WINCHESTER, Ky. – While modern rock and country music entertainers are seemingly synonymous with Tennessee or parts of the West Coast, two custom guitar luthiers are offering music greats and fans handmade works of musical art with a central Kentucky touch.

For Scott Leedy and Roy Bowen, owners of RS Guitarworks in Winchester, about a 30-minute ride from Lexington, international success in the music industry is not something either of the two men ever thought was possible.

“We never imagined that this is where we would be 20 years ago,” admitted Leedy. “We were just two guys that were nuts about guitars and it was a hobby.”

Bowen, surrounded by autographed pictures of celebrity musicians in the company’s gallery, said he still shakes his head in amazement at what the company has accomplished in two decades.

Their clients have included Cheap Trick, The Cars, Aerosmith and The Eagles.

“We have changed as much as the guitars have,” Bowen laughed. “We used to have hair down to our shoulders and now look at us. We are doing what we love every day.”

The guitar makers said the journey to international success hasn’t always been an easy one, as they recall the early years of sneaking around woodshops while their bosses were away and crafting guitars on the side.

“It’s all we ever wanted to do,” said Bowen. “We would spend hours discussing new designs for guitars and how we would make it all work together. We weren’t exactly model employees back then.”

Before their guitars were being wielded by Joe Walsh of the Eagles and country singer-songwriter Brad Paisley, Leedy and Bowen were working in cabinetry and finding any spare time they could to steal away on the weekends to Bowen’s basement workshop to work on guitar designs.

It was an ad, placed by Bowen in the local newspaper, that brought the two friends together.

“I saw an ad in the paper that was looking for someone to help them with repairing guitars,” Leedy said. “It was something I was interested in and that’s where I met Ray. We hit it off and I was excited to find someone else that was just as passionate about guitars like I was.”

Bowen said he began repairing local musicians’ and friends’ guitars as a hobby, and with the help of Leedy, the two became well known in the local musicians’ circles as the guys to go to when you needed something done.

“We were the only ones at the time that were able to refinish guitars in what we call the ‘relic’ look,” Leedy explained. “People wanted us to age the guitars and electronics so they wouldn’t look new.”

Musicians themselves, the two men said the drive to create different sounds from their electrics, gave them an advantage in creating custom work for their clients.

“We still treat every guitar like it was one of our own,” Bowen said. “We love music and we understand what it is like to have the perfect sound. That is why we take every project seriously and put so much time and detail into our work.”

The Eagle has landed

As Bowen and Leedy’s “hobby” grew into a more time-consuming and lucrative pastime, the two men started to ponder the option of turning their craft into a full time business.

“We were just really hating our jobs at this point,” Leedy admitted. “We went to work every day just so we could go home and make guitars.”

Bowen said the two men were reluctant to quit their steady jobs and take the chance on becoming entrepreneurs.

“I mean, it wasn’t like we were in Nashville,” laughed Bowen. “We are in Winchester. A tiny town in Kentucky. We didn’t really know if we could do it.”

However, the two men were about to receive confirmation that two Kentucky boys could make it in the big leagues of the music industry when Joe Walsh of the Eagles called Bowen to thank him for a recent project the men had done for the celebrity.

Bowen said he had just quit his job and was on his way home from work when he received the phone call from Walsh.

“I had to pull over on the side of the road,” Bowen admitted. “I was so excited and shocked that Joe Walsh was calling me and saying that he loved the guitar.”

Leedy said when Bowen relayed the news of Walsh’s call, he knew the guys were on the right path.

Made in America

Bowen said one of the most interesting twists in the men’s journey came when they attended a guitar show in Dallas, one of the largest shows in the country.

“I was at our booth and we were talking to people and this Chinese guy came up to me and asked if I was Scott or Ray,” recalled Bowen. “I was blown away that someone from China knew our names.”

According to Leedy and Bowen, the luthier’s custom guitars were beginning to gain attention across the pond in China and Japan and the men were fielding orders from locations in New Zealand and England.

“We were in magazines in China and Japan,” said Bowen. “I couldn’t believe it. They really love our stuff over there.”

One of their greatest successes came when the the band leader for the biggest Japanese nightly talk show requested an RS Guitarworks custom guitar to use on the show.

“It is like The Tonight Show in Japan,” explained Leedy. “It was probably one of the smallest guitars we have made, but the guy uses it every night over there and people tune in and see it.”

Bowen said the luthiers have a great partnership with China and Japan where their guitars are highly sought after.

“I think part of our success over there is because we are from Kentucky and a small town,” said Bowen. “It is something unique and they love the fact that we make guitars in the mountains of Kentucky. We often joke with them that we will move over there and make guitars and they stop us and tell us that it would decrease the value. It’s a lot like bourbon, our guitars our special because they are made in Winchester.”

The Devil is in the Details

With their custom unassuming humility Leedy and Bowen say they are still surprised when they see one of their guitars in music videos and on the covers of magazines. With a client list that boasts members of the bands Cheap Trick, Five Finger Death Punch, The Cars, Aerosmith and The Eagles, the two men still approach every project with the serious scope of a surgeon.

“We take every project seriously, it doesn’t matter if you are a celebrity or a guy from down the street,” said Bowen. “We treat the guitars like they are own. We want meet with clients all the time throughout the process to make sure every little detail is how they want it.”

Both Bowen and Leedy say they enjoy the creative process of the making guitars and are excited when new projects come along.

“It’s great, I mean, we take a chunk of tree and by the end of it, it’s an instrument that can be played,” said Leedy. “It’s an awesome experience. Every day is like being a kid and wondering what new toy you are going to get in your Crackerjack box that day.”

Bowen and Leedy said their business is still growing and that the future of RS Guitarworks is still a mystery.

“I learned a long time ago to expect the unexpected with this business,” Bowen said. “We never imagined we would be here – that two guys from Winchester would be selling guitars around the world.”

Barker writes for the Richmond, Kentucky Register.