The Stringer Series by WGCo.
Byron Bay, NSW - AUS. sometime in the year 2015, a crazy idea comes into Clem’s mind as he’s paddling out on his surfboard to catch a wave at the pass…
“It’s one of those Eureka moments. I must have been sitting precisely at the right spot on my longboard for this effect to manifest just as clearly as when I tap tone-wood to tune a soundboard of an acoustic guitar or look for the “Q” factor when selecting a piece of wood for a neck before I start the building process. The board was being tapped by the waves and I felt the whole log resonating with a huge bass frequency. A lot of people would have had this experience, but I guess that it takes to be a guitar builder to connect the dots that way. Why wouldn’t I build a guitar like a surfboard?
I immediately went to the workshop and started designing the first prototype. A few years later and after many attempts and a lot of trial and errors, the first batch of Stringer series was launched at the Byron Bay guitar festival in October 2018. All 12 guitars of that batch were sold in the following months. I am now working on the Stringer series 2.0 with a lot of improved processes, high performance materials and ideas in mind. I aim to have the first prototype ready for 2023 but I won’t compromise on quality, if it takes another year, or two, to get it right, so be it.”
The year 2018 also marked the moving of the workshop from 5/82 Centennial Circuit to 2/2 Acacia Street in the Byron Bay industrial Estate. The new premises meant exciting opportunity to setup a new workshop tailored to the requirement of WGCo. but also a big compromise to accept that production would dwindle for a period of time. In order to continue to supply the best possible repair and maintenance services and custom guitars the decision to produce traditional electric guitars was taken. This way the company would be able to keep exploring new design and refine its production processes as a number of new machinery were added to the mix. The Stringer Series is in development and some very exciting improvement have been made, so stay tuned, it’s coming…
The following photos shows you the prototypes that were made prior to the Stringer Series. They are still pretty rough around the edges and were merely done to try to understand what would be the best construction method, materials and ergonomics for this project. They were a lot more build and ultimately only the ones that stood the test of playing performance were kept. WGCo. is very thank full to all the local musicians who helped developing this concept. We hope to get many more on board with this new playing and sonic experience…
Thank You
To all of the people who have supported the project in any way, shape and form. Especially to my loving wife and my family and friends for always and not only tolerating but fully supporting and encouraging my madness to take on this creative path that isn’t always easy to understand or follow.
This wouldn’t exist without you.