood. I was there for over twenty years. During that time we worked on the homes of some of the most prominent families in the state. Our work appeared in many publications, including Architectural Digest, and on the cover of Midwest Home magazine.

In 2004 the idea of making an acoustic guitar led me to the Guitar Program at Minnesota State College Southeast. Looking back it seems that all of the experiences of the past were helpful steps for me to becoming a luthier. It really has combined my skills as a woodworker with a passion for music, and the science and art that I learned from my parents.

Over the past twenty years I have exhibited at many custom guitar shows across North America. I have contributed to the Sonic Sitka project, the Blue Electric Guitar Exhibit in Florida, and to The Art of the Guitar exhibit at the Plains Art Museum. My work has been featured, in a book by Michael Heatley called "Guitar" and a book by John Fellman called "Meeting the Makers, Minnesota's Finest Guitar Builders", and on the cover of "Guitar Show and Custom Luthier"magazine. In 2015 I began teaching guitar making at Minnesota State College Southeast in Red Wing MN.

My goal is to create instruments that are beautiful, have amazing sound quality and are a joy to play. When it comes to guitar construction I am a traditionalist in some ways. I use hot hide glue because it is acoustically transparent. It dries very hard, allowing vibrations to transfer cleanly.

I am also adding elements that increase comfort, sound quality and versitility. I have made archtop guitars, flattop guitars, classical guitars, mandolins, citterns, ukuleles, electric guitars, and basses. The knowledge that I have gained from making such a variety of instruments has given me a great understanding of how the sound-box amplifies the vibrating string, and often there are design elements from one instrument that can be useful in other instruments. Finding these solutions will drive instrument design forward.