Eric Lauderdale: one fret at a time....
Born in Augsburg Germany (my father was stationed there as
an Officer in the Army), we moved to Santa Barbara three
years later as so many UCSB students do after falling in love
with the beautiful coastal town. My parents worked at the
University for the next 15 years until we moved to wonderful
Cost The Mosta, in Orange County. I graduated from Costa
Mesa High in 81 and studied Art and Humanities at Orange
Coast Collage, From there I was Director of Fine Art for the
Orange County Boys and Girls Club Association in Santa Ana
for six years before moving to Wales, Great Britain. There, I
got married, had a beautiful daughter Hannah, studied
engineering and fell in love with the history, people and spirit
of the British island. We returned to the States in 95 and in
2004 I returned to my beloved Santa Barbara.
I've been creative my entire life in one way or another,
encouraged endlessly by my father and, thanks to my mother,
have always had a love for music.
I had been indoctrinated into the Kingston Trio, Harry
Belafonte, Herb Albert and Tijuana Brass, along with Neal
Diamond, Ravel, and Tchaikovsky by my parents and, while my
appreciation for all this 'eclectica' has done nothing but grow,
I was not the product of Rock and Roll parents! My Father
was a military man. Stern, even handed, supportive, but not
rock and roll.
One day a kid from around the block offered to sell his electric
guitar to me for two dollars. At 11 years old, I thought it was
a bit much, but I managed to scrape enough quarters and
dimes from my drawers to buy the old Sears and Roebuck
clone-job with the sunburst and lipstick pickups. It was then
that I realised two things. One-you need an amp to make it
loud, and two, having never held a guitar before, I
instinctively began playing it upside-down (naturally, being
left-handed). I was very distraught. However, it was soon
pointed out to me the many lefties out there, not the least of
which being Jimmy Hendrix and Paul McCartney.
I put my creative forces to work and promptly cut the horn
deeper down to the body so I could reach those high frets. I
had my first usable electric guitar, but another vintage
collectors item bit the dust.
Several years later, it became obvious that the choice of left
handed guitars available were few and far between. To get
anything original or unique was far from anything my
allowance would allow, and so, with the arrogance that only
ignorance and desire can summon, I vowed to make my own
left handed electric guitar.
I began taking wood shop in Jr. High and continued until
finally I got a teacher who was insightful and encouraging (
and very wise!). He allowed me to create my own project. As
it was, the Rickenbacker factory was not far away and had
often donated wood to the school shop. The instructor
procured a fret-saw blade and some rosewood blanks, I
bought some Tiger wood, Walnut, and Maple and, with the
help of Hideo Kamimoto's 'Complete Guitar Repair' book, I
embarked on what was to become a life long journey. There
have been many gaps, but the road to here continues to fulfill
the dream.
To that end, I strive to create and build high quality exotic
creative, primarily left handed guitars that look good, feel
good, and sound good.
Born in Augsburg Germany (my father was stationed there as
an Officer in the Army), we moved to Santa Barbara three
years later as so many UCSB students do after falling in love
with the beautiful coastal town. My parents worked at the
University for the next 15 years until we moved to wonderful
Cost The Mosta, in Orange County. I graduated from Costa
Mesa High in 81 and studied Art and Humanities at Orange
Coast Collage, From there I was Director of Fine Art for the
Orange County Boys and Girls Club Association in Santa Ana
for six years before moving to Wales, Great Britain. There, I
got married, had a beautiful daughter Hannah, studied
engineering and fell in love with the history, people and spirit
of the British island. We returned to the States in 95 and in
2004 I returned to my beloved Santa Barbara.
I've been creative my entire life in one way or another,
encouraged endlessly by my father and, thanks to my mother,
have always had a love for music.
I had been indoctrinated into the Kingston Trio, Harry
Belafonte, Herb Albert and Tijuana Brass, along with Neal
Diamond, Ravel, and Tchaikovsky by my parents and, while my
appreciation for all this 'eclectica' has done nothing but grow,
I was not the product of Rock and Roll parents! My Father
was a military man. Stern, even handed, supportive, but not
rock and roll.
One day a kid from around the block offered to sell his electric
guitar to me for two dollars. At 11 years old, I thought it was
a bit much, but I managed to scrape enough quarters and
dimes from my drawers to buy the old Sears and Roebuck
clone-job with the sunburst and lipstick pickups. It was then
that I realised two things. One-you need an amp to make it
loud, and two, having never held a guitar before, I
instinctively began playing it upside-down (naturally, being
left-handed). I was very distraught. However, it was soon
pointed out to me the many lefties out there, not the least of
which being Jimmy Hendrix and Paul McCartney.
I put my creative forces to work and promptly cut the horn
deeper down to the body so I could reach those high frets. I
had my first usable electric guitar, but another vintage
collectors item bit the dust.
Several years later, it became obvious that the choice of left
handed guitars available were few and far between. To get
anything original or unique was far from anything my
allowance would allow, and so, with the arrogance that only
ignorance and desire can summon, I vowed to make my own
left handed electric guitar.
I began taking wood shop in Jr. High and continued until
finally I got a teacher who was insightful and encouraging (
and very wise!). He allowed me to create my own project. As
it was, the Rickenbacker factory was not far away and had
often donated wood to the school shop. The instructor
procured a fret-saw blade and some rosewood blanks, I
bought some Tiger wood, Walnut, and Maple and, with the
help of Hideo Kamimoto's 'Complete Guitar Repair' book, I
embarked on what was to become a life long journey. There
have been many gaps, but the road to here continues to fulfill
the dream.
To that end, I strive to create and build high quality exotic
creative, primarily left handed guitars that look good, feel
good, and sound good.
Phone: 805-636-9060
Eric Lauderdale
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