Dean Gordon Guitars: “While my guitars are different, the designs just work”

In our Luthier Interview Series we dive into the world of electric guitar craftsmanship with the experts who bring these instruments to life. This time we feature an interview with Dean Gordon from Dean Gordon Guitars.

At just 18 years old, Dean Gordon started his business crafting boutique guitars in 2012. He’s since made a name for himself as a skilled luthier.

His unique designs have guitar enthusiasts drooling over his creations. It’s high time we introduce our readers to this master craftsman.

You started playing guitar at 14 and quickly moved into building. What sparked your interest in luthiery at such a young age?

When I was a young teenager I was a huge fan of the band Muse. Matt Bellamy played these highly custom guitars that I wanted to get my hands on but could not afford.

So the next best option was to start modifying what I had and through that I ended up catching the luthier bug and began working on friends’ guitars to eventually build my own first few guitars.

How did your apprenticeships with Victor Baker and Roger Sadowsky shape your approach to guitar building?

I can’t understate the impact of having worked with both Victor and Roger. It was a huge boost to my technical skill and overall luthiery knowledge.

Right at the start of my career I learned things most don’t learn for quite a long time from the best use of certain tools to handling different types of wood species.

I would say I take more of Victors wood working and Rogers fretwork/setup approaches and theory to my work.

Can you tell us about the experience of selling your first guitar to Keith Urban? How did that opportunity come about?

Keith Urban had come into Chelsea Guitars where I was a luthier doing repairs to buy a Dumble Overdrive special amp.

My boss Dan took my guitar and threw me in front of him saying: check out this kid’s work. I was eighteen at the time so I was very much so the kid.

Keith went to pay for the amp and looked at me and said: ‘How much for the guitar?’ My jaw hit the floor. I remember feeling frozen up. It was totally unexpected.

I do not think he took the guitar because he thought it was so good, but rather he saw some young kid doing something really cool and wanted to support me. 

How has your background in graphic design influenced your guitar designs and aesthetics?

My background in graphic design plays a huge role in how I choose my textures, colors and materials for my work. While different from designing a logo, making guitars very much so has the same play with those aspects.

You will see some of my more artsy builds such as the Rolls Royce or NASA build I made for my two NAMM showings and those specifically I take a ‘graphic design’ approach. 

Your time at Chelsea Guitars exposed you to a wide variety of instruments. How has this experience informed your own guitar building philosophy?

I think having seen such a wide variety of vintage and used guitars is crucial to what I see working as features or not in my own builds.

I’ve seen how guitars hold up through time and what players like or don’t like. And just having had done the repairs I see where guitars could be improved and built upon. 

Can you elaborate on your goal of producing ‘high-quality, modern instruments with the familiarity of playing the classics’? How do you balance innovation with tradition?

While my work is considered unorthodox I try not to venture so far that things become too different. There is a reason the best known players stick largely to more simple guitars even with the growing list of options out there.

I know so many luthiers who make just as unorthodox work like mine but they take it too far: Custom hardware, odd neck shapes, even more adventurous and wild body shapes, strange electronic options not unlike what you see in Uli Teufel’s Tesla guitar…

Not a knock on him, the Tesla is brilliant, but the noise making features on his work is just not something 99 percent of players would find useful.

I want people to pick up my work and see something very different but when it sits in the lap they go right back in their heads to saying this is a comfy Strat style in terms of feel.

It’s a tough line to walk in bringing new shape design to the field without going too far. 

How has your partnership with Alex Malcoci and the introduction of CNC technology changed your guitar building process?

Alex has helped bring my shop into the modern world in ways I could never have done without a huge monetary investment in a consultant. He has helped me develop tooling processes, machining processes and the ability to apply more of a ‘factory’ production style to my tiny workshop.

All of these things, without going into detail, have massively increased my build quality and he has been a key component in why I am a growing name.

For our readers interested in becoming luthiers, what advice would you give about gaining experience in the field?

Be ready to feel like you are losing and be ready to lose. Most don’t make it. You can have what you feel is the most unique work possible and it just won’t work.

This is a strange business with huge parts of luck and many make it due to just being at the right place at the right time. This is not a money making business and for sure not a money maker in the beginning so you likely need a support network that understands this is a long haul journey.

I see a lot of guys who know some CAD/CAM work and get a little CNC in their garage so they start a ‘business’.. Look guys, I’m a luthier now.

I think the CNC capability really becoming affordable has opened the door to a lot of these people, instead of needing to go through the slow hand process, beginners are able to make something fast with good clean lines.

It creates the illusion of a good guitar while it’s not and the slow hand process tells you visually I need to improve. Many are in for some upset.

Now I don’t say all of this to be negative, I say this to be realistic. Experience comes through time and if you are lucky enough to nail an apprenticeship that goes a long way. 

How does being based in Miami influence your work or inspire your designs?

I don’t think I pull much influence from Miami itself the difference from NYC to Miami has been my mental health.

NYC is a fun place but it is filthy and loud. This brought me down while here in Miami it’s sunny and full of plant life. It feels more uplifting.

Can you walk us through your design process for a new guitar model?

This one will be short, I usually just do dozens of sketches and when I finalize those hand drawings I throw them into photoshop to get a better idea visually.

If I am honest I have only since done variations of my two designs Mirus and Virtus so it has been over a decade since I have really gone through a full design process for something truly new.

I can’t say how a full process would look today. I am trying to really mature the two designs I have now.

What are some of the unique features or innovations that set Dean Gordon Guitars apart from other boutique builders?

I think the shapes and curves in my work speak volumes to my unique features, I like to think I offer more playful color and visual design options in my work than most.

At the end of the day, my work is not much different from other high quality makers in terms of features… Tuners go here and the bridge goes there, you know?

How do you see the future of electric guitar design evolving, and what role do you hope Dean Gordon Guitars will play in that future?

I do think we see a growing audience of people who want something outside of the usual suspects in the guitar world. Young players are not as connected to a Strat, Les Paul or RG style nearly as much.

Just look at all the big name players using guitars like Abasi, Strandberg, Dingwall etc. I think the future is going to open this door wider and I believe I am in a firm position to really cement myself in a good position.

I had both Paul Reed Smith and Ned Steinberger tell me in person at NAMM 2024 that my guitars are the future and while they are different, the designs just work.

For our beginner guitarist readers, what should they consider when looking at boutique or custom-built guitars?

There are a lot of guys out there making guitars, make sure you do your research and even try to see the work in person.

Social media and, as I said earlier in the interview, accessibility to CNC has produced a field of ‘luthiers’ that can easily create the illusion of a good guitar and many of them charge similar amounts to businesses with huge experience and reputation.

I’m not saying do not support these people, most are genuinely trying, but don’t jump into a purchase without due diligence. Ask on forums or talk pages. 

How do you balance maintaining traditional craftsmanship with incorporating modern technology in your guitar building process?

It has become harder and harder to maintain the traditional style with the modern processes. The only way I have been able to expand how many guitars I can build in a year is modernizing and the traditional styles apply to this less and less.

I can’t say how much of either I maintain; it’s not easy to quantify this… My shop operates more like a mid-sized factory than a small one off shop.