January 29th, 2008

Hi Everybody!

Well I survived another NAMM show; kinda. I came down with a case of NAMMonia or NAMM-o-virus last week. Everyone I was around seemed to be sick! At least it waited until after the show. But, I had a great time as always. Met with all my suppliers, Wilkins Finishes, TonePros, Bartolini, Duncan, EMG, Allparts, Hipshot, case companies, several Asian suppliers;etc. I was busier than I thought I was going to be.

The company I tagged along with was U.S. Masters. They have a great line of guitars and basses. Mick Donner (my replacement at Dean and now independent) is working with them and he got me my badge. I worked closely with the owners of U.S. Masters, Dave and thingy Regenberg when we were bringing back the U.S. made guitars at Dean. It was great seeing them again.

More NAMM 2008 story and pics here

August 14th, 2007

Hi Everybody! It's August and I'm melting!
I hope that everyone is having a great summer and trying to avoid the heat! It has been really hot in the shop lately. The heat index is about 110 degrees or so. It's been wet here too. About a week ago we got 7.5 inches of rain in 3 days. I was thinking about going into the boat (or Ark) building biz!
Raven and I have been working to get the shop a little more organized and we've had some visitors stopping by to check things out.

One of our visitors was Brian Hoffman. Brian used to work over at Moser and was a member of the band Deicide. He is now working over at Dean doing repairs and mods. He also holds a couple of patents on guitar designs. They are of a rather "Beastly" design. I think this company that starts with a "B" and ends in "ich" moved a couple of lines and….well….you know how it goes.
Anyway, we routed the body and set the neck on this model. I am cropping out the body and the headstock at his request!

I get a lot of odd repairs at Legends and I thought it would be cool to share few of these projects with you. They will be showing up in the Bench Tech section of the forum and on the "Ben's Tips" section of the web site. The first one will be hot roding an up right stick bass.

Well…that's all for now! Everyone stay cool! And thanks to Raven, for all the pics!!!

Take care,
Ben

May, 2007

Hi All!
Yes, I am back from China! Trying to get caught up…... What a long flight. We flew from Miami to Chicago (3 hours) and then it was a 15 hour flight to Hong Kong. Didn’t get to see much of Hong Kong, We immediately drove to Dongguan (2 hours), got to our hotel, threw our bags in our rooms and went to a banquet with a bunch of crazy Russians. They were there visiting one of the factories we were working with and the factory was putting on the feast. Of course they brought their own vodka! Shots, shots and more shots….we had only been going for about 30 hours by now. Welcome to China!! The next morning we went to the electronics factory and started going over the products. That afternoon I left my traveling companions and went to Sihui City.

There I visited 3 guitar factories where I went over product, did some quality control and designed new guitars. I was there for 3 days

In the southern part of China they eat just about anything. I had everything from snake to lobster, and yes….they told me they eat dog and cat!! After Sihui City I flew to Tianjin in the northeast part of China. It is about 2 hours from Beijing

There I went to 2 more guitar factories and 2 amp factories. I was in Tianjin for 3 days and then I flew back to Guangzhou (the closest airport to Dongguan). The next day it was back to the electronics factory to test some amplifiers.

I didn’t get to do any sightseeing so I really didn’t take many pictures. I spent most of my time in factories. Driving around, you were either looking at rice fields or tall buildings. They are building like crazy all over the place. Huge apartment buildings and factories everywhere you look. The people are rich or poor. Not much in between but there is an emerging middle class. In the factories I was in, the workers make about .25 cents an hour. They live in dormitories 4 to 6 to a room and eat at the factory cafeteria. On the other hand, in the big cities, people were driving BMW’s, Mercedes, Audi’s and Buicks. Yeah Buicks! I think that GM markets all of there models under the Buick brand there. There was a lot of Pabst Blue Ribbon there too…..I drank the Chinese beer! Tsingtao. It’s pretty good. The brewery was founded in 1903 by the Germans….of course! They also like to drink rice wine or should I say do shots of rice wine! I think it’s like 40 proof. Overall it was a great trip. The people are wonderful, humble and nice. I spent most of the trip without seeing anyone like myself and getting a lot of stares but it didn’t really bother me. I think I suffered more culture shock returning to the states than going there. There are three things that they need to work real hard on there….Paper, Plumbing, and Paint…..you figure it out!!!

March, 2006

Hi Everyone! I know, I know, it’s about time!! Things have been really busy around here. I finished up Brian’s Buddha…..finally!! Not all of it was my fault for it taking so long. Painters….what can I say. But it came out really, really nice. It is stunning to look at and sounds great. The Buddha V will be wild one too. Maybe we will have some pics of it in the next week or so.

