Check out my friend Ray Chera’s Taylor guitar micropolishing of the frets, fingerboard cleaning and neck heel fracture gap restoration! The process of micropolishing involes leveling off a business card worth of thickness off the tops of the frets to get the deep string coil dents out and the corrosion, then I reshaped the frets […]
Batmobile Telecaster
Check out my friend Will’s Fender five hole anodized black Telecaster pickguard with the Christopher Nolan style “Tumbler” Batmobile! The outline from the Tumbler was traced with dremel tools and the engraving goes past the black anodizing to reveil the grey aluminum underneath! Take a look at all the pics!
Custom Scorpion Eye Knob
Check out this knob I made with the glass eye of a scorpion on top for this Fender Tele! I took a glass ball and cut it in half. The cut was rough but wet sanded the flat part of the glass and got it glossed with all imperfections removed. The next step is to […]
Jazz Bass Micropolishing
Such a GROSS fingerboard cleaning and fret micropolishing restoration on this Fender Jazz Bass model. The process of micropolishing involes leveling off a business card worth of thickness off the tops of the frets to get the deep string coil dents out and the corrosion, then I reshaped the frets to their original state and […]
Fender Duo Sonic
Check out this finish removal on the front and back of this new Fender Duo Sonic for my friend Rob Harris! At first Rob wanted me to remove all the finish off the body of the guitar and make a raw relic type look. I came up with idea of carefully sanding it to the […]
Sunset Over The Water
My friend Kevin Kirby’s PETILLO “Sunset Over The Water” horizontal color burst archtop jazz guitar with hand painted shark outlines around the F holes is almost done! The two versions of the sharks are unique and we decided on the one with the half open mouth. Also, the Jaws scene is coming to life on […]
Tommy Brynes Custom Engraving
This was a fun project! I made this for Billy Joel’s lead guitar player Tommy Brynes! Check out the process! The engraving method was a wood burning style with small soundhole windows for the eyes and nose of the skull!
Hubert Sumlin’s Bartolini Alvaro Restoration
It was an honor to get to restore this Bartolini Alvaro model guitar owned by the legendary Hubert Sumlin, guitarist for Howling Wolf working again! Hubert was ranked number 43 in Rolling Stone’s “100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time”. The guitar is owned by guitar player/musician Dean Shot! It was such a challenge to work […]
Jerry Topinka’s Doyle Guitar Fret Restoration/Abalone Knob Tops
Jerry Topinka’s T. W. Doyle (Tommy Thomas Doyle) archtop guitar original fret restoration. A lot of repair guys/techs would recommend a refret due to the deep string dents in the frets. A technique my Father (Dr. Phil Petillo) invented is to reshape the edges with his patented file and bring a flat fret back to […]
Tommy Byrnes of Billy Joel Band Gibson Chet Atkins Restoration
I had to get this black Gibson Chet Atkins guitar done for the Billy Joel show last Thursday at Madison Square Garden in New York. This guitar is used on Billy’s song The Entertainer. I did two weeks work in two days. I was at the mercy of the glue drying on the bridge and […]
Mike Rowley’s Louisiana Swamp Ash Petillo Tele Body Relic
Inspiration comes from many places. When Mike asked me to make this body for him and he wanted the classic Fender transculent white color, I immediately thought of the fur on a white tiger. This body is a two piece swirly-arrow-grain book matched Louisiana swamp ash wood. It weighs in at three pounds. I did […]
The Petillo “Mallard” Semi-Hollow Body Archtop Guitar
This was a fun project. The theme of this Petillo archtop guitar was based on a Mallard duck. The details of the hunter scene on the headstock were a lot of work. The background of the headstock is German figured maple. The Mallard inlay is 18 pieces of exotic wood veneer. The Petillo banner logo […]
Rick Springfield Tribute Box
wanted to post something Star Wars themed I made and I remembered the time I met Rick Springfield. My friend and music industry veteran Bobby Chirmside invited me and @wra_88 to the @rickspringfield show at the Count Basie theater Wednesday December 14th, 2016. I wanted to make a gift for Rick. It was hard with it being the busiest […]
Mother Nature Inlay Design
On Jerry Thrunk’s Gibson Acoustic guitar, there was a bad crack on the lower bout, and I designed a piece of Nigerian Ebony to follow the outside perimeter edge of the guitar to cover the crack. The inlay is of mother nature about to touch the earth and moon above her finger. The inlay consists […]
Gene Deetz’s Petillo Custom 12-String Electric (1966 Theme)
This instrument was made for my dear friend and guitar player Gene Deetz. Gene is like an Uncle to me. His custom-made Petillo 1966 theme 12-string electric (25 1/2 inch fingerboard scale) has deep meaning to him. This body shape was designed by my Father Dr. Phillip J. Petillo in the early 70’s. It was […]
Texas Chainsaw Massacre LeatherFace Guitar Made For John 5
This was a cool project that had to be done in a short amount of time for famed Rob Zombie/Marilyn Manson/solo guitarist John 5. My new friend Mike Freemantle approached me to make a custom neck for his Texas Chainsaw Massacre LeatherFace Guitar for John 5. Mike is a guitar designer/artist and also fabricates a […]
Handmade Knobs
Petillo Double Cutaway Chambered Thinline F Hole Tele
1. Body Shape: double cutaway chambered thinline F hole (inspired by Gibson ES-335 chambering methods) 2. Body Wood: one piece – German figured maple top & back with Amazon mahogany center (edge bevel gives the illusion of thick binding & revealing the natural Amazon mahogany and maple grain lines) 3. Neck: nine piece lamination – […]
Custom Inlay Bridge / End Pins
Engineering plays such a complex role in making string instruments and running machines like our Logan lathe. I inlaid these ebony bridge pins/end pin with the largest abalone dots I could fit. I had to find the correct speed on the lathe to drill the holes so the ebony pins don’t shatter. The abalone dot […]
Milled Pickup Cavity
The milling machine plays a large role in making string instruments and parts of any kind. In this case I milled the neck pickup cavity on this vintage Rickenbacker for my pal Dan Skye to fit his new Creamery neck pickup. Choosing the correct end mill bit and the speed of the cutter is important […]