When he was 11, Mount Laurel's Philip Smith saw a television commercial that featured several guitars.
"It was a 30-second commercial that had about 15 different electric guitars," Smith said. "They all looked and sounded different."
Little did he know, that commercial would inspire him to create his own guitar 14 years later -- the Goldfinch.
"I owned hundreds of guitars, but never found the right guitar, so my natural response was to design my own," said Smith, who bought his first guitar at 12 after earning the $100 himself by mowing lawns. "I knew what I wanted it to look and sound like."
The self-taught guitarist is also an artist and so enlisted his drawing skills to design the Goldfinch.
He designed and drew up plans for the instrument, then partnered with Nate DeMont of DeMont guitars in Chicago, Illinois, to build it.
"We spent a lot of time getting the pickups to sound just like we wanted," Smith said, explaining that the pickups are magnets that literally "pick up" the sound from the metal strings.
He also spent time keeping costs at a minimum.
"The idea was to make an affordable guitar that could be put up against any other guitar," Smith said. "It's made of non-threatened wood that grows in Illinois to keep it sustainable. Some guitar manufacturers still use threatened wood because they say it sounds better, but that's a myth."
Smith explained that American, factory-manufactured guitars start around $800, while custom, handmade guitars can cost between $4,000 and $5,000.
"The Goldfinch starts at $550," he said. "It sounds and plays good. I would put it up against any other guitar."
And the model is perfect for anyone, from beginners to professionals, he said, noting that it's design allows beginners to learn to play easily, and professionals to enjoy the freedom of an easy play.
"It's good for everyone," Smith said. "We made it easy to play."