Saint Blues Guitar Workshop
Saint Blues Guitar Workshop is a manufacturer of high-end Boutique Electric Guitars from Memphis, Tennessee. The company was born out of the custom guitar division of Strings & Things Music store in Memphis and rose early with a tide of support from prominent guitar players from around the world, but originally only lasted for a 5-year run in the 1980s. After a 16 year hiatus, the company was rejuvenated by some local Memphis investors and is now making high-quality electric guitars similar to the likes of Tom Keckler and James Tyler.
The guitars have a signature look that comes from their standard nitro-cellulose binding (front & back on the Bluesmaster), unique shapes, and a recognizable headstock. Saint Blues offers 4 standard models all with an open menu of customization options available.
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| Industry | Musical Instrument Manufacturing |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1984 |
| Founders | Tom Keckler, Charlie Lawing, and Chris Lovell |
| Headquarters | Memphis, Tennessee, USA |
Area served | Global |
Key people | Tom Keckler, Bryan M Eagle III, Jeff and Teri Cox |
| Products | Boutique Electric Guitars and Cigar Box Guitars |
| Owner | Bryan M Eagle III, Jeff and Teri Cox |
Number of employees | 6 |
| Subsidiaries | Woogie Board |
| Slogan | "Kick Ass Guitars From The Heart of the Delta" |
| Website | SaintBlues.com |
History
Early Years
Saint Blues Guitars was founded in Memphis, Tennessee by Tom (TK) Keckler, Charles Lawing, and Chris Lovell . The "Bluesmaster" body was first designed at the legendary Strings and Things music store, built from a Fender Telecaster Tom Keckler was looking to change.
In 1978, Keckler joined Schecter Guitar Research to make custom one-off guitars that would show off the Schecter components. The resulting guitars not only showed the quality of the components, but eventually helped move Schecter from a parts supplier to a full guitar manufacturing company. In 1983 Tom Keckler moved back to Memphis to continue his guitar work. With his connections to Schecter and now back in the saddle with his former colleagues, Tom Keckler helped form Saint Blues Guitars with the owners of Strings & Things in 1984. The first Saint Blues model - the Bluesmaster - was that body shape that TK had created some years prior.
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Saint Blues guitars quickly got into the hands of Eric Clapton,[1] Bono, Albert King, Rick Derringer, Elliot Easton, Marshall Crenshaw, Glenn Frey, Billy Gibbons and more. In five years Saint Blues had made over 2,500 instruments, but the company was shut down in 1989 due to the economic climate that included the increasing value of the yen vs. the dollar, sliding sales, and the desire of Strings & Things to move their focus back to sales and services.
Rebirth
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 company had a Pro Series built in Korea (sharing a manufacturer with Gretsch) and a Workshop Series built here in the USA. All Saint Blues guitars have been finished and set up in Memphis. 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. The Memphis Rock N' Soul Museum has a permanent exhibit to honor the 25th anniversary of the creation of Saint Blues Guitar Workshops.[2]
The Present
Since 2011, the company has turned its focus solely to the Workshop Series - all handmade in the USA, designed, assembled, and set up in Memphis, Tennessee. Saint Blues is currently making four versions of electric guitars and various Cigar Box Guitars. In addition, they plan to move back into bass guitar models sometime in the future.
Saint Blues' facility is in Memphis, Tennessee at 645 Marshall Avenue, 38103 - just down from Sun Studios. The facility has vintage Saint Blues models on display with current models in a showroom that includes a large mural detailing their history. You can sit at the 'Whammy Bar' and watch them making the guitars right there in house. In addition, Head Luthier, Tom Keckler is around the shop in the afternoons and available to work on your personal instruments while also keen to talk to visitors about the history of Saint Blues, Memphis music, and music in general.
Instruments
Workshop Series
The workshop series feature guitars of the finest quality with a vintage nitro finish. All workshop series guitars are available with Brent Lollar pickups or Lindy Fralin pickups.
"Bluesmaster" - The original
"61 South" - a hollow body version
"Mississippi Bluesmaster" - dual splittable Humbucker pickup version
"Blindsider" - Alternate body style
Juke Joint Series
The Juke Joint series offers a more affordable high quality made in Memphis guitar. All juke joints feature a satin finish, Kent Armstrong pickups and are available in many different colors.
"Bluesmaster" - The original, tele-style guitar
"Mississippi Bluesmaster" - Available with either splittable humbuckers or tapped P90's.
Cigar Box Guitars
"4 String" - tuned in Open G
"3 String" - tuned in Open G
Gallery
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Early 1980s pre-Bluesmaster IV
Artists Who Use Saint Blues Instruments
Albert King, Armando Cepeda Bb Cunningham, Billy Gibbons, Billy Squier, Buck Dharma, Buck Hutcheson Chris Henderso, Dave Edmunds, Dizzy G. Gillespie Donald "Duck" Dunn, Donnie Van Zant, Eliott Easton, Eric Gales, Dave Williams, George Kooymans, Glenn Frey, Harold Henkel, James Payne, Jasin Todd, Jeff Carlisi, Joe Walsh, John Roth, Jon Ashton, Keith Scott, Luther Dickinson, Marshall Crenshaw, Myles Goodwin, Nick Daniels, Phil Bogard, Reggie Scanlan, Rick Derringer, Robbie Shakespeare, Ron Butler, Shea Sowell, Tom "T-Bone" Wolk, Tony Smith, Zach Myers, James Alexander, Tom Holland, Michael Powers, Hoddy Ridarick, Skip Pitts, Super Chikan, John D'amato, DeWayne McKnight, Ron Butler, Nil Jones, Olaf Hermann, Dann Glenn, Earl "Chinna" Smith, Kirk Smithhart, Cookie Chavis Cody Dickinson, Jeremiah Lipscomb, Thomas Gabriel Fischer
References
External links
- Saint Blues Official Site
- Saint Blues Official MySpace
- Saint Blues Facebook
- Saint Blues 2011 Catalog
- 61 South Review