Tsunami Guitars – Made the Old Fashioned Way

I made a happy discovery today when I came across this luthier which I’d never heard of before – I love the pictures on his website, he really has an original approach to guitar building.

In September 2009, the easy-going owner of Tsunami Guitars was a fledgling guitar player. When a friend asked if he would consider building a guitar, he went to work in his wood shop, using ideas from the best of what he liked about the look, feel, and sound of solid body electric guitars, and adding some of the features he just couldn’t find in other guitars. He was looking for something that could, “…snap the whip and have great attack!” The affable Mr. B goes on to say on his website, “I wanted a sharp, sustaining tone that would excite the player, make them want to play more. And, of course, I needed the distorted sound so many players like, that STILL maintained the sustain! And maybe most of all, I wanted something truly unique, a piece of art if you will. Finally, I added to the list the most important thing: Reasonable Cost.”

Paul achieved the sound he was looking for by suspending the pickups and electronics in mid-air over a tonal chamber, hidden behind the solid wooden pickguard. He says, “It becomes a resonant factor in the string – pickup relationship.” Each Tsunami Guitar is hand made in Paul’s wood shop in Cleveland, TN.

A big smile comes across his face when he describes the manner in which he created each one of the few guitars left in his inventory. He points to each one and gives a detailed account of the concepts involved and why he made it a certain way. His voice is smooth and his way of relating to people is genuine. Paul is also a good listener. This is important to guitarists who are looking for someone to craft for them the guitar of their dreams.

Cleveland, TN based solo artist, “A Man Called Bruce” recently gave a deposit toward the purchase of “Tsunami 004,” one of the last remaining of the original four guitars built by this unassuming luthier. “Tsunami 001” is not for sale. Paul’s wife asked that he keep it for sentimental reasons. The guitar being purchased by “A Man Called Bruce” has a ‘double wave’ design (see it in the photo gallery at TsunamiGuitars.com). Mr. Brzozowski told Bruce that it is probably the only ‘double wave’ design that he will ever build, due to the difficulty in manuvering the wood through the saw blades to achieve the unique shape.

Uniqueness is what Tsunami Guitars are all about. No two Tsunami Guitars will ever be alike, due in part to the nature of the woods used. You can also draw a simple diagram of the body shape you’d like and Tsunami Guitars will do their best to accomodate you (within the limitations of the cutting tools they have available at that time). Judging by the striking appearance of the guitars he’s already built, the limitations are few.

You can see the full range of guitars he’s made at the Tsunami Guitars website.