Wicklund Guitars has been an idea that has been kicking around in my head for almost 25 years -- ever since I decided to build my first guitar.

The seed for this idea was really planted in my brain when I was 15 and my parents bought me a guitar for Christmas. I would have never imagined that the 1965 red sunburst Stella guitar
I found under the tree was going to be the start of a life-long passion.

In 1967 the Stella was replaced with a Guild F20NT and "House of the Rising Sun" never sounded so good. I was off to college to become part of the folk music craze -- and of course--to get an education. With my other passion for science -- chemistry in particular -- and my trusty little Guild to help me meet girls, I made it through college with a ticket to grad school. I left my home in Minnesota, headed West and landed at the University of Idaho. After five
years I left academia with a PhD in hand and headed to Texas to plug into the big board. After another five years as a product development scientist and manager at a Fortune 100 food manufacturer, I left the job and co-founded a small marketing-research consulting firm. At this time my little Guild was meeting most of my musical needs; however, around 1984, I was starting to develop a strong desire to upgrade. Financial responsibilities of a growing family and a new company made that new Martin HD-28 more of a pipe dream than a reality.

I was always a tinkerer and loved to build things ever since I can remember. I had recently acquired some shop equipment and was developing an interest in woodworking. While visiting a lumber store that specialized in exotic hardwoods I stumbled onto a book -- The Steel String Guitar: Construction & Repair by David Russell Young--and a stack of sitka-spruce guitar tops. Well...it didn't take me long to forget about that new Martin -- I was going to build my own guitar. The seed that was planted back in 1965 had started to germinate.


That first sitka spruce and mahogany dreadnought guitar I completed in 1985 is sitting in my shop right now. It has been strung to pitch for 25 years -- sounds better than ever -- and is, by far, my favorite guitar.

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