Self-taught guitar builder Sean Kochel has all the time been a compulsive tinkerer, whilst a toddler. Years in the past, he and his father side-hustled by dismantling homesteader farmhouses, barns, business buildings, faculties, and ice homes, and Kochel started constructing cigar-box guitars utilizing their stockpile, properly coinciding with the growing recognition of stringed devices created from reclaimed and pure supplies.

The Kochel Resonator exemplifies the weathered, rough-hewn character of its builder’s dwelling state, Montana. The physique is created from old-growth alder, with the highest being pine from a mercantile retailer constructed within the 1860s. The chunky neck is maple harvested regionally, whereas the fretboard is from a 125-year-old walnut tree. Kochel carves fret markers from spent shell casings. The biscuit is maple, and the cone is a Replogle made in California of spun-aluminum alloy. The properly formed nut is elk bone, and the tuners are Gotoh Classic.

The Kochel is powered by a Magneto Design Lab P90-Mini within the neck place and a piezo within the bridge. Quantity and Tone knobs are shotgun casings, and a three-way toggle is normal. Consistent with the guitar’s vibe and look, all metallic elements are aged. The general feel and appear is irresistibly funky.

When performed acoustically, the Kochel’s aged timbers render a pure resonance and quantity. Plugged in, the P-90 provides clean texture whereas the piezo brings a haunting, keening high quality that labored nicely with overdrive operating to a ’66 Ampeg Reverberocket.

The Kochel has a 24.5″ scale and motion set excessive for fingerpicking and slide enjoying (it may be lowered).

If you happen to’re a roots blues, Americana, or folks participant, the Kochel Resonator can lend your presentation an genuine sound and look. Maybe extra essential is its really feel – such as you’re holding one thing soulfully historic. It’s a winner in each respect.

This text initially appeared in VG’s November 2023 challenge. All copyrights are by the creator and Classic Guitar journal. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.