Chaker Precision Crafted Custom Guitars
Nestled in the artistic colony of The Ojai Valley, California, Lucien Chaker personally builds each guitar which he, then, certifies. This certification not only means that he built the high quality instrument by himself but also that he will never build the same guitar for anyone else. There are no serial numbers or standard models at Chaker Guitars. You can rest assured that your instrument is one of a kind that will appreciate in value and even become a heirloom.Once you walk into Lucien’s “atelier” (as they say in French), you will find his quiet demeanor quickly disappear to expose his intense analytical, very focussed attention to detail unyielding to imperfections. After all, he earned a graduate degree in Aeronautical Engineering from Cal Poly where he learned about vibrations analysis in stress and stress free environments, geometries of structures, fluid dynamics such as air, strength of materials, effects of humidity and heat etc... However, his early childhood guitar playing turned to a guitar building passion throughout his professional career during which he enrolled in a 2 year luthiers school while working in Europe and, soon thereafter, he opted for the enjoyment and satisfaction of building guitars as a pastime. However, after local musicians began to experience his guitars playability and sound, he started receiving commissions to build guitars. He is not well known yet, but he will be.
The best things in life are real. Needless to say, Chaker guitars are all wood and natural materials except for the truss rod and carbon fiber reinforcing rods. Sufficiently aged woods - and not necessarily the oldest woods - make the best sounds. Each piece of wood used is tested prior to use for its function.
Lutherie is an art. It has a heartbeat and a signature. Combine that with your desire to make a guitar clearly your own reflection and you have a possession that does not compare to anything else. It will be almost the love of life.
Lucien knows the things that make guitars have problems and engineers those things OUT of the guitars he makes. Although there are many other splendid luthiers around the world, Lucien aspires to those idols who made Gypsy Jazz guitars break through the sound barrier. Idols such as Mario Maccaferri, Jacques Favino, and mentors such as JeanPierre Favino and Risto Ivanovski lay the groundwork for Lucien to further innovate in their internal construction and sound. Rest assured that the same principles of improvements apply when building American steel strings traditional guitars as well.
So, go ahead, and experience the luthierie of a handbuilt Ojai (pronounced Oh, Hi) guitars.
A Bientôt
Lucien Chaker