About Yavcon Guitars

In the late 1990's I ordered my first custom shop dream guitar. It was made with the wrong specs... three times. Three. I decided to build my own guitars. With limited funds, little space, and almost no equipment, I started making bolt on bodies with aftermarket necks before graduating to building neck-thru guitars with Carvin neck-thru blanks (which at the time were $275 bare bones specs with very few add on options). The internet was in its infancy. I remember typing the word "luthier" into eBay and seeing 30 search results. I learned the art of building on a shoestring budget by trial and error. My passion for exotic and figured wood did not go well with the many mistakes I learned along the way. It was an expensive hobby. 

In the early 2000's three factors hit at the same time.

    1. I realized I would need to sell product to finance my passion hobby.

    2. I moved across the street from and began a friendship with a retired 4th generation pipe organ maker with a love of exotic wood,  a basement full of pro grade woodworking equipment, and a sincere interest in my projects. 

    3. The internet exploded and information as well as parts became obtainable. 

I began building neck-thru guitars, farming out inlay and paint/finish. I built 10 guitars under a brand derived from my contracting company name "Yavin Construction."  Enter Yavcon guitars. 

The explosion of the internet in the mid 2000's produced an incredible amount of backyard builders. Guitar companies sprang up overnight and the market became saturated. Small startups like myself were lost in a sea of competition, many of whom gained notoriety for bad product, unethical practices, and an alarming reputation for disgustingly going out of business with customers deposit money. At this time, the focus of my personal life shifted to the rat race like so many other lost souls of my generation and I shut Yavcon down. I tried to stay somewhat involved in the industry, occasionally building something here and there. I collaborated with Neal Moser on some lamination projects and having him do inlay, binding, and finish on a lacewood guitar I built that has his M logo. Lacewood is beautiful... but it's also the only wood I ever had an allergic reaction to.

In 2019 I experienced the pattern interrupt of a lifetime. My 24 year marriage ended in a savage betrayal. The company I was working for in Massachusetts decided to pull out of the state. I was facing some medical issues. I was not in a good place and thought things had finally turned around with the opportunity to join the Neal Moser/BC Rich custom shop in Arizona. After 6 months of the "job" not paying one dime, I moved back to my roots, back home to lick my wounds, recover from the financial, physical, and emotional damages I sustained over the past few years, and start over. So, I now find myself in the heart of Cajun Country, Louisiana, surrounded by family. 

I'm older and wiser now and just want to enjoy some life. 

To quote the great Shannon Hoon, "Keep on dreamin' boy, 'cause when you stop dreamin' it's time to die."

I advise anyone reading this... life is short, find some happiness, follow your bliss. 

I am currently penning a rather lengthy inditment of the modern age. When my mind is not reeling from my literary endeavors, I occasionally make a nice cheese dip. (stolen from A Confederacy of Dunces) Seriously though, my dream was, is, and will always be simply to do what makes me happy. Building high end, exotic wood, multi laminate, pointy, neck-thru guitars. I took a risk twice. Who knows, maybe the third time's a charm, right? :)