C.S.Harper Guitars is a newly established electric guitar manufacturer and repair shop founded in the spring of 2020 by Chris and his wife, Alicia Harper.
We strive to build guitars that not only sound and play amazing, but are more-so an extension of a player’s body, creativity and sonic imagination.
Chris Harper is the lead luthier and technician. He grew up in the sunny … and dusty desert of southern California. His father Jon Harper became a luthier of electric guitars in 1992. So, starting in 1992, Chris began to learn the techniques of electric guitar building through the direction and guidance of his father Jon. Chris built his first guitar in 1999. The guitar was oddly nicknamed the “Texas Skillet”. Chris also wrote and recorded guitar instrumental music on his 4 track cassette tape recorder and played with a few different garage bands.
Chris met Alicia in 2002 and were married in 2004. They had a dream to build electric guitars around 2007, but that dream fell flat and life began. Chris went on to become an automotive technician and Alicia an elementary school teacher. Chris learned many different aspects of the automotive repair industry; ending up focusing and honing skills in electrical system diagnosis. Building and tuning high-performance engines and helping to restore classic muscle cars became his favorite things to do. He and Alicia ended up opening up their own automotive repair shop. It was Chris’s dream come true. However, after nearly 14 years of turning wrenches 6 days per week, carpal and ulnar tunnel syndrome were taking a toll. So he decided to tone it back and work in auto parts. The lack of purpose was driving him a bit crazy to say it mildly.
Come mid-2018 Chris had the interesting thought that they should move. Not just out and into a new house but halfway across the country to a new state. Texas. A place where neither one of them had ever been before. Particularly, the Austin area of Texas. We’ll skip all the “boring” details of the first year and just say……Here we are! I pray you can be apart of our story as well!