After high school, Dan moved to Phoenix, AZ to study his craft at the Roberto- Venn School of Luthiery where he built the first Bowman guitars in 1981. Feeling the need to expand his knowledge of woodworking, Dan went to work in a small Amish furniture shop handcrafting and carving solid wood furniture and later, a boat shop, building and restoring wood boats.

Since then, Dan’s personal and professional life have revolved around the guitar; designing, building and repairing them as well as teaching and performing. Over the years he has built custom instruments for Chicago area manufacturers and many music industry veterans, taking on unique design challenges as well. Nearly forty years of experience have given Dan a great deal of knowledge and insight on guitar design and construction which he now shares through luthier classes in the Chicago area.

On most days you can find Dan in his shop, working out the details of his latest guitar. “After all these years, I’m still very passionate about my work. I can’t think of anything that I’d rather be doing other than handcrafting a guitar.”

Plucking the way to new depths.