Nichols Custom Guitars are built by Todd Nichols in his Santa Barbara workshop between summer tours playing guitar with his band Toad The Wet Sprocket. “I’m by no means a seasoned luthier, but after playing professionally for over 30 years, (since 1986 with Toad) I know what a great guitar feels, sounds, and looks like, and what parts work well together.” This all started when Todd was learning how to set-up and maintain his guitars every year to take on the road, which led him to building his ultimate ‘Partscaster’ guitars. A few were made for friends at first, but when he started playing Nichols Guitars exclusively onstage, and featuring them on his Instagram page @NicholsGuitars, he began building and selling more guitars. “I like to build small batches of light-weight guitars with my favorite parts and colors such as Candy Tangerine, Candy Plum, Candy Apple Green, and many other more traditional colors.”
“I’ve always been a sucker for vintage and relic guitars because of how they look and feel comfortable, so I like to build them as if they’ve been played for 20 years with some wear, aged metal parts, and sometimes a checked finish on the body.” Or they can be built with less aging for more of a “closet clean” look. Almost anything is possible. Check the “Available Guitars” tab for pre-built guitars available right now. Whether you are interested in a guitar already built or have a specific custom build in mind, your Nichols Custom Guitar will be the same high level of craftsmanship fit for a tour.
Favorite Parts
BRIDGES
Mastery, Callaham, Staytrem, Gotoh & more
PICKUPS
TV Jones, Seymour Duncan, Lindy Fralin & more
BODIES
Wildwood lightweight ash, alder, pine, mahogany, flamed maple and more. Finishes by MJT
NECKS
Musikraft Necks - Roasted, oiled, or nitro lacquer options - plus several flame grades and many other specs to choose from
TUNERS
Sperzel, Gotoh
HARDWARE
Hand aged nickel hardware and Rock Rabbit custom made “N” shaped titanium neck plates with serial numbers.
PICKGUARDS
made from any material you like