Ben Lomond / California / United States
HILL GUITAR COMPANY is small, high quality classical guitar making company on the west coast of the United States. It is located in Ben Lomond, California, near Santa Cruz ; about an hour and a half down the coast from San Francisco. We are located here because this happens to be near where I was born and raised, and because its just beautiful. We are in the coastal mountains which are lush and green and fresh, with the San Lorenzo river running through the valley, and we are twenty minutes from one of the most spectacular coastlines in the world. We generally have an excellent climate for guitar making. Santa Cruz is a vital community, made up of creative people from every background imaginable. We have a small crew of guitar makers who have all been trained here, and work together to produce world class guitars every day. The method is distinctly artisan, as opposed to factory. Although we do make good use of power tools and jigs, the instruments spend ninety percent of their growth being hand made under the careful hands and watchful eyes of our skilled and dedicated luthiers. Central California is a perfect nexus to work from. We have the best materials readily available, we have good distribution to the country and the world, and we are in frequent contact with many fine artists living nearby, or passing through both locally and through the greater bay area. Being an American classical guitar company gives us a certain fortunate perspective as well. In the US guitar community there is a very free exchange of ideas and resources, so that we can keep up with quickly changing trends. Yet we also have full access to older, more traditional resources. Also, since we are of a new generation and relatively new at this, we are excited, enthusiastic, and seriously motivated by our affection for the guitar, and our desire to do our best. We are continuing to make the MASTER SERIES, which is a set of copies, or should I say "tributes" to great masters of guitar making. We have changed the lineup a bit, which you can read about later on. We have always tried to keep our prices reasonable, so the guitars can be available to the broadest possible public, and we will continue to do so as much as possible. I am especially interested in having guitars available for serious students ; the ones who will take the guitar on into future generations. I am most excited to be making my SIGNATURE MODEL. As a custom designed instrument, it is the best contemporary guitar I know how to make. This work gives me the greatest personal satisfaction. It is always evolving. I hope this instrument finds resonance in other players who use it. In addition, we are sometimes available to do certain custom projects, which are made possible by our unusually adaptable shop methods, our talented team, and many many years of experience. As time goes by, well be offering some pictures of these varied custom guitars. HILL GUITAR COMPANY is a unique business in this world. We are doing it because we love it, and we think these guitar help to make our lives, and the world, a better place.
