We were lucky to catch up with John Pavek recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi John, thanks for joining us today. Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?

It all started on the bleak and windy high plains of southeastern Montana nearly five decades ago. I was born as the last of eight children to a poor family in an area with little to no economic opportunity. And one of the things you had to learn well was how to conserve. You patched clothes, grew a garden, saved bacon grease (the few times you could afford bacon), repaired things that broke and worked your fingers to the bone. But above all, you never spent money on luxuries.

Growing up poor sucks. It does. But there’s always an up side, even if it’s hard to see. And I will tell you the biggest blessing for us all was the fact that we lived so close to nature. Sure, our finances were always on a knife edge, but there was so much around us that was greater than money! And there are some real lessons available to a person growing up that way, one of them being that wonder and fascination can be found in the most unlikely places.

In the early 80’s my brother bought a very cheap electric guitar (I think he paid $35 for it brand new!) but by 1988 he had thoroughly abandoned playing it. And, like all things, he hung on to it because it was a thing, and you don’t get rid of the few things you have. This would prove to be one of those defining moments of life. Because in the boredom found when you live in a postage stamp sized town, a restless 14 year old John got ahold of it, learned a few basic chords and never put the guitar down again.

Fast forward 25 years and I now had it all. A wife, three boys, a successful construction business, a woodworking hobby and even a great rock band! And yet I didn’t quite have it all. Because while I loved being my own boss, I did NOT love construction! While it allowed me to slowly collect fine woodworking tools and practice making simple furniture to learn the craft, in the back on my mind I always wanted to make the holy grail, at least to me, of all woodworking projects – my own electric guitar!

In 2014 what would be small scale disaster for many people turned into our biggest year for my company. A massive hail storm tore through the entire area, destroying roofing, breaking windows and tearing off siding. It cant be overstated what a boon this was for my company, crews and family. Prior to this I wasn’t able to feel good about spending the money on the specialty tools needed to do a quality guitar build. My wife stayed home with the boys, the kids were young and growing fast and my business always seemed to need something. But let me tell you, that hail storm changed everything! Even after showering my wife and boys with all their desires (and buying some really great sound gear for myself I must admit) there was still somehow extra cash left over! So I took the plunge. I invested a few thousand into specialty tools, found some great wood and began.

I make electric guitars. And yes, they play and sound amazing. But more than that, my mission is to create an instrument using wood that you might have expected to see in a burn pile or on the curb but not on a stage or in a recording studio. Let me put it this way, there is something wonderful about sawing apart an old log and finding beautiful spalting lines running through it like roads marked on a map or processing down an old door or bed frame as a sturdy back with a great story for a two piece guitar. Or just gathering my own scraps and gluing them together to see what it looks like. But mostly it’s the satisfaction of knowing that I’ve given new life to something that was deemed “useless”. We throw so much away. I’d rather make something cool from it.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Our core product is the electric guitar. There are so many creative and wonderful things that can be done with that platform. But we specialize in using wood for the the body and sometimes neck that had been something either useful or beautiful before.

In our quest to craft sound we also make boutique, hand wired analog effects pedals. In the near future we will be dipping our toes into the tube amp world.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

I started out as a guitarist first. Over time I became dissatisfied with the sounds I was getting, which launched my interest in gear generally. After more than 20 years of research, buying, trying and testing out gear in most every setting possible, I began to understand what factors crest what effects in a given situation. And I’ve found the secret thing most every guitarist wants. You have to pick up a Reclaimed Rhythm guitar to understand.

We’d love to hear the story of how you turned a side-hustle into a something much bigger.

I started out as a contractor who wanted to build a really great guitar for myself. In the spring of 2020 I was accepted as a Night Market vendor into the Charleston City Market in downtown Charleston. Coming from an impoverished area it never crossed my mind that a person could make any money at all building guitars, let alone make a living! I’d intended to work maybe one or two weekends a month, no more. But life happens when you’re making other plans. At the moment I am supporting myself only on sales made at the Market. But we are in talks to begin wholesaling units to stores in the area.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.reclaimedrhythm.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/reclaimedrhythm/?hl=en