It all started with the repair shop...
Hi. I'm Ryan R. Elewaut, owner and founder of Custom Sound Instruments. We are now exclusively dedicated to custom repairs and restoration work, and to the production of Solstice Guitars. We also created and still run The CaseParlor, our special online store for guitar cases.
I established Custom Sound in 2004 with the vision of a traditional Guitar Shop. Things then evolved into a multifaceted operation, and we moved a couple times. Even tried two locations at one point. And now we've closed our retail store in response to the pandemic and changes in business generally. We have a new office location in downtown Flagstaff with a comfortable showroom for client consultations. Book your appointment with here.
Our Mission
Excellent Service
Exquisite Craftsmanship
Fast Shipping
Ryan R. Elewaut

Owner, Head Luthier
Ryan R. Elewaut is a highly experienced restoration luthier with extensive knowledge and experience building custom guitars. He is the founder of Custom Sound Instruments, Solstice Guitars, and the CaseParlor. Ryan began his obsession with guitar building and repair in high school, which earned him an apprenticeship at a shop called Shade Tree Stringed Instruments with restoration expert Greg Mirken. In 2006 Ryan was invited to the Taylor guitars headquarters in El Cajon, California for private Taylor warranty repair training. He has trained with many other luthiers along the way, including specialized courses and other apprenticeships. With over 6,200 repairs logged and 84 instruments produced, Ryan continues to build and train a team of talented luthiers with continuous staff collaboration and advancement.
Jason Lindsey

Development & Design Luthier
Jason is a talented luthier and partner here at Custom Sound. He is director of CNC operations and lead design luthier. Jason also helps out with repairs and has a vast amount of experience working on guitars. In 2017 he completed a four year masters in design theory and guitar construction in Santa Cruz with custom builder Scott Walker. Jason graduated from the Roberto-Venn School of Luthiery in 2012, and he specializes in drafting digital guitar designs, including pre-production and inlay operations with our CNC machine. He plays an integral roll in the development of our new brand, Solstice Guitars. Check out his own guitars at Lindsey Guitar Works.
Policies & Standards
Online Policies
All online orders OVER $50 GET FREE SHIPPING! We carefully package and fully insure every shipment. All purchases, including instruments get a 72 hour inspection period with no obligation. Accessories and other items must be unopened and unused. If you need to return or exchange an item please follow the instructions included with your order. See below for details.
Solstice Guitars and all other instruments also get a no-obligation 3-day trial period as well. We call it the "Play-It-First" policy. If you don't completely love the instrument within three days, contact us and we will authorize your return shipment. When we receive and inspect your return we will issue a complete refund minus any shipping expense. See below for details.
"Play-It-First" Guarantee
All instruments get a 3-day approval period. Our goal is your complete satisfaction!
We want every instrument to be as perfect as possible before it reaches your hands in hopes that neither of us need to worry about a return policy anyway. However, our 3-day "Play-It-First" policy insures you have time to play and get to know your new acquisition before any final commitment. If your expectations have not been met, please notify us of your intent to return within 72 hours of receiving it. We will fully refund you minus our shipping expenses.
Conditions
- Contact us via email or phone within 72 hours to authorize your return. We must then receive the item promptly.
- Include and use all original packaging. All items must be in complete original condition and/or deemed "as new" upon return and subject to our inspection upon arrival. New instruments must be free of any playing marks, no sign of wear or damage, regardless of how minor.
- Return shipping is the buyers responsibility. You will need to schedule a fully insured return shipment with the carrier unless we authorize a pre-paid label for you. In the event of damage during return shipping we will not refund your payment. You will need to file an insurance claim with the shipper and keep us apprised of the results.
Allow 7-10 business days to process your return and refund. This policy does not apply to custom ordered instruments or international purchases. Returns not following the above guidelines will incur a minimum 15% restocking fee.
For all item returns, we must be notified within three (3) days of you receiving your order to avoid any restocking charges, no exceptions. See below for details on our "Play-It-First" policy. If you decide you don’t like your instrument or item for any reason, notify us within this trial period, pack it back up exactly as it came and we will email a return shipping label. We will require some buyers with particular locations and items to schedule and ship their returns without our assistance. You will be refunded minus all shipping charges incurred by us after the item is received and inspected. Certain items have additional specified terms related to this policy. Accessories and other items must be unopened and unused. Customers in remote areas and some "special order" and unique items will be subject to review and policy change at our discretion.
No returns for international orders.
Payments
We accept Visa, Master Card, and Discover debit and credit cards through our dedicated and secure payment portal upon checkout, or through the PayPal processing portal if you prefer. We also offer Amazon checkout, which securely uses your Amazon account login function to pay for items on our website when completing the checkout process. We accept in-store cash payments as well. Arrangements for money orders and cashiers checks can be made by contacting us. Arizona customers will pay an added 8.951% sales tax to the total. International orders can be made to select countries. International customers must contact us through this website to initiate an international order. We can easily invoice you through email instead.Deposits on Instruments: deposits on instruments are considered layaways. You have chosen to purchase the selected instrument and make a final payment within 60 days. We will withhold the selected instrument from other buyers the meantime.
Cancellations: if you change your mind within 3 days we will fully refund your deposit. If you change your mind any time after 3 days, we will refund your deposit minus a 5% restocking fee. This restocking fee covers administrative costs and potential lost revenues. The restocking fee is calculated on the full sale price of the item. If your layaway is extended beyond 60 days we will charge full rate shipping for your order.
