Sully Guitars: “Only a KISS fan could design this”

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 Jon Sullivan from Sully Guitars.

Working with Grover Jackson and building a guitar for Nikki Sixx speaks volumes about Jon Sullivan’s reputation as a luthier. In this interview, the man from Dallas, Texas, provides an in-depth look at his company, guitar models, building processes, and more.

You’ve mentioned your first guitar came from your sister and required a DIY fix with a nail. How did that early repair experience influence your path into guitar building?

Ha! Well, I was eight or so years old at the time; I didn’t really look at it as a pivotal experience, per se, but I guess it’s an example of how drawn I was to the instrument.

For those unaware of the story, my first guitar was an acoustic guitar that happened to have a chip in the nut that prevented the B string from staying in its slot. Somehow, I was inspired to go to the kitchen junk drawer where all of life’s issues can be addressed in one way or another, grabbed a hammer and a nail, and made a little string tree that kept the string in the slot.

I wasn’t necessarily a handy person growing up, but I guess it was a good example of doing the best you can with what you’ve got. That has served me well over the years.

Can you elaborate on how watching repairs at your local guitar shop as a teenager shaped your understanding of guitar construction?

I wasn’t necessarily looking to learn how to repair or build guitars at the time, but the exposure to seeing guitars being repaired and set up helped remove a whole lot of the mystique behind the instrument.

Sure, they can facilitate moments of magic, but there’s a whole lot of mystery and fear that comes from a lack of understanding how the guitar is made. There’s not a lot you can do to an electric guitar that can’t be undone one way or another.

Don’t be afraid to tweak a truss rod when needed; you won’t probably bring about the apocalypse. And if you do, that’s okay; we had a good run.

What motivated you to transition from modding guitars to building complete instruments from scratch in the early 2000s?

It was really the only way to accomplish what I had in my head. I eventually moved from making parts guitars to making my own bodies with pre-made necks, and then making them from scratch.

There were a lot of steps along the way, but I’m fortunate enough to have a combination of “I can do that” without always understanding what I’m getting myself into. 🙂

I didn’t have a woodworking background beyond 7th grade wood shop class (which wasn’t my favorite), but once I decided I’d done enough research of a particular task, I’d give it a shot.

More than anything else, trial and error was my teacher along with the sentiment that the guitar I’m making shouldn’t look like it was made by some ding dong in his garage, even though it was.

My friend Doug Kauer once told me that one of his favorite parts of making guitars is the problem solving aspect of it, and I’d have to agree.

That said, I much prefer when everything just goes together, but sometimes figuring out exactly how you’re going to do or undo something can be very rewarding.

The ’71 model is described as a “years-long project to redesign the set neck archetype”. What specific improvements were you aiming for with this design?

While I’m sure some people would offer that it was wasted time, the ’71 was my answer to the issues I found with the classic American singlecut. I had a few and kept none of them out of no fault of the actual guitars, they just weren’t for me.

When I realized that I don’t get along with short scale guitars, a light kinda went off in my head, and then I thought of other things I’d change like the neck shape, the neck heel, headstock angle, and some other stuff.

I lived with the original pencil sketch for a few years, then made some body templates. After a few more refinements, I made the first ’71 prototype in 2013, and made a few tweaks here and there within the next five or so of them, and here we are.

It’s been a long process; not just making the thing, but also getting the public to warm up to it. While I don’t think for a second that the ’71 (or most of our models, frankly) will be as widely embraced as the more traditional body shapes out there,

I’m happy that there are people who appreciate it.

Your website mentions that you build “high-performance instruments that incorporate modern features”. What modern features do you consider essential in your designs?

It just boils down to three things: the guitar needs to play great, look cool, and get out of the way of the person playing it.

Everything else (carbon fiber reinforcement rods, spoke wheel truss rods, stainless steel frets, luminlay side dots, website copy, etc) mostly falls in the fashion category.

I don’t mean that as dismissive, because I use those things, but it’s icing on the cake, if you will.

You’ve designed several distinctive body shapes, from the Trella to the Revolution. How do you balance visual aesthetics with playing ergonomics?

Balancing aesthetics/ergonomics isn’t really a conscious thing; I just try to design something that I think looks cool and then make it the comfiest version of it that I can. I also think that attention to the neck joint is time well spent.

Much like a neck backshape, it’s important to think about how the hand is supported in that area. For example, you can make a thinner neck (which we do) but you can also have it fill the hand so it stays comfortable.

Some of our models are a bit more derivative than others, so I try to find ways to make them a little different, like adding a radiused top instead of bevels, make neck joint improvements, or maybe a different output jack location, etc.

In 2017, you built a custom guitar for Nikki Sixx. How did that opportunity come about, and what impact did it have on your business?

He started following me on Instagram and we had a great conversation. I sent a Raven for him to play, he liked it, and then I made one for him. It was a very exciting time, especially since I was a HUGE fan.

