Luthier · Falmouth, Nova Scotia

Handcrafted guitars & basses, built one at a time.

Custom instruments, hand-turned accessories and hand-picked tonewoods from the Creative Acoustics shop, serving players across the Annapolis Valley and all across Nova Scotia.

Left-handed six-string bass with a flamed maple top, gold bridge and wooden control knobs

Why Creative Acoustics

Why I Build Guitars

In this shop, wood and music speak the same language. Every instrument begins as living material — spruce, maple, walnut — and ends as a voice.

I started building guitars at the age of 14 with my Dad. We built an SG copy since that was my all-time favourite guitar at the time. It was a learning experience for both of us, using a book that my Mom found at a local bookstore. In the end, it turned out pretty well, though I've made a few tweaks to it since then, as my experience and knowledge increased.

As a musician and woodworker, there is no greater feeling than creating a beautiful instrument, putting the finishing touches on it, then plugging it in and playing it for the first time.

And when I receive feedback from happy clients, it's even better.

From the Falmouth workshop, James Omand has become the builder players across the Annapolis Valley come to — for one-of-a-kind guitars and basses, for hand-turned fittings that finish an instrument properly, and for honest guidance in choosing the wood behind the voice.

— James Omand, Creative Acoustics Ltd.

What I offer

Services

Five-string bass with a flamed maple top and gold hardware

Guitar Building

Custom guitars and basses built from the ground up: bodies, necks and headstocks shaped to how you play. Four, five and six-string basses, left-handed builds and one-off designs.

  • Custom bodies, necks & headstocks
  • Guitars and 4, 5 & 6-string basses
  • Left- and right-handed builds
Hand-turned wooden control knobs installed on a flamed guitar top

Accessories

Hand-turned wooden parts that finish an instrument properly, made to match a new build or upgrade the one you already own.

  • Control knobs & switch tips
  • Pickup rings & plates
  • Custom design details
Close-up of a burl wood guitar top with gold pickups

Wood Selections

The wood sets the look and the voice of an instrument. Choose from figured tops, burls and exotic hardwoods, and get guidance on pairing them for the sound you're after.

  • Figured & flamed tops
  • Burls & exotic hardwoods
  • Tonewood pairing guidance

Happy clients

What Customers Say

I got the knobs today and they are totally awesome… excellent craftsmanship… perfect fit.

Ed · Custom knobs

I got the knobs and they look great. Exactly what I was looking for.

Trevor · Custom knobs

From first talk to first play

How a Build Works

  1. Design Talk

    We talk about what you play, how you play it, and the voice you're after — then sketch the instrument around that.

  2. Wood Picking

    You choose from figured tops, burls and exotic hardwoods, with guidance on pairing them for look and tone.

  3. The Build

    Bodies, necks and headstocks shaped by hand in the Falmouth shop, one instrument at a time.

  4. First Play

    The finishing touches go on, you plug in, and the instrument speaks for the first time.

Let's talk

Start a Build

Have an instrument in mind, or want a set of knobs to match the one you already play? Get in touch and tell me what you're after.

Service Area

Based in Falmouth, Nova Scotia — serving players throughout the Annapolis Valley and all across Nova Scotia.

Burl headstock with the Creative Acoustics inlay

Tell James What You're After

Find the shop

Falmouth, Nova Scotia — serving the Annapolis Valley & all across Nova Scotia

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