Podcast 128: T. Drew Heinonen and the Summit OM Build, Part Six

The wait is over!

Back on our 100th episode, we introduced you to T. Drew Heinonen, a young luthier who attended the first Fretboard Summit. We ended up ordering a guitar through Drew, using woods and materials we sourced through some of our favorite suppliers. Ever since, we’ve been checking in with Drew on the podcast as he builds the instrument. Well, the wait is over and at the second Summit (held in October 2016 in San Diego), Drew presented us with the finished guitar, a fine sounding koa/Lutz OM with surprising tone (for a koa instrument) and plenty of personal touches.

On today’s episode, we talk to Drew about how the guitar came together, how it’s opening up and what his plans are for 2017 and beyond. We also discuss the sister OM guitar that Drew built using Black locust and Red spruce. That instrument is currently for sale via Drew.