Barbarossa Guitars

Fine Hand-made Guitars

 

 

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My acoustic guitars are all handmade from the finest solid woods.

I build steel string guitars, with an emphasis on fingerstyle playing, and classical guitars.

NEWS September 2020:  I have stopped taking new guitar orders.

As I slouch towards full retirement, I am no longer taking new guitar orders.

If you are a previous custom guitar customer, contact me by telephone or email.

 

You can still buy a Barbarossa Guitar from my Specials Page

 

 


Me, enjoying a B00 on the shores of Lake Superior

 I have a passion for building (and playing!) guitars that look, feel, play, and sound great.
If you check my testimonials page, I think you'll find that my customers agree that I achieve those goals.

You can also listen to my guitars at the sound clips page.

 Having a custom guitar built for you is probably one of your dreams.  I can make that dream come true.

 


Please check HERE for my Specials Page,
where I display complete instruments that are ready to ship
(after a final check of the setup).



Please click here for a gallery of my guitars and data on their sizes, here for wood choices, and here to contact me.

Each size/style of guitar can be viewed here:
Size 1  |  B0  |  B00  |  B000 / OM  |  GA  |  Dreadnought  |  Resonators



Hear what they sound like (click on this link)

 


My Published Articles:


           

 

My article, The Guitar As a Structure, was published in January 2009 in American Lutherie #100,

the journal of the Guild of American Luthiers.

You can read it here (their published version has better graphics!)

 

My article, Wood Stiffness: An Analysis of a Substantial Sample of Woods of Interest to Guitar Makers,  

written with fellow luthier Alan Carruth, was published in March 2016 in American Lutherie #125,

the journal of the Guild of American Luthiers.

You can read it here (their published version has better graphics!)

 

My article, Proposed Standard Glue Strength Testing Method, was published in June 2016 in American Lutherie #126,

the journal of the Guild of American Luthiers.

You can read it here (their published version has better graphics!)

 

My article, A Large New Set of Stiffness Data for Lutherie Woods and a Proposed Standard Test Method,

was published in December 2016 in American Lutherie #128, the journal of the Guild of American Luthiers.

You can read it here (their published version has better graphics!)

 

My article, More Glue Strength Testing Data, was published in October 2017 in American Lutherie #131,

the journal of the Guild of American Luthiers.

You can read it here (their published version has better graphics!)

 

 

Guitar Construction Information (how I build guitars):

 

If you want to see some of how I build guitars, please click on one of these links:

Steel String Guitar Construction

Classical Guitar Construction

Guitar Set-up

 

These may also be of interest:

Violin construction
Major Modifications

Building a Les Paul kit

 

     

 

 

I am a GAL Member:

I accept PayPal

 

 


Site Map:

Home
Specials
Pictures
Pricing & Policies

Your Custom Guitar
Customizing the Neck
Sound Samples
Testimonials

Contact Me
Meet Your Builder
Wood Choices
Links

Copyright 2017, James W. Blilie, Barbarossa Guitars                        5997 Turtle Lake Road, Shoreview, MN 55126                        This page was last updated:  2-Feb-2021