BJ & Byrne Guitars - ProfilesArchive

About Me

Hi! I'm Tommy Byrne, I'm the Byrne in "BJ & Byrne Guitars". I thought I'd throw some info up on this site along with some informal pictures of our guitars since this place has become so popular.
First of all there's an interesting story behind the formation of this company....well, maybe more intriguing than interesting...you decide. I am a Co-Owner of an investment banking group in London (though I am a Manhattanite / Virginian) and a few years back we had a client with a technology which is able to organically transform softwood such as Pine into a hard dense wood like Maple or Mahogany. So, PRESTO ! you have a sustainable wood source for things like hardwood floors and furniture and building materials....all helping to protect the native hardwood forests of the World...Not a bad thing by itself !
Well, I wondered what the tonal qualities of the wood might be if an acoustic guitar was made of it. Having always wanted to learn how to make an acoustic guitar, something that proper Luthiers go to school and train for, for a very long time as it is truly an art form, I decided to look for some talent in London. And though I'm an avid guitar player, I was smart enough not to give up my day job to tour with the Stones (as if ! Read : I'm a Hack). But I hooked up with a great Scottish guy who is an extremely talented Luthier, Brian J. Troup (That would be the "BJ" in the name) and he brought on board Matt Herbst, another Master Luthier who also acts as our chief operations engineer.
Well, I was right.....there are some very unique and warm tones vibrating off of this wood.....so watch this space for our luanch of acoustic guitars.....
But, the reason I'm here is to introduce you to our recently launched range of Hand Made in Britain electric guitars (SEE PICS and Press Release somewhere on this page). In keeping with our theme of "Made in Great Britain", this first range of guitars, of which there are five models, are all named after famous rock 'n roll venues in Britain.
If you are a guitarist or know one or if you would trully like to see a piece of art, have a look. We are bent on making guitars that players can really identify with and don't have to mortgage the house to own.
You can play them right now at Wunjo Guitars on 20 Denmark Street, London, WC2 and soon they will be in NYC, Santa Barbara and Richmond Va.

My Interests

News Release Thursday 28 September 2006, 7:15 GMT Thursday 28 September 2006 SHOWBIZ BJ & Byrne Guitars Ltd
BJ & Byrne Guitars Ltd. Unveil Five New Electric Guitar Models at the Launch Party of the British Hand Made Guitar Manufacturer in London.
LONDON, September 28 /PRNewswire/ -- BJ & Byrne Guitars Ltd. (the "Company") is pleased to announce the successful launch of their new British hand made electric guitars at their launch party last week in their manufacturing facility at 20 Denmark Street, London WC2. The Company unveiled their 'British Venues' series of electric guitars and hosted a private concert featuring Robbin Thompson. Each model is named after a famous British music venue which is intended to underscore their 'Made in Great Britain' provenance. The model names are: Apollo, Roundhouse, Marquee, Cavern, and Troubadour.
The Co-Founders, Brian ("BJ") Troup and Thomas ("Tommy") Byrne formed the Company in the beginning of 2006 in order to hand make electric guitars to an extremely high standard and at a reasonable cost to the player, using British labour and materials. According to Tommy Byrne, "We see a tremendous amount of very well made guitars coming out of China and Korea these days and they're very inexpensive, which is good, but they lack the soul, spirit and individuality of a hand made instrument since they are pretty much a clone of each one stamped out before it. We decided to get back to basics and start a guitar company that players can truly identify with".
The Company's workshop is situated above Wunjo Guitars (www.wunjoguitars.com), a storefront guitar store owned and operated by Mr. Troup on Denmark Street, a street which is often considered to be the centre of the Guitar world in the U.K. and Europe.
The Company is also experimenting with a technology to build acoustic and electric guitars using a sustainable hardwood. "We also have a similar organic technology which we are experimenting with on Sitka Spruce soundboards, which adds approximately 80% more stability to them and making them much less effected by humidity." said Byrne.
In order to structure a sound growth strategy, the Company has engaged Anchorage Capital Partners Ltd. (www.anchorage-capital.com), an investment banking group based in London specializing in private equity and asset management, as their corporate finance advisor.
The guitars will be distributed, initially at Wunjo Guitars and throughout the UK with a limited number going to Europe and the United States. The launch prices for the guitars range between GBP500 and GBP900.
Distributed by PR Newswire on behalf of BJ & Byrne Guitars Ltd

I'd like to meet:

People who want to play a guitar with Soul, Spirit and Individuality !

Music:

We want to put our guitars into the hands of up and coming bands !!