C.R. Alsip Guitars

C.R. Alsip Guitars is a small, boutique American guitar manufacturer established in February 2012 by Jake Willoughby. The company began operations in Arkansas City, Kansas, where it remained from 2012 through 2014, before relocating to Calhoun, Georgia, in the Atlanta metropolitan area. It operates as a solo-run enterprise under the legal name C.R. Alsip LLC and is focused on building high-end professional guitars rather than producing large volumes of standardized instruments. The brand’s name commemorates Connie Rae Alsip-Willoughby, Jake Willoughby’s late mother. Willoughby had initially considered naming the business Mason Alsip, but chose C.R. Alsip after his mother’s death. The name therefore serves both as a family tribute and as part of a wider effort to raise awareness of cancer-related causes. The company’s origin story also reflects the family’s craft background: Willoughby’s grandfather, Max Ray Alsip, worked as a stonemason before retiring, while C.R. Alsip Guitars applies a separate form of hands-on workmanship to instrument construction. The company describes its work as extending from raw lumber through to completed instruments. This vertically hands-on approach is central to the brand’s identity: C.R. Alsip Guitars is positioned less as a mass-market guitar label and more as a custom-oriented workshop serving professional musicians. Its instruments have been built for or used in association with performers connected with Def Leppard, Tesla, FireHouse, Love & Theft, and Saving Abel. Bill Leverty of FireHouse and Frank Hannon of Tesla were identified as the first guitarists to endorse the brand and take its instruments on the road after the company opened in 2012. C.R. Alsip Guitars also gained early visibility through charitable activity. In 2012, Willoughby and the company worked with Phil Collen of Def Leppard to raise funds for the Gerson Institute. This association linked the young workshop to an established rock musician while reinforcing the memorial and cancer-awareness dimension of the brand’s naming story. The company’s known artist relationships include Bill Leverty and Allen McKenzie of FireHouse, Frank Hannon of Tesla, Jeff Caughron of Jesta James and Full Devil Jacket, and Scott Bartlett of Saving Abel. These relationships indicate a positioning centered on working rock musicians and road-ready professional instruments. Publicly available information does not establish a broad retail distribution network, a detailed product catalog, financial results, or a corporate structure beyond its owner-operated LLC format. On the available record, C.R. Alsip Guitars remains an independent American boutique builder whose reputation is associated with bespoke craftsmanship, professional users, and artist collaboration.

C.R. Alsip Guitars was founded in February 2012 in Arkansas City, Kansas, by Jake Willoughby. The business was organized as C.R. Alsip LLC and developed as a solo-operated workshop producing professional-grade guitars. Rather than presenting itself as a high-volume manufacturer, the company’s identity is based on direct craftsmanship, with instruments made through a process described as beginning with raw lumber and continuing through to the finished guitar. The name was chosen in memory of Connie Rae Alsip-Willoughby, Willoughby’s late mother. He had considered using the name Mason Alsip, but changed direction after her death in order to honor her and help promote awareness of cancer-related causes. The family connection also extends to Willoughby’s grandfather, Max Ray Alsip, who worked as a stonemason before retirement. The company’s naming and founding narrative consequently combines family remembrance with a small-scale craft-business identity. During its first period of operation, from 2012 to 2014, the business was based in Kansas. It later relocated to Calhoun, Georgia, in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The move placed the workshop in a region with proximity to a substantial music and entertainment industry, although publicly available reference material does not provide details about the company’s facilities, production volume, distribution arrangements, or employment beyond its owner-operated structure. The brand established early connections with professional rock musicians. Bill Leverty of FireHouse and Frank Hannon of Tesla were described as the first guitarists to endorse C.R. Alsip guitars and use them on the road when the company opened in 2012. The company also worked with Phil Collen of Def Leppard during that year on a fundraising effort for the Gerson Institute. This was both an early promotional association and a charitable initiative consistent with the cancer-awareness purpose attached to the company’s name. Over time, C.R. Alsip Guitars was associated with musicians from Def Leppard, Tesla, FireHouse, Love & Theft, and Saving Abel. Named endorsers and collaborators include Bill Leverty, Allen McKenzie, Frank Hannon, Jeff Caughron, and Scott Bartlett. These relationships helped define the brand as a specialist builder serving touring and professional players rather than as a general consumer guitar label. The available reference material does not identify specific model families, launch dates, retail prices, annual sales, investment events, acquisitions, or changes in ownership. It also does not document a formal executive team beyond Jake Willoughby’s role as owner and operator. On the documented record, the company continues as an independent boutique guitar workshop in Georgia, with its public identity grounded in custom craftsmanship, artist use, and the personal memorial story behind its name.

• 2014

  Relocation to Georgia

  [1]C.R. Alsip Guitarsen.wikipedia.org

  After operating in Kansas from 2012 through 2014, the company relocated to Calhoun, Georgia, in the Atlanta metropolitan area.

• 2012

  Company founded in Kansas

  [1]C.R. Alsip Guitarsen.wikipedia.org

  Jake Willoughby established C.R. Alsip Guitars in February 2012 in Arkansas City, Kansas, as an owner-operated builder of high-end professional guitars.

• 2012

  First artist endorsements

  [1]C.R. Alsip Guitarsen.wikipedia.org

  Bill Leverty of FireHouse and Frank Hannon of Tesla became the first identified guitarists to endorse the brand and use its instruments on the road.

• 2012

  Fundraising collaboration with Phil Collen

  [1]C.R. Alsip Guitarsen.wikipedia.org

  The company worked with Def Leppard guitarist Phil Collen on a fundraising effort benefiting the Gerson Institute.

Independent, hand-built, high-end professional guitars for working musicians, particularly players in rock and related performance genres.

• Electric guitars · 2012

  Custom professional guitars

  C.R. Alsip Guitars is documented as building high-end professional instruments in a hands-on workshop process that runs from raw lumber to finished guitar. Public reference material does not identify standardized model names, technical specifications, pickup configurations, or production quantities, so the line is best understood as a custom and boutique offering for professional musicians.

• 2012Gerson Institute fundraising collaboration

  United States

  C.R. Alsip Guitars and Jake Willoughby worked with Phil Collen of Def Leppard to raise funds for the Gerson Institute. The activity gave the young brand an early connection with a prominent rock musician while supporting a health-related charitable cause.

  Outcome. The available reference identifies the fundraising effort but does not report a total amount raised or other quantified outcome.

  Source

1. 1C.R. Alsip Guitarsen.wikipedia.org