Mike Forrester: Home
Update - 12/28/11 Thanks to my growing family of loyal customers and friends, Forrester Kustoms is celebrating 5 years of success and growth! Big things are on the horizon! Having opened for business 'proper' in the summer of 2006, Forrester Kustoms Guitar Repair & Service has been repairing and maintaining stringed instruments for many of the finest and most discriminating musicians, collectors, and dealers in the Maryland/DC/Virginia/Pennsylvania region, AND BEYOND. In reality, it's been 30 years since I first started tinkering with guitars. From a full-blown hobby (I don't do anything half-way!), to a demanding full-time business, it's been an interesting ride. My old, jam-packed 3-ring binders of photocopied and hand-drawn schematics and reference materials have since been supplemented by Google and the internet! How did we function without this technology back in the early 80's??!! My old, crude, steel fret files have been replaced by industrial diamond coated files.....oh, and Micro-Mesh??!!....I can now polish my freshly re-crowned frets to a 12,000 grit mirror shine. In my little world, this is HUGE! Those improvements, and latest technology in materials, combined with my 30 years of experience, translate to a finer finished job for my customers. And THAT very level of attention to detail is what my customers have come to expect. I refuse to deliver anything less than the best, and I strive to improve my luthier skills to this very day. From basic setup and adjustments, to complex and intensive structural repair, custom circuitry in electric instruments, fine nitrocellulose lacquer finishing, and custom inlay, I strive to be the 'One Stop Shop' when it comes to stringed instrument service. I do not shy away from the deepest of repairs and/or restoration...I have resurrected instruments that have been left for dead, instruments deemed 'unrepairable' by less-qualified repairmen. Because of that, I also routinely receive instruments from customers across the United States, many of which cycle their instruments through for service and maintenance throughout the year. These customers have tried the other shops, including some of the big names, and ended up with little ol me. Needless to say, I am equally humbled and incredibly appreciative, but refuse to take it for granted. I vow to sustain, and improve, the level of quality my customers have come to expect. And now the latest!.... Starting in 2012, along with stringed instrument repair and service, Forrester Kustoms will also begin to offer custom GUITARS AND BASSES! This has been a long time coming, and I'm excited to enter this next stage of my career. Part calculated move, part necessity, I will offer an official line of true original 'Forrester Kustoms' signature models, as well as one-off, customer-influenced designs. We're not talking cookie-cutter, bolt-together Parts-o-casters here. I will actually CRAFT your guitar from billets of tone wood. YOU choose the wood, the scale, the neck shape and profile, the fret wire size, the hardware, etc. The result will be a finely-crafted musical instrument that fits YOU, is an absolute joy to play, and delivers time after time. Truth told, I've been building guitars off and on for many years, all the while learning, refining the construction, and experimenting with tone, feel, and final fit and finish. This time, it's for real. Offering handcrafted custom guitars is the next logical step for me, it's a natural progression, and it's the future of Forrester Kustoms. .........I'm gonna need a bigger shop! Mike Forrester
