Tell us a bit about yourself (name, location, personal stuff).
 
Bill Jehle – Born and raised in the South, way down in
Mississippi. Presently living in Decatur, Alabama. I’m 39 years old,
closing in on 40, and probably for the first time in my life, happy for
where I am and who I am.
I’ve been a guitarist for as long as I can remember, first having the
urge to play at age 5, and I’ve also had this urge to take things apart
to see how they work probably before that. I never was able to get my
sisters record player working again though (sorry sis). I suppose it
was only natural coming from a family of carpenters, wood workers, and
homebuilders that I would inherit a lot of that urge to work with my
hands. Having 3 generations of family to get tool tips and wood working
advice from was a great advantage for me over the years.
As for building guitars, it came from a need to make something special
for myself that I didn’t feel like paying someone else thousands of
dollars to create for me. I liked little bits of all my guitars and I
wanted to roll it all up into one guitar. Two dozen guitar builds, 5
CD’s and 1 DVD later, I finally feel like I’m ready to begin. I
suppose that’s natural as a craftsman and an artist. There’s always
something that can be improved, or something else to explore.
What's your best luthier quote or saying?
“Measure once, cut twice, no wait…”
...No matter how careful I am, no matter how much I plan ahead, something
always goes awry during a build. It’s always something different too.
There’s also a tendency to want to improvise during a build. It keeps
the art alive and fresh for me so I’m not just repeating myself.
There’s also a point at the end of the build where it’s starting to
look like a guitar. It’s hard to not rush to the end and botch an
otherwise nice guitar that has taken weeks to form. It takes patience
and knowing yourself well enough to stop working at that point. Art
should not be rushed or forced. It has to flow when the time is right.
What's your favorite type of instrument?
 I
like instruments to be simple. Growing up I listened to a lot of
Bluegrass and for that kind of music, the sound and tone from any
instrument was all in the hands of the player. There was also a
lot of player etiquette in bluegrass groups where everyone else in the
band would play quiet as someone took a lead break.
I’ve
tried to maintain that “keep it simple” mindset in all of my
guitars. If it’s an electric, I want the option for different
sounds without a complicated set of switches and knobs: one volume, one
tone, and maybe a switch or two. I like it to feel natural and
comfortable in my hands. It has to say, I’m a part of you and
connect with you at the gut.
My current favorite instruments to build and to play have to be cigar
box guitars. They are not the toys people first think they
are. They have a rich history in America going back as far as the
civil war, and many of the blues musicians in the early 1900’s started
out playing on guitars they made from stuff laying around the
house. Even the venerable Jimi Hendrix started out with a broom
handle and rubber bands. For me it’s been very educational to
work with such a primitive instrument, not to mention liberating.
There are no rules any more. I feel like I’ve been wearing
blinders for the last 20 years and I’m suddenly exposed to a whole new
world of possibilities.
My favorite type of instruments have to connect with me on many
levels. It’s more than just what they are. It’s how they sound
and how they “feel” that makes them special for me.
What was the first instrument you built? How and why did you make it?
I was in my early teens
and my neighbor gave me a pillowcase full of a bunch of electric guitar
parts. I have no idea what it was, but it had a Strat-copy
headstock. Most of the parts were there like the neck and body
and all the usual guitar hardware. I got the missing electronics
from Radio Shack and worked with my uncle to make a pick guard from a
Formica counter top. We drew it out, cut and sanded it down, and
drilled all the little holes for everything. That was my first electric
guitar. It would feedback like crazy when plugged in and, to me,
nailed that Jimi Hendrix sound at the end of Machine Gun. I wish
I still had that guitar.
I have to say that it way my uncle who threw down the gauntlet of
building “The Jehle Guitar”. He told me, “You can’t just take
someone else’s stuff and slap it together. You’ve got to build
everything before you put your name on it.” There was a lifetime of
inspiration from that comment. It’s great to show him the stuff
that I do now. He’s still pushing me with new ideas and getting
me to experiment with different woods and laminate techniques.
