Photo by Arnie Goodman Photography
Bulgaria-native Tim Gospodinov has been doing guitar and bass setups and repairs for many well-known NYC musicians at his shop in Brooklyn, New York.
Combining his love of working with wood and his passion for music, in 2018 Tim started Geist Custom Instruments—bespoke guitar and bass building business. All GCI instruments are carefully crafted using hand tools and finest quality components available – Hipshot and Schaller hardware, KTS Tone titanium reinforcement rods, stainless steel fret wire, GraphTech nuts and retainers, LaBella strings, PureTone output jacks, Oak Grigsby switches, and CTS potentiometers.
Each Geist instrument is unique in its feel, character, and specifications. While they come in a wide variety of configurations and shapes, some of the most popular ones feature fanned fret multi-scale design. Every instrument is optimized for balance, comfort and playability, and all are built from exotic tone woods.
Tim’s building philosophy is born out of his life-long involvement with music and years of experimentation with tonal characteristics of different shapes and materials. It prioritizes precision and innovation fit for the best instruments of the 21st century to perfectly suit the needs of his customers.
"Some years back I had a client who wanted to upgrade his Strat bridge. Researching different options, I came across KTS titanium saddles. The specs were exactly what we were looking for and the reviews were stellar, so we decided to give it a shot. The difference was noticeable immediately: more focused sound, better harmonics, and better note separation, so my client was thrilled.
The experience led me to look no further than KTS when I started using titanium reinforcement rods in my extended range instruments (7 and more string guitars and 5 and more string basses) instead of graphite. KTS titanium reinforcement rods allow me to build necks that are stiff, yet responsive when adjusted, and that generate nice sustain and resonance. There’s no question that notes are much cleaner and richer across the frequency spectrum."
