MINT Design

05/14/2024

This is the Yardbyrd guitar. Named that because the body and neck were made out of pine, oak, and cherry, cut down in the backyard. Fifteen years ago, after my Dad fell asleep, we made an addition for Mom. The project got involved because the yard where the addition's footprint was to be was full of trees. Rather than haul them away, we sliced them up, built a kiln on site, in which we then dried 20,000 board feet of pine oak and cherry. Twelve years later, I still had a surplus of this lumber on hand. I knocked a piece of rough sawn pine and noticed that it had an unusual "tap tone" --even at 1" thickness. That captured my imagination, wondering what would a guitar sound like if I mill this into a soundboard and put everything I understand about acoustic structure into the build. This is that guitar. It worked way better than I thought it would. Nothing ventured, nothing gained!

05/12/2024

Hello again: I finally added my former website link to my FB wall. If you follow that, it has a link to the new site with new stuff on it. Meanwhile, I'll figure out how to correctly link from FB. Not very good at FB protocols.

05/11/2024

Or you can also find me on Facebook at JMGiordano Guitars

05/11/2024

I just opened a new website for guitar building / lutherie. I'd love you to visit if you have the time. The new URL doesn't go through in Facebook as such, so here it is typed: www dot giordanodesigns dot net.

05/11/2024

Haven't figured out why Facebook won't allow my site to be referred to. But for the time being here it is. www giordanodesigns dot net (not dot com)

08/20/2022

There's a little more about the instruments at

Specializing in custom stringed instrument design, repair, restoration, and alteration.

08/19/2022

I don't frequent Facebook too often. That may change, in that as of 2020, I made the decision to retire into lutherie, specializing in responsive acoustic steel string guitars. I guess that makes me "the new old guy," since I made my first guitar in 1970. My aesthetics will involve a unique artistic motif and conceptual story for each guitar. I am currently working on five Martin OM style guitars, but with custom embellishments. They will have differing bracing patterns. Their timbre will vary conspicuously. A sixth, new guitar design--the only one of its kind in the world--will also be added to the lot. It was, in part, a collaboration with Ervin Somogyi. Looking very much forward to all the creative opportunities offered in today's craft. The guitar depicted in the main photo above was Number Three, which I made around circa 1971. At some point in the indeterminate future, should the determined future not have arrived by then, I'll have some pics of the 2022 models, and some other irresistible ideas. Lots of notes between then and now--musical and otherwise.

Also, as an auxiliary interest, I was recently certified by Chris Martin IV as an Authorized CF Martin Service Center in Virginia Beach. I love bringing broken things back to life. That's the restorative side of life.

Spent some serious quality time last year with my friend Ervin Somogyi in immersive acoustic analysis. In my view, he is the father of modern steel-string guitar acoustics and construction, a stellar artist-craftsman, and a lucid author. Ervin single handedly changed the landscape of acoustic guitar potential in our time.

05/29/2015

www.mintdesign.com

With branding, Webb Technologies went from $8,000,000 to $210,000,000 in eight years. How'd they do that? Intense branding matched by true performance. By creative materials design, the sign above saved $17,000.00 off the cost of conventional sign fabrication.

05/29/2015

Just went live with the new MINT Design website. Have a look at www.mintdesign.com

08/12/2013

So, meet Linus. http://youtu.be/8ITw2qrK6A4 He's thin and is made of lines. Lots of fine lines; behind his emotions. Starting to appear on www.ifeeltees.com and www.zazzle.com/iFeeltees