Jay’s St.Croix came out nice too. I didn’t want to give it up! It took 2 weeks for Jay to get it from me after I assembled it. HeHe!! Hey, I get to have some fun every now and then. It sounds wonderful, and what a great finish. It is the Antique Burst, one of my favorite finishes. I have only done a couple in that finish. That St.Croix was one I had started and was just sitting on the shelf waiting for a home. It is all maple (they all are) and it is semi hollow with a 4”solid block down the middle. It really rings.
I have started doing some painting with nitrocellulose lacquer. Jacques has an Ember “Black Beauty” on order that I am painting with lacquer. It is all mahogany bound with the thick cream binding, like on the old Les Pauls’. It has an Ebony fingerboard with block Mother of Pearl inlay.

December, 2005

Hi everyone! Yeah, I know I’m a little late on the letter. Sorry about that, it’s been a busy week. I had a couple of last minute pieces dropped on me from (you know who) for the NAMM show. Pretty cool pieces, especially if you like your axe on the pointy side!
The Volantes are selling well. I only have a few left if you are looking for one for Christmas. The next shipment isn’t due until January. I would call Jay, he is selling them with a TKL case!

On the mandolin side, Shorty was written up in the St. Pete Times about the mandolin and the carving he does. Of course Chafin Custom got a few plugs out of it. We have received some more mandolin wood.
We have 2 sets of Brazilian Rosewood back, sides and necks.
I have some interesting fingerboard wood in stock now. Brazilian Rosewood, Bloodwood, striped ebony, flame, birds-eye and quilt maple, Honduras rosewood, Wenge, Padauk and of course Indian rosewood. I slot my fingerboards here, so they can be any scale that you like.
By the way, I think this model deserves a name for itself. Not sure St.Croix Single Cutaway “cuts” it. I am opening this up to the Chafin Nation. Any ideas? I am going to have to reorder the maple tops. They send ¼” stock for drop tops instead of 5/8”+ stock for a carve top.
It was a difficult piece to build but it was something I really liked. I had just finished the first one when Pawar introduced their line of instruments. So I decided not to build it. They are nice guys and probably wouldn’t have said anything but they do have a trademark on it. I have one that is finished and one that just needs a paint job. I changed the scroll on the second one. It was still in the prototype stage.
I was also partners in Suncoast Guitars with Steve Carr (one of my mentors) over in Orlando. This was about 15 years ago. We even went to the 1990 NAMM show in Anaheim. We had about 5 models that were very D’Aquisto like.
Steve had worked with Jimmy years ago and that is where he learned most of his chops. I don’t have many pictures around. I will dig for some more of them. They were high end guitars with lots of inlay. We took orders for about 75 to 100 instruments. Unfortunately we were way under financed and couldn’t keep the doors open. That’s when I left to work over at Dean.

November, 2005

Well October started out kind of slow for me but it ended with a bang! I took in 10 orders for custom built instruments. I will be posting more pictures as things progress so everybody can see how they are coming along. I am also expecting some more shipments of wood any day now and will take pics as they come in.
I am excited about finally getting the basses going. I have a new bridge design that I have been working on that has taken a while to develop. It is almost ready for production. Bernt, I am getting ready to glue up your neck …hmm Birdseye maple & padauk?, flame maple & wenge?, flame maple, padauk and wenge? There is some purple heart and some bloodwood lurching about too.
I am putting the ad back into Vintage Guitar Magazine for the next issue. I think I am going to feature Aaron’s Natural Targa in this ad. That was a really nice one! We also have been listed on Mandolin Café as a builder and they put Shorty’s mandolin in the eye candy section. Shorty is working with me building the mandolins. He does all the relief carving and sprays the finishes on them. I carve the tops, backs and bracing. Shorty just got back from the IBMA (International Bluegrass Music Association) convention in Nashville. He took his mandolin around and tested it against some of the best in the world. He said ours sounded better than all but maybe 2. Not too shabby! Shorty can also do carving on the guitars and basses if you have a special idea you are looking for.

Some people have asked me about doing some different shapes, V’s and such. Yes, I can and will do them! Wait until you see the Buddha V! We should have some pics of it by next week. I have been building different shapes all along……but I have been sworn to secrecy wink, wink.


The Volante Custom has been selling well and we will be introducing more colors. I will also be adding more models next year. Unfortunately I am going to have to raise the price on them at the first of the year. Most of the specs on that guitar cost more to produce than your average import. But I don’t want to compromise the guitar. I like the way it plays and sounds and I think that just about everyone that has bought one agrees.

I really appreciate the input everyone has given on the forum. I also want to welcome all the new members that have recently joined. We are glad to have you here with us! I hope it will continue to grow into a great little guitar/bass community.

Everyone have a great November and I will talk to you later!

