About CreamTone

My name is Lonnie. Since 2013 I've been designing and producing retro, vintage-style upgrade parts that fit new guitars, although I've been working on guitars for over 40 years. Here's photo I keep in my shop. It's me in 1978, setting up my Ibanez Rocket Roll Sr. To this day, I still sit on the floor when I'm setting up guitars!

It started as a weekend hobby.

In 2013 I bought a new Gibson USA Les Paul Traditional. It had an amazing flame top and a beautifully sprayed sunburst finish. I loved that guitar, but something about it didn't feel right. I wanted the vibe of the Historics. I wanted my guitar to have parts that felt old school. So I went out and bought a genuine Gibson Historic pickguard and brought it home for my Traditional. Guess what?

It didn't fit!

The screw holes didn't line up with the factory holes in my body, and the piece between the pickups didn't fit. So I got in touch with a couple of guys and we made a pickguard that literally took my traditional to the next level. This was my Aha! moment. I thought. I can't be the only one who wants this.

So I decided to start a little business. I would come home from work and go online, getting as much feedback as I could from experts in the vintage Gibson and Fender community. Vic Dapra, Eliot Michael, George Gruhn, Mark Bishop, Charlie Daughtry, Joe Bonamassa, Dan Shinn, Walter Carter, Mark Agnesi, and everyone in Nashville have all been so gracious to me. I'm proud to call you my friends!

In 2016, I quit my job and creamtone became my obsession.

I make most of your parts myself. Your pickguards, poker chips, jack plates, truss rods covers and back plates, are all handcrafted by me. I also build every harness. My hardware and other small parts which require casting or molding are outsourced to small shops right here in the USA which build parts to my exact specs. I finish and pack every piece of your order myself. In other words, the buck stops with that 15-year-old-redhead sitting on the floor at the top of this page.

Cheers!
Lonnie