Downers Grove reverend makes guitars in spare time

DOWNERS GROVE –  When not leading the attendees of First Presbyterian Church of Lake Forest, the Rev. Dave Bianchin has another passion: building guitars.

The Downers Grove resident and former pastor at First Presbyterian Church of Downers Grove has made guitars for customers or himself for 35 years.

“It helps me be a better pastor, I think, because it helps me get away from it and focuses me on something different for a period of time,” he said. “I love what I do as a pastor. It’s not like I got to get away from it, but it’s good to have diverse interests.”

Bianchin said he has played guitar since he was 12, and it was during a year as an itinerant folk musician that he became interested in building instruments, starting with building dulcimers.

He said he learned how to make guitars through a combination of reading books on the subject, talking to other guitar makers, and trial and error.

Bianchin said he usually makes one or two guitars a year, with each guitar taking 175 to 200 hours to build.

“My building season is from whenever the building furnace turns on to whenever the furnace turns off because relative humidity is the make-or-break of a guitar,” he said. “If you don’t build when it’s dry, then it will crack.”

This year, he is making his 36th and 37th guitars.

Bianchin has made guitars of various sizes, styles and wood combinations.

“I want to try something new every time,” he said. “I want to keep learning and growing in that.”

He describes making guitars as a combination of engineering and art because the guitar needs to be built precisely to sound good but also be designed to look beautiful.

“Some people call it alchemy because you have so many different things you need to do to make it all come together,” he said.

Bianchin uses a variety of wood to build the guitars. Sound boards are made from soft woods such as cedar, redwood and spruce. The back and sides are made from hard woods such as mahogany, walnut, maple and rosewood.

He acquires most of his wood from guitar supply houses because of how they cut and dry the wood. Bianchin said he would like to up his production to five or six guitars a year once he retires.

He also would like to try building a jazz guitar, which differs from a traditional guitar because of its archtop.

Bianchin said there are more resources such as guitar kits and video tutorials available today for people who want to learn to build guitars than when he started.

He also suggests that would-be builders reach out to experienced builders.

“Most of us are very interested in helping other people,” he said. “We love to talk about it. Why not talk about it with somebody who’s trying it themselves?”

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More about Bianchin Guitars

To see guitars that Dave Bianchin has made, visit www.bianchinguitars.webs.com.