Sonoma Luthier Steve Klein is guitar-maker to the stars

In 1971, luthier Steve Klein was in Ohio. He was on a mission.

Klein grabbed the address of someone he was looking for – and jumped into his car. Four hours later, he found himself knocking on the door of a log cabin – and the fellow who opened the door was none other than guitarist Joe Walsh, then the leader of the James Gang, whose songs “Funk #49” and “Walk Away” had been moderate hit singles for the Ohio-based trio. Klein had brought along a few of the guitars he had made, in hopes of selling one to Walsh. He launched into his sales pitch, and lo and behold, Walsh bought a guitar that day.

Walsh has since had a very successful career both as a solo artist and, later, as a member of the Eagles, which he joined in 1975. A year later, the Eagles – with Walsh playing his Klein guitar – recorded “Hotel California,” one of the best-selling albums of all time. Millions of people have heard Klein’s guitar.

Klein is still drives to meet Walsh. He did so just last month when the Eagles were in the area. But they now meet in fancy hotel rooms, and Walsh buys more than one guitar.

“Joe Walsh sends me texts,” says Klein. “That is kind of a high.”

Klein is a luthier, a builder of fine stringed instruments. Klein has designed and built his way onto the leading edge of guitar making over the course of 50 years. His revolutionary guitars, both acoustic and electric, have won praise from musicians and designers. His ergonomic electric guitar bodies have been copied and remain big sellers. His bass guitar design, with the huge thunderous body, was adopted by Taylor Guitars. Their AB1 bass is considered among the finest acoustic basses ever produced, by bass connoisseurs.

Klein’s acoustic guitars are simply the stuff of legend.

Guitarists from all over the world have used his creations. In addition to Walsh, Will Ackerman, Leo Kottke, David Lindley, Lou Reed, Ronnie Montrose, Steve Miller and Joni Mitchell have owned Kleins.

Klein, 68, was honored last year at “Steve Klein, Breaking the Mold,” an arts event held in Massachusetts. Articles and books have been written about him and his guitars. Imitation has flattered him for many years. Not bad for a “wood hack,” a term he jokingly uses to describe himself.

Klein has a shop out on Eighth Street. To tour the shop is to see the machines and smell the sawdust of storied instruments. There are drills, presses, sanders, filters and wood. Wood is everywhere. There are long planks of rough redwood. Stacks and stacks of “blanks” – sections of tone wood awaiting final shaping – are curing in the open air. Visible are narrow slats of beautiful wood that will soon become guitar necks.

Tall and lanky, Klein enthusiastically talks about his craft and his shop. He spends “more time than I sleep” at his shop, sometimes 14 hours a day. “There is always something to do.”

In the back of the shop, under the kind of racks one sees at Costco, is an unusual looking power saw. Klein had grown weary of the tedious task of cutting precise grooves into fingerboards, or fret boards, of the guitars he is making. He designed and made a saw specifically for cutting fret boards. On its mounting stand is written, “This machine cut the fret boards for the Jerry Garcia guitars built by Doug Irwin 1972-1974.” One of those guitars, dubbed “Wolf,” sold in 2002 for $700,000.

Another machine stands to the side of the shop.

“Ronnie gave me that one,” Klein said. Ronnie? Rock guitar legend Ronnie Montrose.

Exposed sharp blades are everywhere in Klein’s shop. The frightening looking band saw that took the tips of two of his fingers many years ago is still in use.

A custom-made circular sander is used to fine tune the shapes and surfaces of the solid bodied electric guitars Klein makes. He needs to hold the bodies with his hands, pressing them against the sander. But Klein is in the process of making a clamp of sorts that will free him up to do other things.

Other things, like shaping the “radius” of fingerboards. This is done with a press device, like you might see at a dry cleaners. Rather than stiffening collars, this one bends and shapes ebony, a very hard wood used for the fingerboards of fine guitars.

Finished guitars are stored in the shop as well. Klein reached under another rack and grabbed a custom leather gig bag. He pulled out a beautiful white solid body electric guitar. He had just finished making it for Steve Miller.

When Joni Mitchell came up in conversation, Klein selected another guitar. This one, a model L45-7, was made in 1992, but looks much like one that Mitchell used on the 1975 recording of “Hissing of Summer Lawns.” It was massive, both in size and sound. Extraordinarily easy to play, the guitar had both an expressive brightness to the treble strings and a deep warm resonance to the bass strings. Fingerpicking on the slim neck was delightful. The chords filled the shop. The intricate artwork and inlays were beautiful.

Klein has many new projects on his drawing board at the moment. Two new solid bodied guitar models are soon to go into production. He also has plans for another innovation, this time combining the craft of guitar making with high tech.

Klein said of his most recent meeting with Walsh, “It worked out quite well.” The same can be said of his career as a “wood hack.”

Sonoma’s famous wood hack, long may he build.