01 March 2010 ~ 1 Comment

Custom Knobs

Shop Talk

I almost always make my own knobs for the instruments that I build, and I occasionally make custom knobs for others too.  This is one of those things that, thanks to my lovely little old South Bend lathe, is a relatively small task which adds a finishing touch that doesn’t compare to anything “off the shelf”.

Ebony knobs on a mahogany 5-string Torzal bass

During my time at Parker Guitars, one of my tasks was to make ebony knobs for the Spanish Fly guitars, which were a classy upgrade to the standard plastic and rubber knobs.  Somehow word got out on the forums that I could still make custom wooden knobs, and it became (at times) a regular part of my business.

This time around, as I was making knobs for a new 5-string Torzal bass, I decided to pull out the camera so I could capture the process and share it with the world.  Take a look….

Here are a couple of examples of knobs I have made for other guitars:

Ebony bell style knobs (photo: Chris Young)

Parker style ebony knobs on a Parker Fly "Artist" model

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