I Ordered a Cirrus Guitar!

I can mark off another item on my bucket list. This morning, I went to the Cirrus Guitars shop and ordered myself an acoustic guitar made to my specifications!

I had blogged about Cirrus Guitars previously (https://luegra.design.blog/2023/10/28/cirrus-guitars/), and have been thinking about getting a guitar from there ever since. With money that could have spent on a bigger TV or some other item that does not really strike my fancy, I love guitars so much that it was what I wanted to treat myself to. I contacted Mike Franks, owner/luthier for Cirrus, a few weeks back, we scheduled a meeting this morning, and I went to the shop in Sterling Heights, Michigan.

Mike was extremely friendly, and was grateful that I paid for the guitar in full rather than just a down payment. The shop is Heaven if you are a guitar enthusiast like me. Acoustic guitars in every stage of construction line the walls and workbenches. He has a special paint booth, and the whole shop is well ventilated and humidified. He also has a room set up for taking photos of his finished guitars, and a space where he holds small house concerts.

The best part of his tour was seeing some of the guitars that he is making for bluegrass artists. One guitar is a special left-handed model under his M.J. Franks brand of guitars for Jamie Johnson of The Grascals. He is also making a custom dreadnaught for John Bryan of The Grascals as well.

He related a great story of how he once heard an Osborne Brothers tune on the radio that moved him deeply, then fast forward two decades, and Joe Miller of Bobby Osborne and the Rocky Top Xpress requested a guitar made for him. When it was finished, Franks took it to Nashville to present it to Miller at the Grand Ole Opry. He was then sitting on stage at the Opry when Miller performed with the band, and had that song dedicated to him that evening.

Franks knows how special bluegrass artists are, not only with the care and concern they have with acoustic instruments, but how much they appreciate the people around them, be they fans, promoters, or luthiers. You can see in all of the work he puts in every guitar that his respect goes equally back to the artist.

My guitar should be ready in about three months, and I am in no big rush. I know that I will fall in love with the guitar, simply because I see the quality work that goes into Cirrus guitars. Franks has stated that I should stop by the shop in a few weeks to see the progress. Despite the rainy weather going on today, the day was fantastic for me!

http://www.cirrusguitars.com/

Chew on it and comment.