Burlingham Guitar
Acoustic Guitar | Building & Repair
Custom Builds
Choose from one of our previously built guitars or commission your own custom design.
Basic Setup & Repair
Keep your acoustic guitar in good shape. We can set up your guitar’s playability and fix any issues you may have.
Cowboy Series
The Cowboy Series is intentionally designed to be simple in appearance but with a high standard of build integrity, playability, and tonal quality… not to mention “whimsy.” Wood grain is part of the look, so this series is finished in either a thin spray-on satin nitrocellulose or a hand applied french polish shellac. Each guitar has a unique cowboy label and theme-matched headstock embellishment.
#014 "They Headed For A New Adventure"
“They Headed For New Adventure” is a tripple-0 guitar with Madagaskar Rosewood top and sides, a torrified Sitka Spruce top, and ebony binding. The fingerboard is made of Crelicam Ebony and the slotted headstock features Golden Age Relic Nickel tuning machines and a Buffalo Nickel inlay. The bridge and headstock overlay are also ebony. The guitar is finished in a french polish shellac, giving it an antique look and a more acoustically responsive resonance.
Not For Sale / Owner Build
#011 "Moonlight And Water"
“Moonlight And Water” is one of my first wider bodied OM guitar builds. The back and sides are Granadillo–a tonewood with incredible hardness, broad frequency range, and a ringing tap tone. The top is made of Western Red Cedar, and both top and back are trimmed with figured Maple binding. The fingerboard is Crelicam Ebony with intricate swirling patterns. The finish on this guitar is a hand-applied french polish shellac that gives it a beautiful handmade appearance. With over 40 coats, the finish still remains significantly thinner than a sprayed-on nitrocellulose, resulting in a more articulate acoustic response. The instrument is fitted with a non-traditional pickguard made of a variegated ebony veneer.
Price: $2,650
#010 ""I'm Going With Him"
“I’m Going With Him” is a deep bodied OM shape. The back and sides are Granadillo-a tonewood with incredible hardness, broad frequency range, and a ringing tap tone–with a beautiful edgewood stripe down the back. The top is made of Western Red Cedar, and both top and back are trimmed with figured Maple binding. The fingerboard is Indian rosewood and the Golden Age tuners are relic nickel with matte cream knobs. Of course, there is a signature Saguaro Cactus pearl inlay on the headstock.
Price: $2,650 / Available to play and purchase at Hogeye Music/Evanston, IL
#009 "Let's Go"
“Let’s Go” is an OM body shape with added depth for a greater overall response. The body and sides are made from a matched set of Padauk–a vividly red tonewood with a throaty low end, strong mid-range, and a response that compares to rosewood. The top and back are trimmed with figured Maple binding. The Indian Rosewood fingerboard is has cream binding. The Golden Age tuners are relic nickel with matte cream knobs. The nut and saddle are unbleached bone. The Saguaro Cactus pearl inlay on the headstock completes the “Cowboy Guitar” theme.
Price $2,650 / Available to play and purchase at Guitar Works/Evanston, IL
#006 "Roy Produced Two Coins" Mahogany & Spruce
“Two Coins” borrows from the OM body shape but adds more depth to the lower bout for a more robust low end response. Built with solid Mahogany back and sides, the guitar also features a torrified Sitka Spruce top, Ebony fingerboard , Rosewood bridge, bone nut and saddle, and Golden Age tuners. The headstock inlay is a vintage US coin, suggesting, perhaps, that you might use this instrument to assert your “two cents worth.”
Price: $2,450 / Sold
#007 "I'm Innocent" Granadillo & Spruce
“I’m Innocent” is an OM body shape with added depth for a greater low end response. The body and sides are made from a beautiful selection of Granadillo–a hardwood wood similar in tone to Rosewood–that includes the lighter outer wood of the quarter sawn stock, making a lovely stripe down the back and transition from the sides to the top. If you look closely you can see a few tiny insect burrows, which have been left intact! The top is torrified Sitka Spruce with a figured Maple binding. The fingerboard is also Granadillo and the nut and saddle are bone. An added luxury are the Waverly tuners. Following the theme, there is a “white hat” pearl headstock inlay.
Price: $2,450 / Sold
#005 "I'm Buffaloed" Mahogany & Spruce Dreadnought
“I’m Buffaloed” has a “big” sound. It’s great for flat picking and bluegrass, but also a terrific finger picker. Appointments include harringbone rosette and purfling, a variegated Ebony pickguard, and aged Waverly tuners. The headstock logo offers a touch of enigmatic cowboy philosophy.
Price: $2,650 / Available to play and purchase at Guitar Works/Evanston, IL
#008 "I'm Riding West" Black Limba & Western Red Cedar
“I’m Riding West” features a beautifully figured Black Limba back and sides–a tone wood acoustically similar to Mahogany. This is a traditional tripple-0 / 12-fret with a slotted headstock. The fingerboard and bridge are Ebony and the nut and bridge are bone. The binding is Curly Maple. For its size, this one has lots of projection and a full range of tone from treble to bass.
Price: $2,450 / Sold
Martin Inspired
#03 "WB" Rosewood & Spruce Dreadnought0
“WB” refers to the mother-of-pearl head stock logo (the builder’s initials). This dreadnought features solid East Indian Rosewood back and sides, Sitka Spruce top, and herringbone rosette and purfling. The action on this makes it an easy player with a resonant bass and articulate mids and highs.
Price: $2,650
#004 "VOTE" Rosewood & Spruce Tripple-0
“Vote” is modeled after a Martin-000 (12th-fret at the body) with a traditional slotted headstock. The sides and back are solid East Indian Rosewood. The top is torrified Sitka Spruce with herringbone rosette and purfling. Custom features include a sound hole label made from an old baseball hide and a head stock logo invoking our civic duty.
This guitar is currently in the hands of its new owner: a retired teacher, singer, and children’s book author.
Price: $1,800 / Sold
Just For Fun
"Cowboy" Cigar Box Ukulele
This was made on a whim for a friend. It’s an acoustic/electric featuring a piezo pickup, volume potentiometer, a masked cowboy in the sound hole, and an illustration from a vintage Nancy Drew novel. What’s not to like?
"J" Semi-hollow Electric
Built from a kit, this one was customized with the owners initial in mother-of-pearl on the headstock. The flame maple top was stained emerald green with natural back and sides. Because it was a kit, this was a very affordable build.
