Ever since digging out my dad’s acoustic at age 10, I’ve been in love with guitars.

I’ll never forget lying awake all night staring at my first electric. It was a white Encore and was terrible, but to my 12 year old self it was the coolest object I’d ever seen and I couldn’t believe it was mine.

After studying for a Music degree at Dartington College of Arts, I spent the rest of my 20’s playing bass for the Indie/Ska band Yes Sir Boss. This took me all over Europe and the UK and after 10 years of hardcore gigging I had my first child and retrained as a carpenter. Soon after that, I decided to combine my passions and build guitars.

I set up West Valley Guitars in 2018 but also spent 18 months working as a guitar building instructor at Crimson Guitars, Europes biggest guitar building school. After leaving Crimson I set up shop in a beautiful studio near Glastonbury.

Since then I’ve built guitars for IDLES, The Vaccines and Alberta Cross as well as many amateur players. I’ve had the pleasure of working on guitars for the Stranglers, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Jonathan Jeremiah, John Smith and many more. I’ve also trained countless students in the art of guitar building and maintenance. It’s been a wonderful experience.

Guitars have careers just like their players. They are witness to songs being written, gaze out at the crowds of countless gigs and soak up the thrill of numerous tours. Working on these wonderful instruments is a privilege that never gets old.

- Josh Stopford, West Valley Guitars