Matthew Leimkuehler

mleimkuehler@dmreg.com

On any given night, notable musicians from around the globe take the stage wielding guitars created by the Des Moines-based company BilT Guitars.

And now the company can add acclaimed songwriter Ryan Adams’ name to the already impressive list of clientele.

Adams and the Iowa-based custom guitar company connected on Instagram days after BilT created an account on the social media platform, said Bill Henss, 35, BilT co-owner. A few conversations later, the company was working on a new instrument for the award-winning musician.

The guitar built for Adams, based off BilT’s ‘El Hombre’ model, displays a captivating large-flake, green sparkle burst on the body. It’s a mid-1960s Japanese-influenced guitar, featuring four Lollar Firebird pickups and an ebony fingerboard.

Tim Thelen, BilT co-owner, said Adams' respect in the industry as a songwriter and producer proves to lend more credibility for BilT's already deep list of clientele.

"He’s just a super respected guy in the industry," Thelen said. "He oozes credibility."

The company opened in 2009 as a part-time endeavor for Tim Thelen, 40, and Henss. The two honed their craft of guitar building while working in a repair shop together. It was in 2013 — when a BilT guitar appeared on the annual broadcast of the Grammy Awards during Imagine Dragons' performance — that business picked up and the two co-owners moved into a bigger space. In 2014, BilT manifested into a full-time business for the lutherie school-educated guitar builders.

Adams shared a photo on Instagram in February, commenting on the progress of the guitar, calling it his 'Munster Mobile.' He said in the caption he was 'losing his mind' over the guitar's progress. The photo received more than 1,600 likes on the social media platform.

Adams’ guitar isn’t the first to leave BilT’s Des Moines’ shop and enter the hands of an internationally-renowned musician.The company’s constructed guitars for Nels Cline of Wilco, Sean Lennon, Taylor York of Paramore, Dave Keuning of The Killers, Wayne Sermon of Imagine Dragons, Brent Hinds of Mastodon and more.

“When you get an artist on board, that’s our biggest payment,” Henss said. “To see it in the hands of people that we’ve been listening to and (have) respected for a long time.”

Henss calls building guitars for high-profile artists rewarding; Thelen added it works as a promotional asset for the company. BilT’s clientele come from word-of-mouth passing from musician to musician.

“We go with whatever’s going to make the most desirable guitar to actually play,” Thelen said. “And then we design out from there. (All of our work) is based around real playability and real usability for the guitar player.”

Inside BilT

There are five different guitar models on the BilT website, ranging from the El Hombre, which costs $1,850, to the Volare, which runs $3,250.

The Relevator was the first model developed by Henss and Thelen. That model comes in two forms: The Relevator and Relevator LS (which stands for “less stuff”). Henss said the influence for the Relevator comes from offset guitars, such as the Fender Jazzmaster or Jaguar.

Thelen and Henss said they and their one full-time employee, who was hired in January, build guitars in batches of up to 10 at a time. The waiting list for a guitar runs at three to four months. The guitars can also be found on the floor of the Chicago Music Exchange, which Henss said is the main dealer for the company at this time.

Around 25 hours of labor go into making a BilT guitar, Thelen said. The two were building guitars for about a decade before officially launching the company.

"Through (doing repairs) we had thousands of guitars go across our benches and we got a feel for what really works," Thelen said.

Along with the aforementioned Grammy Awards appearance, Thelen said the guitars have also appeared on reoccurring live television programs, such as Saturday Night Live and the Today Show.

After the Grammy Awards appearance, guitar orders became larger and more consistent. Even with the steady growth in demand, they said the focus of their craft remains on the how well the instrument plays and how easy it is to use.

“The usefulness to the player is the only thing we pay attention to,” Thelen said. “Once you get that formula down and can deliver that … the sky’s the limit on what you can do.”

Beating the competition

Head out to catch a show in Des Moines on any given night and you may see a BilT instrument on stage. Iowa artists such as Lucas Welchans, Brandon Darner and Josh Davis play the guitars.

Mike Butterworth, vocalist and guitarist in long-standing Iowa band The Nadas, said he purchased the ninth BilT guitar ever. He said he started using the guitar in 2009.

He used the guitar for part of the record of The Nadas latest release, “ICYMI,” which dropped earlier this year.

“They make a quality instrument that plays great and looks badass,” Butterworth said.

To show how much he’s enjoyed his BilT instrument, Butterworth said he owns a 1977 gold top Gibson Les Paul Deluxe that’s been ‘hanging on the wall’ in his office since he first started playing his Relevator.

PLAYLIST: 10 songs from artists who play BilT