He’s been a great friend since then, and I’m super grateful for that. When it comes to business impact, it certainly helped awareness. He introduced me to Stevie D of Buckcherry, who has played my guitars for a few years now.

Working with Nikki and Stevie brought me to incorporate aged finishes, which is something I’ve always appreciated.

They’d both say that my guitars were too pretty and they were afraid to ding them, even when I’d stress to them that I do not mind that at all.

Aged finishes are a polarizing thing (what isn’t?), but one of the things that people don’t consider is that an aged (or Sullied, if you will) finish gives you the permission to not worry about it so much.

For some players, a pristine finish can be a factor that gets in the way of playing as much as a clunky neck heel.

The Concorde model was developed with Grover Jackson’s blessing. How did that collaboration come about?

It was a NAMM thing, really. I try to make something eye catching for the show, and I was kicking around the idea of putting my own spin on the Rhoads style body shape, which was something I was very apprehensive about, as I am a huge fan of Randy and Jackson Guitars.

When I got the initial design completed, I wanted to share it with Mr J, because the curve that connects the points of the wings was very similar to the GJ2 Concorde, and I wouldn’t make the guitar if he felt that what I had was too close to his design.

He had no issue with it, and he encouraged me to use my Raven headstock shape for it (I had something different in the original drawing). He went on share that if I was releasing a new (to Sully Guitars) body shape, it’s a good idea to have the headstock design be something that people already identify with Sully Guitars. Solid advice, as usual.

Grover (Mr Jackson if you’re nasty) is also the owner of the Concorde name trademark, and suggested that I use it, and here we are. Grover has been a great friend to me over the years, and I’m incredibly grateful for that. He’s the best and doesn’t get the credit he’s due.

The Conspiracy Series was launched in 2018. What prompted you to develop this more affordable line alongside your custom builds?

This was something my dear friend Perry Ormsby of Ormsby Guitars encouraged me to do. There were many aspects of it that seemed very daunting to me, so I considered it for about a year and gave it a go.

At the end of the day, if someone wants to have a bit of what I do, I want to do what I can to facilitate that. I will say that at times, it can be a full time job in and of itself.

Your models range from traditional to more extreme shapes like the Revolution and Supernova. How do you approach designing guitars for different player demographics?

I don’t know that I consider different demographics, really; I’m just designing guitars that I think are cool. I know I’ve never sat down and said “what would someone who listens to __ want to play?”

I’ve always found it funny when someone asks if they can play death metal on whatever model we offer, because that’s really up to the player, y’know? I mean, we’re going to do our best with all of the guitars we make, so that you can play Bossa nova on a Raven if you want (It’s been done!).

When it comes down to it, you should be able to play whatever you want on our guitars.

Could you walk us through your quality control process for Conspiracy Series guitars, from manufacture in South Korea to final setup at your Texas shop?

I’m sure it’s nothing out of the ordinary; we tune it up, then set it up to the same specs we use for our customs as it relates to neck relief and string height.

We’ll often fine tune the string height at the nut, dial in the intonation, and make whatever tweaks we deem necessary to make it the best version of the guitar that we can.

What advantages have you found in offering small-batch USA models between your Custom and Conspiracy Series price points?

I think you’re referring to the 622 model. That was something that I came up with in February of 2020 as a result of converting things to CNC machining (which remains an ongoing process).

The long story is that I wanted to start transitioning neck construction to the machine. I figured the easiest way to just get something made would be to do a neck without an angled headstock (at this point, all of our headstocks are angled back), so I wouldn’t have to worry about figuring out the extra fixtures needed to to an angled head.

The tests went well, but then I had some perfectly viable necks without angled heads that were basically worthless to me because I couldn’t use them on our current models. At that time, I could get the materials needed to make an S type guitar very cheaply, so I decided that I’d make a batch of 4 or 5 bodies and necks and make the 622 a thing.

They’re only available in batches, and there are no options for construction changes. You can, however, pretty much pick whatever color you want, or whatever pickup configuration you want.

They sold well, and while they’re not nearly as affordable to make anymore, we still offer the 622 in batches and keep the cost below the starting point of our customs.

Long term, I’d love for us to be able to have regular Conspiracy Series shipments with standard models, a US Standard series with standard models (1-2 bridge configurations, 3-5 colors), and then our Custom series.

Your website notes that some models are available in both 25.5″ and 24.75″ scale lengths. What factors guide your scale length choices for different models?

Well, everything starts in 25.5, because that’s what I prefer. While I’m generally open to offering all of our models at different scale lengths, deposits make things happen.

So if I have an order for one of our models in a short scale, I do the necessary design work to make it happen. I wish it was something more thought provoking, but it’s really one of those things that other scales happen when someone orders one that way.

The Stardust was partly inspired by creating something “Bowie would play”. How do your musical influences inform your design process?

The Stardust was an exercise of taking the ’71 design and melding it into an offset style. If you look closely at the two, the Stardust has the same treble side cutaway as the ’71 with the lower section of the ’71 reversed and offset at the waist.

