NASA Guitar

Several pictures and a two video demos pasted below display the Doner Designs NASA Theme Guitar which was signed by Captain James A. Lovell who is best known as the Commander of Apollo 13. Scroll down for photos and refer to our Facebook page and Photobucket galleries for a full set of in-process build photos.

This one-of-a-kind custom guitar was auctioned at the Make-A-Wish Foundation's Wish Ball at Soldier Field in Chicago on May 3, 2014. The guitar was a donation from Doner Designs to Make-A-Wish meaning that 100% of the proceeds will go toward Make-A-Wish programs and wish fulfillment.

A complete list of friends and suppliers who helped make this guitar possible are listed at the bottom of this page. A Summary Information Sheet and complete User Guide are also attached as pdf files at the bottom of this page.

Captain James A. Lovell Signs NASA Guitar on December 3, 2013 at his Restaurant in Lake Forest, Illinois

Studio Photography Courtesy of Sweetwater Sound in Fort Wayne, Indiana

Accessories Sponsored by Guitar Center of Villa Park, IL

Studio Photos Sponsored by Sweetwater Sound, Ft Wayne, IN

We were thrilled that nearly all of the materials cost for this project was covered by generous donations of parts and cash from friends and suppliers. This is helpful financially, but even more, it's very gratifying to us to see so many folks joining in support these great causes.

A beautiful Warmoth neck was donated to us by friend Bob Verner, a high-end bridge/tremolo was donated by Jeff Babicz of Babicz guitars and a top of the line HSH pickup set donated by Rob Turner of EMG Pickups. With parts like these, the build quality of the NASA guitar jumped up a couple of notches compared to our earlier works. As usual, we worked with Nick at Axetreme Creations to create a custom pickguard with custom graphics supporting the theme. Axetreme has always given us great deals but this time donated the pickguard. Our buddy Brian Cale at Farndurk also donated some really cool hand-crafted mini knobs and a military style covered switch - small parts but a critical part of the styling. As icing on the cake, LazrArt donated our logo neckplate, Sweetwater Sound shot some fantastic pictures and Captain Lovell signed the guitar.

In addition the signature from Captain James A. Lovell, here is a list of sponsors who helped make the NASA Guitar project possible.

• Axetreme Creations (custom pickguard, back plate and sage advice) http://www.axetremecreations.com/

• Babicz Full Contact Hardware (tremelo bridge and sage advice) http://www.fullcontacthardware.com/

• Bob Verner (donor of Warmoth neck, other parts and sage advice)

• EMG Pickups (active pickups and electronics) http://www.emgpickups.com/

• Farndurk (effects pedal, mini-knobs, military style switch...and ideas) http://www.farndurk.com/

• Fred & Sheryl Yoder (generous cash donation used to purchase an Allparts Body)

• Guitar Center - Villa Park, Illinois (accessories) http://stores.guitarcenter.com/Villa-Park

• LazrArt (neck plates) http://lazrart.com/guitar_plates.htm

• Robert Pickle and "Anonymous" (first cash donations from outside the family)

• Robles Roadcase (color guitar cases) http://www.roblesroadcase.com/

• Sweetwater Sound (professional studio photography) http://www.sweetwater.com/

THANK YOU FRIENDS/SPONSORS/DONORS FOR MAKING THIS PROJECT POSSIBLE!!

Before moving on be sure to check out these demo videos and the informational materials attached below.

Please also see our Facebook page here and click "Like" to follow us: http://www.facebook.com/donerdesigns