An Important Announcement from Ken Parker Archtops

In order to take care of his health, Ken Parker has made the difficult decision to step back from day-to-day guitar building. In the last year, he has worked tirelessly to pass his unique instrument making techniques to his friend and collaborator Sam Krimmel.

Over the course of their wide-ranging four-year collaboration, Ken has shared with Sam his insights into tone and sound production, discovered across fifty years of repairing, designing, and manufacturing guitars. For the past year, Sam has been training full-time by Ken’s side, learning the intricate details of assembly while simultaneously developing new production techniques to improve part quality and consistency.

It should not need saying that skills involved in this kind of work are proprietary. They can take years to learn well, and to incorporate into one’s work, and they are not common knowledge. Sam has been attentive and respectful in learning these. He started working with Ken as an apprentice, but over time he has continued to learn and through the quality of his work, he is now Ken’s colleague.

Ken’s mission has been to pass on physical design ideas to Sam to empower a brilliant new set of hands. Sam’s mission is to continue to share the stories of innovation, creation, and industry altering ideas that define Ken’s work. Sam’s engineering background has enabled him to combine Ken’s masterful knowledge of centuries-old instrument building practices with modern manufacturing technologies and equipment, making this all the more achievable.

Through this process, Ken’s vision has been faithfully passed on to Sam—a talented young craftsman who is committed to producing work that carries the same precision, artistry, and soul of an experienced master.

To honor Ken’s unfathomable contributions to the guitar industry, let’s keep the band together.