My building process is, at its source, rooted in collaboration. Because I strive for each custom instrument to reflect the customer’s unique desires, I encourage communication—especially in the early stages of a custom project. Building on my experience and training as a musician, artist and luthier, I enjoy guiding customers through the custom building process. And since AO Guitars is a one-man shop, both my customers and I are afforded the luxury of one-on-one communication throughout the process.

Below you will find the Venus line, with maximum playability and comfort at the forefront of its design. An asymmetrical body shape and offset strap anchors naturally hang the guitar in playing position (similar to the photos below), leaving your left hand without the burden of supporting the weight of the neck while playing--resulting in effortless access all the way to the 24th fret. Generous carves in both the belly-cut and arm facet of the body leave this guitar amazingly comfortable to play both sitting and standing. Your choices in wood will result in a guitar with anything from a clear, articulate bottom end to searing, crisp highs with endless sustain and everything in between.  I also offer the Hollow Rim, which is a thicker version of the Venus. The Hollow Rim is totally hollow for that wonderful open voice, yet has no F-Holes to lead to feedback issues. In addition, I leave enough wood around the rim in both the belly cut and arm facet to keep the Hollow Rim as comfortable as possible (see #007 in the Gallery for pictures).  For the ultimate in construction, beauty and sustain, the premium Neck-Thru versions of the Venus are also availble. Carved top and archtop versions will be available in the coming year.

In addition, all of my guitars feature the Buzz Feiten Tuning System, which fixes all intonation problems that guitarists have faced for decades--especially between the G and B strings. With the BFTS, these guitars play perfectly in tune all the way up and down the fingerboard. For more information, see the News section or the BFTS link at the bottom of this page. 

My attempt is to offer the widest range of choices to create your ideal instrument, from a huge selection of exotic and domestic hardwoods to unique inlay concepts. I should say that the Custom options listed should only be viewed as a guideline of some of the most popular appointments available. Please feel free to contact me with your ideas and requests (including custom shapes), and everything within reason will be considered and priced accordingly.