---

ATTLEBORO - From a Union Street shop that used to ring with the sounds of jewelry making, the ear now responds to the hum of saws and sanders mixed with the occasional lilt of a guitar melody.

These days the raw materials have turned from gold and silver to mahogany, hartwood and ash, some of the primary materials in a Becker guitar. Guitar maker and professional musical instrument repairman Dan Becker is at last realizing a lifelong dream - handcrafting unique electric guitars that he hopes one day will be the choice of rock stars and music lovers, alike.

"We emphasize hand craftsmanship and use tools like spokeshaves and rasps," he said. "We don't use any CNC (computer-controlled milling and shaping) equipment at all."

A glass-smooth prototype and sample guitars of all types line the showroom in Becker's log-cabin like reception area. The solid- and hollow-body guitars are made in four different styles and can be custom-designed to fit an individual player.

Necks that extend all the way through the body, rather than glued on as in typical guitars, guarantee a stable sound, as does the fact that Becker uses carefully-selected woods that have been allowed to air dry for years and kept in humidity-controlled surroundings. Becker, who has been in the guitar repair business full time for 10 years, started out as a financial analyst who found the daily grind of suits and offices enervating.

"I was like a caged lion," said Becker, who loved playing guitar and longed to be in a job that somehow related to music. He first learned guitar making from another shop owner, then branched out on his own several years later. He moved his shop from Stoughton to Attleboro two years ago.

Becker, who has a crew of eight and is known to work through the night to perfect a guitar or a design, says he's found his dream job.

"To me, the hours aren't important," he said. "It's being able to do something I love."

Besides building guitars, Becker's is an authorized repair center for a wide range of guitars and audio equipment.

Becker is incredibly picky about fitting out the guitars he designs, from strings to the exact method of achieving the precise high sheen finish on each guitar. Many of his guitars feature delicate inlays of multi-colored wood that take hours of extra craftsmanship supplied by Becker's friend and woodworking guru, Ryan Martin.

Sound pickups are made specially for Becker guitars and factory-made knobs and hardware are banned in favor of pieces made by hand in the shop.

"It's just a more organic approach," he said.

Becker's glittering handiwork turned heads at the recent Premier Guitar Show in Boston. The Attleboro company also plans to display at the 2008 National Association of Music Merchants national show in January in Anaheim, Calif.

Custom made entirely by hand, Becker's guitars are a little more expensive than the kind you're likely to find at your local music store - ranging from $3,000 to $7,000. But to the discriminating, quality is more important than price. To Becker, the ideal is a guitar that exudes beauty in both sound and design.

"I've worked on a lot of guitars, and most of them have been lacking in consistency and quality," he said. "What I want to build, really, is a functional piece of art."

RICK FOSTER can be reached at 508-236-0360 or at rfoster@thesunchronicle.com.