
Kevin Caton
Kevin has been building and repairing stringed instruments for nearly 20 years. He studied guitar building at the Roberto -Venn School of Luthiery, and has been building some of the worlds finest instruments since.
When I was 17-years-old, my grandfather gave me my first guitar. It was a 1965 Gibson ES-330TD. I immediately started to clean it up. I polished the pickup covers and tuning keys, cleaned the fingerboard and made the body shine. Even though I played the guitar every day, I found that I was more fascinated by how it worked and how it was built.
When I was 19 I decided to try to build a guitar. I went at it with no experience, research, or training. After a few months, I had a playable guitar. The action was a mile high and it weighed twice as much as it should have, but the seed had been planted. A few weeks later I started to build another, and then another.
Since that first guitar, I haven't looked back. My passion for building continues to expand; my understanding is constantly broadening, and my curiosity only grows stronger.
Although many of my guitars have a modern look, my building methods are very traditional. For the backs sides and tops, I use my intuition instead of calipers. By bending it, taping it and feeling its weight in my hands, I let the wood tell me when it's the right thickness. I take special care to place each brace in the optimal position. I carve them until the top resonates freely, with a clean, focused tone. Each piece of wood is different. I believe that it is necessary to form a relationship in order to bring out its full potential.
Every piece on every Caton Guitar is handcrafted by me. Nothing is CNC'd. I personally bend the sides, design and install the rosette, make the linings, binding and purfling. Absolutely everything is made by me.