Where the ideas
come from.
Early electrical equipment made its workings visible through clear controls, substantial housings, and carefully fitted parts. There was a sense that a useful object deserved a lasting place in everyday life. We bring that sensibility to the instruments we make.
Bauhaus gives us a starting point in clear forms and useful objects. Machining suggests precise edges, fitted surfaces, and a construction you can understand. Military electronics offer controls that make sense at a glance and parts that can be reached for service.
The straight cutaway of a Selmer-Maccaferri guitar and the stepped details of Art Deco belong in that vocabulary too. We bring these influences together around the needs of the instrument. The care should be just as apparent inside it as it is on the outside.
A long life
in use.
Years spent restoring guitars make you think about what happens after an instrument leaves the shop. Eventually it will need work. We design with that future in mind.
Our bolt-through neck extends beneath the pickups and is held by machine screws in threaded inserts. It gives the joint a broad contact area while allowing the neck to come off for service. Roasted woods and carbon-fiber reinforcement help with stability; the asymmetrical neck profile and carefully finished frets address what you feel when you play.
Artifact guitars are built in the USA to established specifications, then finished and set up by hand. Every new guitar carries a lifetime warranty for its original owner.
Explore the instrument