DestroyAllGuitars Underwood Guitars

~ Chad Underwood Guitars ~

Chad started playing guitar at age 14. He was always fascinated by the blues; old blues, old country and the Fullerton wielding heroes that brought that music to life. Early on he noticed how the guitarists he admired the most tended to have one guitar which they played to death. It was that worn-out thing, the rolled fingerboard edges and between the fret pockets, the checking in the finish, and the dings and dents that turned a new guitar into a GREAT INSTRUMENT full of personality, individuality and vibe. Accordingly, Chad developed the habit of beating the crap out of guitars and this, of course, was the seed that grew into today's master of relicing.

As a youth Chad had spent time in his father's shop (his dad was a furniture builder) watching and helping him work the wood, and building his own toys to boot. Those experiences allowed woodworking to become second nature to Chad and a lifelong hobby. Later on, as his interest in guitars grew Chad couldn't easily find people to work on his guitars so, by necessity, he taught himself. Pretty soon he was being approached by friends to set up their guitars and that eventually lead to Chad beginning to build guitars, also out of necessity, since he couldn't afford one of those stellar vintage Fullerton era classics.

Things really began to pick up when Chad, then in his early 30s, sold a relic "S" style guitar to Anson Funderburgh of Anson and the Rockets. Anson loved the guitar so much he posted information about it on his website, and bought a second one. Pretty soon other artists began to take notice, such as David Grissom (he now owns 3 Underwoods), and even Paul Reed Smith (he has five Underwoods and tried to recruit Chad for his guitar building empire!). Other prominent artists followed suit, but cannot be named!

Today, Chad runs his one man shop out of Lexington Kentucky. He builds his guitars the old school way, one at a time, and while they mimic a whole era of guitars from the 50s to the 60s he has found many ways to improve the originals - tighter tolerances, more controlled building processes. For Chad, the thing is really the tone. Tone comes first! An Underwood guitar just has to sound superb without being plugged in. It's part of the fact that Chad is an absolute freak about detail. The guitars have to sound great, have tons of vibe, feel great, even smell great. That's what makes an Underwood an Underwood. It the fact that Chad will not let a guitar leave his shop unless it's got some serious magic to it.

Chad Underwood Custom

Underwood custom guitars are true to the classic 50s and 60s Fullerton designs, complete with 40 or 50 year-old feel and stunning relicing. Add to that the fact that Chad adds in whatever degree of modern playability and function that you desire and you truly have the best of all worlds.