Rubÿtone

#stayhome.

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Every Rubÿtone is a unique, upcycled work of Guitar Art.

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You can learn more by clicking ⊕ ⊕ ⊕ on the photo above or you can browse the collection by selecting a category below.

Hollow-Body

Classic lines, elegant tone

If you want the full experience, this is the design to choose. You can't go wrong with f-holes when it comes to mojo and desire. However, the benefits don't stop there. The bodies from abandoned violas and plastic toy guitars make for better sounding and louder instruments when everything is situated just right.

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Simple

I'm going to level with you.

I have omitted anything that is not necessary. These guitars are FUN to play and to look at. I might build a guitar upon an old carpenters tool because I like to create a level playing field. It also looks cool but the main concept here is keeping it simple.

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Mini

Short-scale

This is a guitar that you don't have to leave behind. It might even fit into your bag. The shortened scale length will require a bit of transposing if you want to play together with others, but that is easy to learn. It's like playing with a capo on the 5th fret, without the capo.

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My pandemic art story

began many years ago but the unencumbered time during the lockdown presented an opportunity to make art full-time and creating electric guitars is my passion. I repurpose a diverse array of materials to fashion functional art in the form of musical sculptures.

My sense of repurposing is only matched

by the satisfaction of "Do It Yourself".

Since childhood in Gillett,

Wisconsin, my parents have always been an inspiration. I will never forget watching my father build a fast-moving riding lawnmower from salvaged auto parts and other things he had around. If a pair of pants was past the point of wearing, my mother would put them away for patching other clothes. My mentors taught me to satisfy the project’s needs with whatever scrap material was available in the workshop rather than pursuing an idea that required sourcing something that you don’t already have. This ‘waste not, want not’ principle was instilled in me at a young age.

It was my grandfather, Ruby, who most willingly encouraged spending the extra time necessary to make something look beautiful as long as it was functional. His loving attitude prompted the Rubÿtone brand name for my guitars.

While studying for my BFA

in fine art and functional design in Oshkosh a professor also influenced my process by saying, “You may have 50 projects in progress, but only one needs to be on your workbench at any given time. This instilled in me the discipline of constantly gathering material for new projects each one having its own storage bin as a placeholder for the idea.

Currently,

in my New Jersey workshop, my bins contain leftover scrap parts or guitars partially assembled, or old projects broken down, waiting to be reimagined and repurposed into different musical sculptures. This process is ever-evolving, whereby I am constantly collecting, storing, and reusing these to create a better guitar. During #stayhome I started twelve new projects and finished ten of them completely which are here in the gallery today.

The road to creating

My #stayhome guitar collection can be traced back to a trip I had planned to Chaing Mai, Thailand in 2010 to further my study of Thai massage. I needed a travel guitar for my trip so I took stock of what I had available and choose a broken down acoustic from my first band. I loved the neck, so I cut it away and replaced the body with some dunnage boards that I salvaged from my flatbed trucker days. I replaced the bridge with a floating trapeze setup that was left behind before my friend moved into his apartment. For the sound, I used an old Fender Mini Twin and powered it with a rechargeable RC car battery from Radio Shack so I wouldn't need to find batteries. The necessity of it being a lightweight and small guitar for traveling challenged me to create a new functional object but it also provided the initial inspiration for what has come to be an ongoing passion for creating and perfecting a guitar that is inspiring to look, at easy to use, and beautiful sounding.

And it has grown from there.

I am always in the middle of building a guitar, sometimes more than one. I am usually playing one while walking on the sidewalks and moving through the subways on my way to work and back. The necessity of it being a handy guitar for traveling challenges me to create a more functional object but it also provides the revelation for what has come to be an ongoing passion for creating and perfecting guitar designs that are refreshing to look at, easy to use, and beautiful sounding.

At the start of the pandemic,

I imagined we would be locked-down for a month or two, and with time on my hands and material in my bins, I could add to my guitar collection. In the end, I created ten guitars and perfected two that had been stalled. As the shutdown extended and life stood still, I began to wonder, “why would I want to do this when it seems like everyone is going to die?" My answer was, simply “because it is what you love,” and I have all these bins. I do think we will make it through this time if we work together.

Fun

Guitars are more FUN if they sound really good. Electric Guitar players refer to this as Tone. I am somehow satisfied with the artful outcomes (visually) of everything that I make, but the quest for tone quality will always be for me, the highest calling and reason enough to start building another one.

Sound Quality
Ergonomics
Aesthetic Qualities

The better they sound the more you want to play them!
Wooden instruments sound good

Pick-ups make a difference

Amplification

Shielded wiring

Speaker selection

Isolation of speaker allows greater volume
Speaker pacement

Quality control pots

Correct intonation

Quality fretwork

Better set-ups yield better tone

Quality joinery
Find out more about how the Rubÿtone sounds by scheduling an appointment.
The Layout of a functional object determines the usability. Guitar on-the-go is the theme.
Play it while walking

Play it while sitting

Play it on the escalator

Easy for you to slide through the turnstiles

Resized for convenience

Guitar and amp as one
Simple controls

Multiple configurations

Versatile

Easy-to-use

Intuitive Visual Interface

Touch Friendly
Find out more about using the Rubÿtone by scheduling an appointment.
The Layout of a functional object determines the usability but it aslo determines the visual aspects.
Fun to look at

Fun to talk about

The best ones even have a punchline

"Rubytone stands on it’s own”

“Because I like to create a level playing field”

“Because it was time to take this idea to a whole new level”
“I am doing my level best to keep playing”

“The only part of the door that can still jam…."

Guitars are more fun if there is a story,

Redwood from Tommy Ssmothers

A chunk of the park bench etc.

Anything that looks like a lot of TIME has happened.
Find out exactly what a Rubÿtone looks like by scheduling an appointment.

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The only way to really know what Rubÿtone is all about is for us to get together.

The Master Gallery

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Rubÿtone

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Info Popovers work in landscape mode on mobile phones

CelloBassE

iPhoneCelloBass

Lincoln

Les-Is

Emperor

Boss

TwoHeads

CelloBassE

iPhoneCelloBass

Lincoln

Les-Is

Emperor

Boss

TwoHeads

Info Popovers work in landscape mode on mobile phones

Unum

TimingChainCover

OmletteMaker

MiniHuh?

Artelin

RedwoodTiger

Unum

TimingChainCover

OmletteMaker

MiniHuh?

Artelin

RedwoodTiger

Info Popovers work in landscape mode on mobile phones

Orange

Tiger19

TigerOne

Mini4

ArtecOrange

Interstice

Orange

Tiger19

TigerOne

Mini4

ArtecOrange

Interstice

Categories:

Hollow-Body

Simple

Mini

My pandemic art story

My sense of repurposing is only matched

While studying for my BFA

Currently,

The road to creating

And it has grown from there.

At the start of the pandemic,

Fun

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The Master Gallery