MEET THE MASTERS

Tim Shaw

Tim Shaw has spent most of his life involved with music and wood. A talented luthier and musician, he got his first guitar at age 13 and his first electric bass at 15. He's performed regularly ever since.

Schooled early on in guitar repair, he refined his craft in several shops and a small guitar factory before a stint at Gibson, where he lent his design skills toward many well-known acoustic and electric instruments there. He also created and patented several pickups for acoustic and electric guitars.

Shaw arrived at Fender’s R&D department in 1996 and has been a major driving force behind Fender acoustic instruments. In designing guitars and building prototypes, he has traveled the world seeking materials and resources to make Fender acoustic instruments the best they can be.

Most recently, Shaw's work has taken him to New Hartford, Conn., where he creates distinctive acoustic designs for the Fender Acoustic Custom Shop. There, he plays a leading role in creating the finest acoustic instruments Fender has ever offered, combining classic Fender vibe and playability with traditional craftsmanship and cutting-edge technology.

Ren Ferguson

World-renowned master luthier Ren Ferguson grew up in Fender's historical Southern California homeland, where he initially taught himself the art of guitar repair by fixing travel-damaged instruments from nearby Los Angeles International Airport. He honed his skills to an expert level all on his own, offering to purchase damaged instruments for less than the repair costs and proceeding to take them apart, bit by bit, to understand their inner workings. “Where others may have served an apprenticeship under a master, I just did it and figured it out for myself,” he says.

A bluegrass fan and musician, Ferguson also worked on mandolins, banjos and other stringed instruments throughout the 1960s.

Enthralled by meticulous craftsmanship, fine art inlay work, hand-carved arched tops and more, he added machine work and manufacturing processes to his repertoire while in the Navy in the late 1960s. Ferguson ran his own Southern California luthiery through the mid 1970s, and a stint at the Flatiron Mandolin Company preceded his career at Gibson, where he did extensive work on the company's flat-top acoustic guitar line.

Ferguson arrived at Fender in 2012 as the newly appointed R&D chief acoustic engineer, and he now brings his invaluable expertise and more than half a century of instrument-building experience to the Fender Acoustic Custom Shop in New Hartford, Conn.