Imagine if your first guitar build turned out like this…

Kroum has pushed the boundaries of our Build Your Own Guitar workshop courses to the limit with this one!

Instead of waffling on about how beautiful it is, I will shut up as I think the pictures speak for themselves.

I asked Kroum a few q’s to find out more

Tell us a bit about yourself?

I’m quite determined in what I do, and always try to push as much as I can and see what’s possible to achieve. This fully applies to my guitar playing, and most recently, to guitar making. I’m quite happy with the results so far, it’s an approach that works for me.

Who do you play for/Where can we find your music?

I play for myself mostly, but music is to share, so I’ve done a few open mics, which you can find on YouTube.

How long have you been playing for?

One year, since December 2014

Tell us a bit about your Bailey guitar/s?

It’s very much influenced by CF Martin designs, but with quite a few twists. It’s a00-size bearclaw Sitka spruce top, quilted maple back and sides, flamed maple neck, 1.75″ nut and 24.9″ scale. It features a slotted headstock and a second soundhole, which changes the volume and tone of the guitar, as perceived by the player. The most fun part of building it for me were the inlays, which are “new style” torch on the peghead, Buddhist mantra on the fretboard, and the standard rosette/top rim. It’s a fingerstyle instrument, and to me it sounds amazing.

Where did you hear about us?

On the internet initially, and then from a fellow player/amateur builder who had made a few guitars with Mark – Graham Taylor.

Why did you choose to make a guitar with us?

The guitar Graham built with Mark sounded really good and played well, so when I was told I could do pretty much what I wanted, then I decided to give it a try.

Did we give you a good service/experience?

It was a great experience.

Would you recommend us/why?

Yes, definitely. The only suggestion I’d have is to improve the dialogue with respect to wood sourcing, as to me a part of the experience is to be able to get some truly spectacular wood for one’s own guitar.