Teen builds custom guitars from scratch

[hammering]

Angela Fitzgerald: Pass by this home in Pulaski and the sound of a hammer is a familiar tune.

Angela Fitzgerald: Whether it’s hammering wood… [zipping] …or hammering out a tune on his guitar, Ian Vanveen has a fascination with both.

[gentle electric guitar music]

Ian Vanveen: I would describe the sound of an electric guitar to be very twangy, but also very warm and just unique.

Ian Vanveen: I really want to connect with the instrument a lot more.

Angela Fitzgerald: For Ian, his connection to the guitar is a family thing.

Ian Vanveen: This one was actually my first guitar. This was my dad’s old band guitar.

[hard rock music]

Ian Vanveen: It made me feel like the coolest rock star of all time. Like, carried it real low, took a basic, like, power cord, and I just, like, strummed it, volume all the way up. It was amazing. [laughs]

Angela Fitzgerald: That amazing spark propelled Ian to explore the mechanics of music.

Ian Vanveen: It’s such an interesting instrument. It’s so cool because it’s a blend of a lot of physical vibrations and electronics, and it’s so beautiful how they work together.

[power sander buzzing]

Angela Fitzgerald: Out of curiosity, he decided to actually make electric guitars from scratch, self-taught as a teenager.

Ian Vanveen: If I want the perfect guitar, exactly what I want, I might as well just make one. I put a bunch of wood together with my woodworking skills, and I loosely knew how to put it together.

Angela Fitzgerald: This is the result of Ian’s hard work and determination.

Ian Vanveen: This is the first guitar I made where I actually put a lot of thought and energy into it. But this one, I really had a lot of fun with. I made it into the thinnest guitar I could possibly make without it warping over time. I really like the look of this one being all rough and used ’cause it is very heavily used. This one will always be very deep in my heart.

Angela Fitzgerald: Along the way, Ian is improvising and revolutionizing the way guitars are made.

Ian Vanveen: I really like the idea of customizing. The switches, I like to actually put ’em on the side of my guitars. ‘Cause I find that to be more comfortable and you won’t hit ’em when you’re playing. I don’t wanna make the most basic guitar. I wanna make it modern.

Angela Fitzgerald: Ian’s interest in this instrument at a young age is forging his future.

Ian Vanveen: I’m going into electrical engineering next year so I can really dig deep into the circuitry of guitars and then I can make really nice, unique guitars.

[hammering]

Angela Fitzgerald: His perspective on success is also unique.

Ian Vanveen: I used to measure success in just objects, like money, cars, and stuff. But now, I just measure success in how content you are with your life. If you have the job that you want, if you have the people that you want, and if you’re happy about it.

Ian Vanveen: What I get out of this is, just genuinely a really fun thing to do.

[gentle electric guitar music]