"Music is the universal language, and I am privileged to participate in the conversation by helping you connect with your instruments in order to find (or clarify) your voice."
~ Micah Bruce
Micah Bruce builds every instrument that leaves his Omaha, Nebraska shop himself. He came up the way we like to see a builder come up: carpentry first, then repair benches, then a stretch at Collings Guitars in Austin building guitars, mandolins, and ukuleles, then a run as head of production at Moniker before going out on his own in 2017. We have been Collings' largest dealer worldwide for many years, so when a builder has spent time on that bench, we pay attention.
What we love about his work is that he has thought hard about the choices most builders inherit without question. His acoustics are built with hot hide glue and finished in shellac, varnish, or nitrocellulose, which is about as traditional as it gets. But he reinforces his necks with carbon fiber, he cuts parts on a CNC, and he sets his flat top necks with a modified mortise-and-tenon joint instead of a dovetail, because he has done hundreds of neck resets and knows what the next repair will ask of an instrument. He calls it modern design without abandoning vintage sensibilities. We call it building for the long haul.
Bruce instruments arrive here in small numbers. If something on this page speaks to you, come play it, or reach out and we will talk through what Micah is capable of building.
Collings Guitars-trained, one-man shop.
Micah built guitars, mandolins, and ukuleles at Collings Guitars in Austin, TX before launching his own brand in 2017. Every instrument that carries his name is one he built himself, start to finish.
A repair bench mentality built into the guitar.
Hundreds of dovetail neck resets convinced Micah to use a modified mortise-and-tenon joint on flat tops instead, so future adjustments are safer and less invasive.
Traditional construction, modern engineering.
Hot hide glue and shellac, varnish, or nitro finishes on the acoustics, paired with carbon fiber neck reinforcement and CNC-cut parts. Bruce instruments use each where it earns its place.
