A while back when I was building a couple of cigar box guitars I joined the Cigar Box Guitar Facebook group. There I noticed a couple of posts come through from Randy Bretz, the man behind Mojobone Works. I was immediately struck by the creativity and craftsmanship he displays in creating his unique bone and wood slides, as well as a range of bone nuts, saddles, bridges, and custom guitar picks. I’m intrigued as to how he can get the wood and bone to work so well together – but I think I’ll just be happy to leave that as part of the magic!
I love it when you come across things like this: a regular guy who just happens to have an amazing talent and is creating something really beautiful – and we should all support grassroots craftsmen. He builds his products using bones and an assortment of different exotic woods. The combination is responsible for a tone and feel that is mellower than glass or steel and but has a wonderful feel. Randy is also a skilled engraver and can add some pretty interesting personalization to his products. The Mojobone Works slides start at about US$50 for a 2” stubby model, but remember that everything is custom so he can play around with various woods and the aforementioned engraving to get exactly what you want.
RockArt is a series of posts that looks at the creative side of things: instruments, accessories, videos, photos, logos and artwork. You can find more here.