John Started his lutherie career in 1996 when he built his first instrument, a walnut/cedar parlor guitar. He continued to build guitars, pouring himself into each one as they continually improved.

 He accepted a position, working under the guidance of luthier Dana Bourgeois at Pantheon Guitars in Lewiston, Maine. While in Maine, John had a hand in building hundreds of guitars, refining his skills along the way. Some time later, John moved back to his home state of Oklahoma to start his own lutherie, Mayes Guitars.  While in Oklahoma John built guitars for grammy award winners, and multi-platinum artist

After 7 years of building his own acoustics John, seeking a change of pace, took a position at McPherson Guitars.  While there he has worked extensively in almost every aspect of building the guitars, and has had a major hand in building over 600 McPherson Guitars.

In early 2007 John focused his attention back on vintage-esque electric guitars.  He is committed to offering the great players today a high end hand built guitar for a great price. 

 John, as of this writing, has built, or had a major hand in building over 1000 acoustic guitars, 60 ukuleles, and more than 150 electric guitars bearing his name. John dedicates his full energy into every instrument he builds. No instrument leaves the shop unless it is a prime example of his best work. We invite you to take a look around this site and contact John to experience a fruition of years of building and a passionate pursuit of perfection.