![]() Saint Blues makes four models of electric guitar and various cigar box guitars. Since 2011, the company has turned its focus solely to the Workshop Series - all handmade in the US, designed, assembled, and set up in Memphis, Tennessee. The Memphis Rock N' Soul Museum has a permanent exhibit to honor the 25th anniversary of the creation of Saint Blues Guitar Workshops. They made a number standard guitar models, a bass guitar (The King Blues) and a wide array of custom creations including the Andrew Wells VanWyngarden (of MGMT) Signature Model. All Saint Blues guitars have been finished and set up in Memphis. The company had a Pro Series built in Korea (sharing a manufacturer with Gretsch) and a Workshop Series built in the USA. With brand loyalty still very high and vintage models appreciating in value, a private group relaunched Saint Blues in 2005 under a corporate holding company called Legendary Gear, with Tom Keckler behind the design and quality control. the dollar, sliding sales, and the desire of Strings & Things to move their focus back to sales and services. In five years Saint Blues had made over 2,500 instruments, but the company was shut down in 1989 due to the economic climate, the increasing value of the yen vs. Saint Blues guitars quickly got into the hands of Dana Key, Mylon LeFevre, Eric Clapton, Bono, Albert King, Rick Derringer, Elliot Easton, Marshall Crenshaw, Glenn Frey, Billy Gibbons and more. The first Saint Blues model - the Bluesmaster - was that body shape that TK had created some years prior. With his connections to Schecter, Keckler helped form Saint Blues Guitars with the owners of Strings & Things in 1984. In 1983, Keckler moved back to Memphis to continue his guitar work. The resulting guitars not only showed the quality of the components, but eventually helped move Schecter from a parts supplier to a full guitar manufacturer. In 1978, Keckler joined Schecter Guitar Research to make custom one-off guitars that would show off the Schecter components. The "Bluesmaster" body was first designed at the Strings and Things music store, built from a Fender Telecaster that Keckler was looking to modify. Saint Blues Guitars was founded in Memphis by Tom (TK) Keckler, Charles Lawing, and Chris Lovell. ![]() The guitars have nitro-cellulose binding (front & back on the Bluesmaster), unique shapes, and a recognizable headstock shape. After a 16-year hiatus, the company was rejuvenated by Memphis investors and is now making quality electric guitars similar to the likes of Tom Keckler and James Tyler. The company was born out of the custom guitar division of Strings & Things Music store in Memphis, but originally only lasted for a five-year run in the 1980s. Saint Blues Guitar Workshop is a Memphis, Tennessee manufacturer of boutique electric guitars.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |