ABOUT ME

My hobby gradually took on a life of its own, developing into a business. I focussed primarily on building custom travel instruments for many years. From 3 strings came 4, and on it went. Dulcimers, bouzoukis, guitars, banjos, slides, fiddles; they all were fair game to be explored as travel instruments as far as I was concerned. I figured, if you were going to make the effort to carry a travel instrument with you, it should merit that effort by having good tone and volume and not be a waste of time and money.

I decided my goal in travel instrument design and construction would be to use proper full instrument-grade tonewoods and good construction techniques, and work to get the biggest tone out of the smallest body. I also decided that my travel instruments would play just like their full size counterparts- by avoiding short scales, players would have similar action & feel to their full size instrument.

During this time I was able to hone my techniques, experiment with designs and materials and develop my skills of luthiery. This period of development would not have been possible without the support and encouragement of so many friends and supporters that willingly came forward to commission various instruments, with little idea of how they would turn out! Many customers I never met, yet through the internet or an eBay auction, became repeat customers.

Also, my skill level would not have developed so quickly if it were not for the support of Ron Melnechenko, a dedicated and talented luthier from Vancouver, British Columbia. Ron encouraged me along with his gracious gifts of numerous bits & pieces of wood and a good healthy dose of luthier theory each and every time I met up with him. Ron's fine work has been a big inspiration and I credit him for initially demystifying and opening up the art of luthiery to me.

Thanks goes out to Rhonda for all the support and encouragement along the way. Last but not least I credit my Mom & Dad- avid collectors & restorers of gorgeous early Canadiana antiques, they showed me at a young age the value of good wood, a good finish and the patience that is sanding.

Rory Dafoe with hollowneck Weissenborn-inspired resophonic Hawaiian guitar

Where it all started in September 1995- serial #001- a G tuned three string walkabout dulcimer, which evolved into what I would later call 'Zoukies'

My first 4 instruments were built in 4 months-and a variety of creations it was:

l to r:

#001-my G tuned Zoukie

#002-the Snail-Stick'

#003-G tuned Zoukie banjo

#004-6 string small body bouzouki

What got me interested in building musical instruments in the first place was the need for a good sounding travel sized instrument.

Living in the Pacific Northwest in Canada, there are plenty of outdoor recreation opportunities. I wanted a light yet durable packable instrument to accompany me on both local trips and when flying to other destinations. I toted around an old mandolin for a while to serve this purpose, but it was still no guitar and it was not the ideal solution.

I had tried the Martin Backpacker and various other travel guitars but I was not satisfied with the generally thin sound, short scales, uncomfortable shapes and overall poor quality of materials and construction of most mass produced travel guitars.

Then one day in the summer of 1995 an old friend and band mate by the name of Phil Main dropped by. He had just bought a 'Strumstick', a kind of a dulcimer with a neck on it I had never seen before. When he showed that little instrument to me, I knew I had to try & build something like it. It was lightweight, easy to play and had suprising volume for its small packable size. I proceeded to measure it and, with no prior knowledge of the fine craft of luthiery, I built my first instrument and what would become the inspiration for many instruments to come.

Rory Dafoe with '97 vintage travel bouzouki

Tricouni Meadows, near Squamish, BC Canada