made to order · from £3,225 · 12–16 weeks
DeVilleJohn, on the DeVille
In my mind I envisaged the bastard offspring of a 335 and a Jaguar… and here it is.
Hopton, Suffolk · by appointment
Relic electric guitars, built one at a time in shed heaven at the bottom of a garden in Suffolk.
Soundings
There are probably more overdrive pedals on the market than any other kind of pedal.
The Guitars · made to order
Three to start from. Pick one and start making it yours.
made to order · from £2,375 · 12–16 weeks
ThicklineJohn, on the Thickline
My signature guitar… The Thickline. A hollow bodied Tele, a whopping 60mm deep.
made to order · from £1,875 · 12–16 weeks
Gateway DrugJohn, on the Gateway Drug
The gateway drug to Blind John's guitars. Somebody suggested it, and it kind of works.
Tone Control · ready to play
What would that sound like?
Guitars that started out as a question of sound we just had to build to find out. Each a Tone Control one of one, tuned up, ready to play.
one in stock · £2,350
EchoJohn, on Echo
A fantasy Strat, '62 and all in blue, made to look like it's been round the block.
one in stock · £2,235
The 107John, on The 107
Built for tone, not decoration… but it looks damn good regardless.
one in stock · £2,375
The Lost ModelJohn, on The Lost Model
Every so often a lost idea returns…
one in stock · £2,235
The RunawayJohn, on The Runaway
A beast of a T-type. Named the Runaway because with this beast… you ain't runnin' nowhere.
Commission
We make a handful of exceptional guitars each year. We’d love to make yours.
We usually kick things off with a few questions about how you play, and you can start on them right here. Have fun. We’ll read every answer and write back with a few ideas, and one of them may well end up as your dream guitar.
Question 1 of 9
What makes you forget your day and just play?
John
I like rat rods. I like busted-down homemade choppers. I’m almost turned off by the new and shiny. Which is probably why I build what I build.
On film
Three conversations in a Hackney studio. This is the first.
Dalston Sessions · DeVille
Dalston Sessions Vol. 1
Andrea from Soul String interviews John. Part one examines guitar No 100.
Hear
Same player, same room, same amp. Every time.
A Vox AC4TV with a Celestion Greenback, at one watt, and the same hands on every take, so what you’re hearing is the guitar.
Echo · clean0:49
The 107 · clean0:14
The Lost Model · clean0:34
The Runaway · clean0:26
DeVille · clean1:08
The Rebel · clean0:35
The Kid · clean0:40
Fine for comparing guitars on most speakers.
Soundings
Thirty years of opinions, arrived at by doing it wrong first.
- Every overdrive pedal is an ampThe Maestro and Satisfaction, an AC30 at the point of destruction, and working back from the amp to what feeds it.
- Has that guitar earned it?Every guitar has a story. You'll fill this one with yours.
- The volume control is the first testOn ten it crunches. At six it cleans up. The fuzz that's always on.
The shed · Hopton, Suffolk
Come and play one.
Bury St Edmunds, Thetford and Diss make the triangle; the shed sits in the middle of it. By appointment, Tuesday to Saturday. Nobody has yet come down and left without saying yes to a guitar.