Michael Stevens makes electric electric guitars, basses and mandolins in Alpine Texas.  Michael’s career as a luthier began in the Bay area in 1967 when he teamed up with Larry Jameson at the first location of Guitar Resurrection in Oakland. Jameson was a traditionalist who liked to work by hand. Michael brought to the team a knowledge of tools and an understanding of mechanical drawing.  In 1974, Michael left Guitar Resurrection to pursue a career in his first passion, horses. He trained Arabian show horses for four years. He reunited with Larry Jameson in 1978 at the new Guitar Resurrection workshop in Austin, Texas. Soon after, Michael opened up his own shop in Austin and his first big job was Christopher Cross’ well known Strat shaped double-neck guitar as well as the Paul Glasse electric mandolin and the Roscoe Beck – Spencer Starnes six string basses. He also did repair and custom work for guitar greats such as Stevie Ray and Jimmie Vaughn, Eric Johnson, Albert King, Otis Rush, Hubert Sumlin, Lonnie Mack, Ray Benson, George Thoroughgood.

By 1986, his work had attracted the attention of Fender. Michael moved to California to become the Founder and Senior Design Engineer of the Fender Custom Shop along with design engineer, John Page. Whilst there, they designed and built many of the instruments that Fender’s endorsement artists have played including the Eric Clapton model Strat, Danny Gatton Tele, Robert Cray Strat and the Waylon Jennings Tele. Michael Stevens became the first person in the history of Fender to sign the instruments of his creation.  Moving to Alpine, West Texas in 1990, Michael once again opened his own shop.

Source: Stevens Electrical Instruments website (19 November 2020)