August 16th, 2005

The second batch of Volante's arrived today. In this shipment Ben has selected quilt tops that look awesome. Also, a new color (Natural) has been added to the existing list of choices. These guitars are going fast! Pictures of this latest batch to be added on the forum in the next few days. These are top notch quality guitars at an affordable price...call your local dealer or Ben's shop for details!

July 14th, 2005

The first of the Volante's are finally here!

Volante

May 10th, 2005

The sleek, versatile yet economical new Volante line of Chafin guitars, which was set for release this month, has been postponed. The new projected release date for the Volante is now the end of May. If you don't have a Volante on order already and would like to be the first to own one then check the Dealers page for a representative in your area.

March 3rd, 2005

Check the site under "Players"…you'll notice that the Chafin Masters section is finally ready to go live! Send a pic of you and your Chafin(s) and we'll post it for the whole world to see.

February 17, 2005 - THE NEW CHAFIN VOLANTE

Hi Everybody! There have been a lot of questions about the imports that I am working on. Well....they have been ordered and the first shipment should be in by the end of April.
The line will be called the Chafin Volante!

Specs:
Double cutaway hollow body with 2 "F" holes and a 4" center block down the middle of the body like a 335.
1 volume, 1 tone and they have push/pull pots to tap the coils on the 2 humbuckers. 3-way toggle.
It has a 5 piece set neck, maple and walnut, so there is no scarf joint at the headstock.
Quilt and flame tops with matching headstock. Multi-ply binding.
24 fret, 24.625 scale (Gibson short scale).
Grover mini locking tuning machines.
Tone Pros bridge and tailpiece.
Real mother of pearl block inlays.
So far the colors are: Trans Burnt Orange, Trans Black Cherry, Trans Blue and Trans Amberburst.
It will have the Chafin headstock and logo but it will also have Volante on the headstock.

At this moment I do not plan to build this model in the U.S., although I am sure I will get asked......
There are 2 other models that will be added by summer and they are building them now. I will probably add a bass model too.
This will not affect Chafin USA, in fact it will allow me to expand and improve my shop. This is a great classy guitar and we are going to have a lot of fun with it!

Thanks,
Ben



January 12, 2005 - BANNERS IN THE MERCHANDISE SECTION

In the next few weeks Ben is having banners added to the Merchandise section of the website. These will be banners that Chafin fans can copy and use on there own personal sites as an image link which should help others find Chafin more easily.
Keep a watch, more to come soon!

July 2004 - CHAFIN CUSTOM GUITARS INTRODUCES TWO NEW MODELS

At this year's Summer NAMM show in Nashville, Chafin Custom Guitars introduced two new models to its line-up. The first model the "Targa" is based on Chafin's popular Ember model. "I had a lot of people asking for a double cut. It was a big hit at the show" said Chafin.
The Targa comes with a 5A quilt or flame top, mahogany or Spanish cedar back and neck, ebony or Brazilian rosewood fingerboards, high output Bartolini pickups, Tone Pros locking wrap around bridge, 1-11/16" Graph Tech nut and Grover locking mini tuners. Scale lengths of 24-5/8", 25", and 25-1/2" are available along with medium high or jumbo Dunlop frets. The volume and tone pots are coil tapping for greater tonal variations.

The other model introduced at the show is the "St. Croix". The St. Croix is a mini, double cutaway, hollowbody guitar that has a top that is carved on the inside as well as top. Like an arch top guitar. The St. Croix also has a true dovetail neck joint, which helps give it a great tone. "The difference is the 4" block down the center of the guitar, it makes it more of a jazz/rock style guitar" "I have been building the mini hollowbody guitar for years and had this version in the back of my mind for a quite a while" said Chafin. The St. Croix has a 5 piece maple/walnut neck, 5A Quilt or flame maple top, maple body, ebony or Brazilian rosewood fingerboard, Bartolini jazz/rock pickups, Tone Pros Locking bridges, 1-11/16 Graph Tech nut and Grover locking mini tuners. The scale length is 24-5/8" and comes with Dunlop medium high or jumbo frets. All of Chafin's set neck models, Targa, St. Croix and Ember, come with the popular Matchmaker option. "The Matchmaker option is when I take the same wood from the top and use it for the binding on the neck and I use it for the headstock plate, so all the maple on the guitar matches. It's real nice touch." said Chafin. All guitars are handmade by Chafin.

May 1, 2004 - CHAFIN CUSTOM MOVES!

Ben has moved the shop from Clearwater to Tampa. We are now just north of the Tampa International Airport.

The new address is:
6001 Johns Road, Suite 226
Tampa FL. 33634.
The new phone # is: 813-885 6602.

The shop is now only 5 minutes from my house. No more driving across the bay to build! Feel free to stop by and say "Hi" (I might even put you to work!). Just give us a call first.