In the Right Direction
Photos by Rocky Northern
Rocky Northern, originally from Renfro Valley and now living in Hartford, Kentucky, is gaining recognition as a luthier of fine guitars. Several professional musicians now play his boxes. Becoming an instrument builder has been almost two decades in the making. “I built my first guitar 19 years ago. It was just built from a kit. About halfway through it, I started thinking I could be a builder. So, I bought a bunch of wood and thought I was going to be a big-time guitar builder, and even started a second one. Things happen. I got that first one done and figured out how bad a job I had done. I thought, ‘Man, maybe I’m not a guitar builder after all.’ I did such a bad job setting the neck. There really wasn’t anyone locally that I knew (who was a luthier) at the time that I could get any help from.
“At one time, I was really big into collecting guitars. I’d buy and sell. Everything that I owned was really good. That didn’t help nothing, being that mine (I put together) wasn’t good, so I kind of quit. I thought, ‘Maybe I ain’t cut out for it.’ I’m a welder and a fabricator. That’s what I do!
“Building guitars isn’t the same thing. (In my day job) If I cut something too short, I can just weld the gap up. You cut a piece of wood too short, and you’ve got to throw it away and start over. It’s been a long process, trying to figure it out.”
Six or seven years ago, Northern admitted he figured it all out. “I got out of collecting and running around with bluegrass guys, but I started wanting to do it again. I picked up them old guitars (that I had tried to build) and decided that I needed to fix this stuff. And that’s what I done! I had a buddy, Chris Rothrock (from Winslow, Indiana), who was a great luthier and has been a big inspiration to me. He‘s been a mentor and really taught me a lot. I asked him for some help to learn how to set the neck and about frets. He graciously said, ‘Yes, come on.’ That was the turning point for me! “
The 56-year-old discovered that he really DID want to build guitars. “I started investing. Now my little old shop is pretty nice.” He has already finished 16 guitars. Northern builds D-18 and D-28 style guitars. Though they are new, they have an old look, feel, and sound about them. “I really push towards the vintage pre-war style guitars. Mainly, because I have a 1937 D-18 Martin. It’s always been my go-to guitar for everything. I wanted to see how close I could get to building one.”
The craftsman works with a variety of woods: Madagascar, Honduran Rosewood, walnut, mahogany, and more. When asked if he does his own inlay, he confidently responded, “I do everything! One thing I do is make personalized rosettes. I like that. I think it is really different and unique. I try to incorporate that into my builds.”
Northern Guitars feature an impressive headstock. “A buddy of mine sketched out this little thing and said I’d put a compass around it. I drew it out in CAD.” That sketch became his signature headstock design and led to a slogan: “Northern Guitars-in the right direction.”
Rocky’s love for music began at an early age. His dad played in a band and started teaching his son to play guitar around age 6. “I love it! Music is everything! I love it better than anything next to Jesus, my wife, and my two boys. My oldest son plays the guitar and bass, and my grandson plays guitar, too.” His love for music and building has spread. He, along with Willis Howard and Joe Christian, helped form a Luthier Club based out of Whitesville, Kentucky. “I can’t believe how many people have already joined it. We’ve got people from all over the country. We get together at Willis Howard’s luthier shop the first Monday of every month, and sometimes we have presentations. It’s really fun.” I know of at least five people that have come into the club, and Willis has walked them through building guitars.
Northern travels with his day job, working on projects such as building conveyors for Toyota. “I don’t get a lot of time in my shop, but it never takes me over four or five months to build a guitar. If I just came out in my shop every day and didn’t do anything else, I could probably build one per month. I give God the glory for everything I can do. And I know without Him that I am nothing. I love music so much. I play in church. Being able to string a guitar up, make a G chord on it, and sit here and play it. That has meant as much to me as anything in my life because it is so amazing how it started as a tree and now it is a guitar. It’s an awesome feeling.
“I remember the third guitar I ever built. I made every bit of the guitar, except the neck. I was so excited that I took it on the road to Georgetown, Kentucky, where I was working. I finished setting it up in my motel room at night when I would get off work. I remember playing that guitar, and it brought tears to my eyes. I couldn’t believe I had actually done that.”
Randy Barnes praised Northern’s work. “I’m a member of the Fast Track Band, so music is my thing. I lean towards the mahogany guitar. However, I stopped by Rocky’s shop, and he had a mahogany and a Honduran rosewood guitar finished for me to look at. I played it first, then played just a mahogany. Both guitars had what I like to hear. After I played both, the Honduran rosewood just spoke to me. I knew right then that I had to have this guitar. The playability and tone are remarkable. I’m very lucky to have such a fine instrument, and I highly recommend the Northern Guitar, built and handcrafted by Rocky Northern. They get a 5-star rating in my book.”
Duane Sparks, Fast Track guitarist and satisfied Northern customer, wholeheartedly agreed. “To have a one-of-a-kind custom guitar just for you, there are none finer than a Northern Guitar built by Rocky Northern. I have been playing one since August 2024. Rocky is definitely one of the up-and-coming premier luthiers, and I’m so glad to be at the beginning of such great things! By the end of 2025, I will have three of my own Northerns.”
Adam McIntosh of Joe Mullins & the Radio Ramblers plays one of Northern’s guitars. Shawn Brock picks one, too. “There’s nothing like it. They (these musicians) do this stuff for a living. They make you feel so good because they like your stuff. I’m really proud. It means a lot to me to be able to do it. I’m thankful that I get the opportunity for someone else to hear music on something that I helped create. It’s really cool,” the instrument builder stressed.
Something unique about Northern’s guitars is that he names each one. “I try to name all my guitars. I don’t know why. The one that I have is named June. The second guitar I built was named Chester. Adam McIntosh plays Cash. Duane’s is Walter.”
Northern says the guitars themselves inspire their names. “There’s just something about them like my third guitar. I worked so hard to set the neck on that guitar. I’d fit and fit and shim it. I’d sand shims off and try it again. I told my wife that it must be a woman. She asked me why. I said, ‘Cause all it wants to do is fuss at me.’ So I named it Sadie.
“I sign every top. If you look in any of my guitars, every one has a Bible verse. The first three or four were Joshua 24:15. It’s my all-time favorite verse. Now I put Psalms 150:4 ‘Praise Him with timbrel and dance: praise Him with stringed instruments and organs. Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.’ I handwrite them all. On the other side, I write the day that I put the top on. Then I sign it and put whatever kind (of wood) it is.”
The luthier is just getting started. Northern has future goals. “I am really into photography. I told my wife that I want to take pictures and build guitars for a living. I don’t want to do nothing else. That’s what I want to do. This is what I will do ‘til they put me in the ground. I sure pray it is. It would be nice.”
Though Rocky Northern is a husband, father, and grandfather, he still has plenty of room in his heart for his guitars. “It’s a love affair to me. I love it, and it loves me back because I get something out of it after I do it. I think that’s the way it is with everybody that builds. They have a love for it and there’s nothing like it.”