It’s named in David Bowie’s honor and the retro-futuristic styling of it was important to me, as some of the electric guitars he played had a similar vibe. I remember in the early days of the ’71 design, someone said “only a KISS fan could design this”, which I think is fair.

I’ve often built guitars with finishes that are subtle (and sometimes not so subtle) nods to my musical Mt. Rushmore. That said, it’s super important to listen to music that came out after you left high school. 🙂

You also make pickups. They feature Alnico 5 magnets standard but can be customized with Alnico 2 or 8. What sonic characteristics are you aiming for with your pickup designs?

Yeah, generally, we’ll start out with an A5 magnet, but pickups are a lot like soup; some like them spicier, so we’ll use an A8 or a ceramic 8. For those who like something a little warmer, we can use an A2.

Of course, there are other factors like wire gauge, amount of turns, etc. I try not to get into tonal discussions with people because my god, they can be boring, but we may also not hear the same thing.

That said, we’ve got a handful of recipes that get solid results, and I’m happy with that. It’s also fun to give them silly names.

You’ve mentioned that the guitar business is “very much the fashion business”. How does this influence your approach to finishes and design?

While I’ve often said that Parallel World Sully would be a fashion designer, and we’ve done finishes that were inspired by a Chanel boot, what I mean when I say this is the fashion business is that it’s all based on trends.

I can use metal flake finishes as an example; I’ve always thought they’re fun, and thankfully, they’re in a bit of a resurgence over the past few years, but they’re not always popular. Another example are crackle finishes; while I wasn’t a fan of them in the mid/late 80s, and I’m still not a fan of them, they definitely have their fans.

How has your YouTube presence, starting with Sully’s Guitar Garage, contributed to building your brand?

My YouTube presence is a shell of what it was 15 years ago, when I started the Sully’s Guitar Garage videos. It blew my mind when I realized this year that it’s been a decade since I stopped the SGG videos.

There’s a part of me that wants to do some Sully Reacts to Sully’s Guitar Garage videos, but man, I don’ t know that I’ve got the time to commit to that. It blows my mind that some people still remember those old videos, but I’m grateful that what I was doing seemed to resonate with them.

When I started the Sully Guitars Facebook page 14-15 years ago (yikes!!) it was easier to get people’s attention than it is now, and before that, forums like the Jackson/ Charvel Forum was helpful in trying to get the word out.

I’d go so far to say that my time on the JCF in the early 00s has been very, very instrumental in what Sully Guitars has become.

I have a feeling that we’ll soon see more of the marbleizer finishes of the late 90s/early 00s at some point. It’s all cyclical. That said, I’d be 100% down to design a guitar with Bob Mackie or Iris Van Herpen; that’d be super fun.

Being primarily a one-man operation, how do you manage the various aspects of the business, from building to marketing?

The short answer is “with varying levels of success!” 🙂 Things have expanded out a bit over the last few years, which has been very helpful; as Grover once told me, I’m not scalable.

Adam and David are with me part time at the shop, and Kyle helps with marketing. I’m still involved in all of it, though; from gluing up materials to scraping binding to pressing frets, to ordering cases (ugh, cases), to answering all of the emails, to printing shipping labels, you get the point.

Would I love more help? Yes. Can we afford more help? No, so I’ll continue to do the best I can.

You’ve mentioned the industry’s past oversight of female guitarists. How does this awareness influence your approach to design and marketing?

It’s difficult for me to answer this question without feeling like I’m pandering. Thankfully, in 2016, Guitar World Magazine finally realized the “swimsuit issue” Gear Guides were gross, and I hope things have improved since then.

At least the ads these days are better. I don’t know that it influences my design style, although I’ve been told plenty of times that certain models or color palettes may be “feminine”, but I’m just trying to make things that I think look nice.

If that’s true, I’m flattered. Regardless of your gender, If you play guitar, I want you to play one of mine, and I’ll continue to do my best to be a guitar company that you’d be proud to associate with.

With Sully Guitars being part of your life since childhood, where do you see the company heading in the coming years?

At the end of each year, I try to write what I call a freeform Everything List of things I’d like to see happen. I’m super happy to see that we’ve sent quite a few guitars overseas this year, and I want for this to continue.

We’ve laid the beginnings of the groundwork for EU distribution this past summer, so this is something I really want to get off the ground throughout 2025. There’s a possibility of entering the Asian guitar market, and I’m interested in pursuing that. I’d like to refine our most recent model, Astro, into what it’s going to be.

I’ve got this idea stuck in my brain for a magazine that I feel like I need to make happen. I’ve been discussing a signature pickup model for one of our artists. There’s constantly a lot in my head, and I know that I have to pick and choose what happens and when.

I don’t have aspirations of becoming a huge company, but I know that I haven’t achieved what I’ve wanted to achieve with Sully Guitars. So for the time being, I’ll continue to do the best with what I have, and see if we can grow it into a little more than what it was.