What inspires you? Where do your ideas come from?
Early on, my inspiration came from the guitars that I owned and loved
for years. I liked their curves in certain places, or one
fretboard over another, one type of wood over another. It’s
natural to want to emulate what you know when you’re first getting
started. But there came a point in the last year or two where I
was able to leave all that behind.
Now my ideas come from what I have available. The inspiration can
come from anywhere, a broken pickup that needs repair, a set of used
tuners, or some really interesting wood that I want to work with.
I have stacks of scrap wood and found objects like hair combs and weird
screws that have been welded to other bits that are begging to be
worked with.
What makes your instruments different than others.
Since I’ve been working with cigar box guitars over the last year,
almost exclusively, I’ve started to look at my electric guitars in a
different way. When I was exposed to cigar box guitars, I had the
chance to unlearn or ignore what I knew about crafting traditional
guitars. It gave me the chance to answer the question of "What is a
guitar?" for myself. For me the answer is simple: Beyond a string, a
stick, and a box, everything is optional.
The freedom that came with that answer fused with traditional luthier
techniques blurs the line between vintage and new, between relic and
custom. Every one of my guitars has a history and mojo built-in right
from the beginning.
It’s an exciting time for me now. I have lots of projects on the
drawing board and many, many ideas to push the envelope of what I’m
creating now.
What are you favorite woods?
So far, my favorite for
bodies is Alder. It’s the most consistent wood from guitar to
guitar. It’s not the most exciting thing to look at in terms of
its grain, but they have a good weight and tone that’s
predictable. Plus, it’s a great wood for smoking meats. If
I really mess up, there’s always comfort in the fact that I can make a
good meal out of the body blank.
Seriously though, Poplar is another wood that I like to work with that
most people would usually overlook. It smells horrible when it’s
being cut or sanded. I call it “stinky maple” because of that. Every
once in a while I stumble upon some material that has a wonderful grain
or some strong coloration ranging from red to green to black.
It’s really unpredictable wood.
Some woods that I want to work with but have not found a source for yet
are New Zealand Rimu and Japanese Sen (used in some of the best
Japanese made Fender’s). They are definitely musical woods but
difficult to get locally.
Pau Ferro is another favorite of mine for fretboards. It doesn’t cost
that much and it has an almost waxy feel to it when you play on
it. It feels fast because of that.
What’s the most significant event for you as a luthier in the last 6 months to a year?
Well, I’ve been recently called “The worlds only teacher for how to
build a Cigar Box Guitar” which I thought was an interesting
complement. That comment, of course, comes from the “How To Build
A Guitar” DVD that I sell largely through eBay now. From the DVD
sales, I soon started selling cigar box guitar kits with the DVD, and
now I’m starting to sell just cigar box guitar parts. I’m getting a lot
of repeat customers, which is nice.
The DVD and cigar box guitar kits captured the attention of Sam Ford in
Anniston Alabama who is filming a new TV program, Alabama
Backroads. We exchanged a few emails and a few phone calls and
eventually came to agree that my story would be part of the pilot
episode for the show. On the day of filming, I spent 5 to 6 hours
showing all of my guitars and talking about how the art of building
guitars has become this sub-culture of the much larger DIY movement.
There are entire networks, publications, and home stores dedicated to
DIY stuff. Guitars, amps and effects all have their own DIY
groups as well and they all seem to be gaining momentum.
When the filming for the pilot of Alabama Backroads was done, Sam had
collected about 2 ½ hours of footage for an interview, guitar playing,
and guitar building. I still can’t quite believe that I was so lucky to
be a part of it all, and the show has yet to air. Rest assured
that when it does come out, I’ll be canvassing the town with flyers and
a staple gun to advertise it, and emailing everyone I’ve ever known.
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Check out more on Jehle at his GT Shop!
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