News

December 2015 - Training Video

New MeadGuitars Product - Training Video. About 5 months ago I was contacted by a German blues guitar teacher, author, and professional musician to collaborate on a training video on how to play the cigar box guitar. He reworked one of his best selling 6 string blues guitar books to play on 3 strings and in a video format. He shot all the material, and I did all the edits, software, and publication work. I now have a DVD I can sell and give away with my guitar sales. Branching out even further...

November 2014 - Ammo Can Amplifier The other day I got an open ended request from a customer to make the coolest amp I could dream up using an old army ammunition box. Here is the resulting product. The left side is a 10 watt amp with 2 inputs, and over drive. The right side is a 3 watt amp with distortion and reverb effects pedals built in, also with 2 inputs. It took a lot longer to build than I was planning, but the customer was very happy.

December 2012 – Move

I recently changed day jobs, cities, and homes.  In the process, I lost my fully stocked, fully operational shop.  My new space is 20% smaller.  This has forced me to rethink my layout, storage, and workflow.  Although it is a smaller space, the new layout is much more efficient.  I look forward to doing more with less.  Look for some cool new product innovations coming soon.

June. 2012 - MeadGuitars Brand A while back I had a customer have a problem with a guitar, but he was reluctant to return it for repair. When I got it back, I could see why he was hesitant for me to work on it.

I number, date, and sign each guitar on the inside under the sound hole, and glue a business card on the inside as well. The guy finally returned the guitar. He had marked out my signature block, and crudely taped my shredded business card back in place. To each his own I guess. That incident inspired me to have a custom branding iron made up. I try to mark my stuff in an inconspicuous place. This should make it hard for others to take credit for my work. The burnt wood also goes with the scratched & dented look. It is a bit tricky getting each burn consistent, but the inconsistency adds to the beat up look as well. Now I just need to avoid branding my forearm.

Apr. 2012 - 10' cables now free with most purchases
To increase the value to my customers, I have decided to include a free 10' cable with every amp, stomp box, and tambox purchase. This is not a cheap $7.00 cable with the black molded plastic ends and wimpy wire. These cables were special ordered, made from larger 6mm diameter blue cable including 28 strand copper shielding for less noise; Gold tip end and rubber cable stress relief for longer life.

Mar. 2012 - Executive Grain is now Mead Guitars
I was doing business under the name Executive Grain for years. The majority of my focus these days in on Cigar Box Guitars and related items. The old name just didn't work. So.... With the new name comes a new site, new stationary, new look; Same quality and customer focus. It's been an interesting process, consolidating different on-line id's from ebay account, paypal account, primary email, website URL, etc.

Jan. 2012 - Now making and selling hand made pickups
Over the Christmas break, I did some research, and hacked my own pickup winding machine. The first set of pickups were made exclusively for guitar builds, but at the recommendation of a satisfied buyer, I now make them available for sale by themselves.

Customer Videos

Links
Links associated with with Cigar Box Guitars, or close to me in one form or another.

CBG & Bands
Cigar Box Nation
Wingnut Adams
Michael Allsup
Home Depot
Latin Percussion

Previous Projects - building arcade machines.
Party Box
TimeSink
Xcelerator