If you’ve walked by the display walls at Tone Tailors recently, you might have noticed some incredibly striking new additions. This week on the couch, we sat down for a second day of back-to-back podcasting to talk shop with our new friend, Will Shea, the hands and brains behind Shea Guitars.
Will is a boutique luthier based right here in Central PA (Eders, outside of Harrisburg). At 34 years old, he’s already spent 13 years mastering the art of instrument design. We discussed the realities of true handmade building, the current chaos in the tonewood supply chain, and why he hates dishonesty in the guitar market.
Will grew up surrounded by gear in Ganes Beach, New Jersey. His dad was a player, but by Will's own admission, a tough teacher. "He tried teaching me alternate picking finger exercises on a Baby Taylor before I'd ever touched a neck," Will laughed. "It usually ended in tears." Eventually, a teenage investment in a Squire Strat pack stuck, and Will never looked back.
Though he loved music, Will quickly realized the touring lifestyle wasn't for him. "I realized I don't like sleeping at other people's houses. I don't like to be uncomfortable."
The real turning point came in 2012 when Hurricane Sandy devastated his hometown, displacing his family for months. Stressed, out of sync, and taking a break from college, Will and a buddy sold everything they had, threw $5,000 into a pot, and hit the road for a two-month cross-country trip to San Diego.
When they returned, a random Craigslist search for factory work led Will straight to Musikraft—a legendary Fender-licensed parts manufacturer. Over the next five years, Will sanded thousands of necks and bodies, performed hundreds of fret jobs, and built the technical foundation for his career.
To expand his skills beyond parts production, Will headed to the Gallup School of Lutherie in Big Rapids, Michigan, to master acoustic construction.
"I stayed out there in these cabins with a couple of other dudes my age on the same path. Looking back, we were just rushing to get home and build, but I wish I'd soaked it up more. It completely opened my eyes."
After another year refining his craft, Will landed a dream job at Mule Resophonic, moving full-time to Michigan to build high-end, handmade steel-bodied resonator guitars. At Mule, the process was entirely analog—no automated machines. Will learned how to shape a block of raw wood entirely by hand, mix nasty chemical patinas to create gorgeous, aged metal finishes, and constantly iterate on building techniques.
Now operating out of his home workshop—a meticulously organized lower-level basement setup—Will faces the modern challenges of an independent builder. The biggest hurdle this week? The wood supply chain.
For the last decade, lightweight swamp ash has been the gold standard for solid-body electrics. Today, it’s nearly extinct due to systemic flooding and the devastating Emerald Ash Borer beetle.
Because of this environmental crisis, massive factory brands have mass-purchased the alternative supply: roasted pine.
"Because the big companies had to switch from swamp ash to pine, they bought up all the pine. Right now, it's incredibly difficult for boutique builders like myself to find it. The main suppliers are totally out. As a builder, it means it's time to pivot and find the next way to refine things."
Will relies heavily on roasted (or torrified) woods for his builds, specifically flame maple and pine. Torrification involves baking the wood at high temperatures in an oxygen-free environment so it doesn’t ignite. This process alters the cellular structure, making the wood less hygroscopic—meaning it absorbs significantly less atmospheric moisture.
For guitar players, this is a massive win. It shields the instrument from seasonal humidity shifts and neck warping. Will highlighted data from Hub of Acoustic, noting that torrified spruce can show a 34% increase in acoustic properties and a 7% increase in structural stiffness compared to un-roasted wood.
Will brought three stunning models onto the couch to show off his signature aesthetic: classic 1950s and 60s silhouettes refined with modern ergonomics.
| Model | Style & Configuration | Key Structural Features |
| The Cove (Flagship) | Silver tone/Les Paul hybrid profile. | Fully chambered/hollow rim design. Weighs an incredibly light 5.5 lbs. |
| The Breaker | Swamp ash body with a stunning gold hardware layout. | Features an authentic Italian tortoiseshell pickguard sourced from Mazucchelli. |
| The Summit (Prototype) | Cross between a Telecaster and a Gibson 335. 25.5" scale length. | Loaded with custom aged clay fretboard dots rolled, baked, and cut by hand. |
Will carves his necks by hand to an asymmetrical profile using a "driver-side/passenger-side" philosophy. On the thumb side (driver), the neck features a traditional, round C or U-shape to support the hand. On the finger side (passenger), Will carves away excess material, making it effortless to transition and reach across the fingerboard.
One of the most notable characteristics of a Shea guitar is the finish. While industry giants coat instruments in thick, glossy polyurethane or nitrocellulose, Will views that approach as counterproductive to the wood's natural tone.
"The gloss you see on standard factory guitars is essentially plastic. You're coating a hard-worked piece of wood in plastic. To me, that's sacrilegious. I want the wood to speak for itself."
Will uses a proprietary, hand-rubbed blend of natural oils (including boiled linseed oil) built from 15 years of experimentation. He meticulously applies and wipes away 20 to 30 micro-coats over a two-and-a-half-week period. The result is a fast, organic-feeling neck and a breathing body finish designed to beautifully wear and relic naturally over time.
In a market saturated with automated CNC production, Will values transparency above all else. "A CNC machine is just an automated router. I don't hate them, but I hate dishonesty. So many companies buy pre-made parts and claim they're entirely handmade. I cut my shapes using custom physical fixtures, jigs, and routers. I'm making them by hand, and I prove it."
For Will, a $300 build deposit triggers a hyper-personalized, transparent building process:
Despite building world-class instruments, Will admitted to a classic luthier dilemma: He doesn't actually own a Shea guitar. "I'm too in my head when I play my own work," Will confessed. "I pick it up and instantly spot a microscopic paint nick from fitting a guard on a prototype, and I think about work. When I want to clear my head and meditate at the end of a workday, I pick up a janky, beaten-up $200 Squire."
Experience a Shea Guitar In Person:
We are incredibly proud to partner with local builders who put this much soul into their craft. We have an evolving selection of Will's stock—including his brand-new bass builds—right here on the walls at Tone Tailors.
Stop by the shop to feel that asymmetrical hand-carved neck for yourself, or head over to