Deposits on Repairs: If you change your mind after the initial consultation we will refund your deposit in full. If we send you the pre-paid shipping box and you decide to not send your instrument, the deposit will be forfeit.
Overview
This website is operated by Custom Sound Companies, LLC. The terms “we”, “us” and “our” refer to Custom Sound Companies, LLC and any of our associated brands, staff, and partners. Any offers on this website, including all information, products, tools and services provided through this site to you, the user, are conditioned upon your acceptance of all terms, policies, and notices stated here.
By visiting our site and/or purchasing something from us, you engage in our “Service” and agree to the following terms and conditions (“Terms of Use”, "Terms of Service", “Terms”). These Terms of Service apply to all users of the site, including without limitation users who are browsers, vendors, customers, merchants, and/or contributors of content. By accessing or using any part of the site, you agree to be bound by these Terms of Service. If you do not agree to all the terms and conditions of this agreement, you may not access the website or use any of the Services.
We reserve the right to update, change or replace any part of these Terms of Service by posting updates and/or changes to our website. It is your responsibility to check this page periodically for changes. Your continued use of or access to the website following the posting of any changes constitutes acceptance of those changes.
Modifications & Accuracy
We are not responsible if information made available on this site is deemed inaccurate, incomplete or not current by you or anyone else. The material on this site is provided for general information only and should not be relied upon or used as the sole basis for making any decisions. This site may contain certain historical information. Historical information is not, necessarily, veritable and is provided for your reference only. We reserve the right to modify the contents of this site at any time, but we have no obligation to update any information on our site.
Prices for our products are subject to change without notice. We reserve the right at any time to modify or discontinue the Service (or any part or content thereof) without notice at any time. We shall not be liable to you or to any third-party for any modification, price change, suspension or discontinuance of the Service. Certain products or services may be available exclusively online through the website. These products or services may have limited quantities and are subject to return or exchange only according to our Return Policy. We have made every effort to display as accurately as possible the colors and images of our products that appear at the store. We cannot guarantee that your computer monitor's display of any color will be accurate.
We reserve the right, but are not obligated, to limit the sales of our products or Services to any person, geographic region or jurisdiction. We may exercise this right on a case-by-case basis. We reserve the right to limit the quantities of any products or services that we offer. All descriptions of products or product pricing are subject to change at anytime without notice, at the sole discretion of us. We reserve the right to discontinue any product at any time. Any offer for any product or service made on this site is void where prohibited. We do not warrant that the quality of any products, services, information, or other material purchased or obtained by you will meet your expectations, or that any errors in the Service will be corrected. We reserve the right to correct any errors, inaccuracies or omissions, and to change or update information or cancel orders if any information in the Service or on any related website is inaccurate at any time without prior notice (including after you have submitted your order).
Third Parties
Certain content, products and services available via our Service may include materials from third-parties. Third-party links on this site may direct you to third-party websites that are not affiliated with us. We are not responsible for examining or evaluating the content or accuracy and we do not warrant and will not have any liability for any third-party materials or websites, or for any materials, products, or services offered by third-parties. Please review carefully the third-party's policies and practices and make sure you understand them before you engage in any transaction. Complaints, claims, concerns, or questions regarding third-party products should be directed to the third-party.
Privacy Statement
Your submission of personal information through the store is governed by our Privacy Policy. If, at our request, you send certain specific submissions (for example reviews) or without a request from us you send creative ideas, suggestions, proposals, plans, or other materials, whether online, by email, by postal mail, or otherwise (collectively, 'comments'), you agree that we may, at any time, without restriction, edit, copy, publish, distribute, translate and otherwise use in any medium any comments that you forward to us. We are and shall be under no obligation (1) to maintain any comments in confidence; (2) to pay compensation for any comments; or (3) to respond to any comments, respectfully or at all. We may, but have no obligation to, monitor, edit or remove content that we determine in our sole discretion are unlawful, offensive, otherwise objectionable or violates any party’s intellectual property or these Terms of Service.
You agree that your comments will not violate any right of any third-party, including copyright, trademark, privacy, personality or other personal or proprietary right. You further agree that your comments will not contain libelous or otherwise unlawful, abusive or obscene material, or contain any computer virus or other malware that could in any way affect the operation of the Service or any related website. You may not use a false e-mail address, pretend to be someone other than yourself, or otherwise mislead us or third-parties as to the origin of any comments. You are solely responsible for any comments you make and their accuracy. We take no responsibility and assume no liability for any comments posted by you or any third-party.
Some of our online marketing is accomplished through the use of "cookies" and anonymous online tracking... that is, you are anonymous to us. With the exception of our email lists, we do not handle your direct and sensitive online information in any way. You can use a browser plugin to block us if you want. We don't care. Just sign up for our email newsletter and you will only receive relevant content and outreach.
Prohibited Uses
In addition to other prohibitions as set forth in the Terms of Service, you are prohibited from using the site or its content: (a) for any unlawful purpose; (b) to solicit others to perform or participate in any unlawful acts; (c) to violate any international, federal, provincial or state regulations, rules, laws, or local ordinances; (d) to infringe upon or violate our intellectual property rights or the intellectual property rights of others; (e) to harass, abuse, insult, harm, defame, slander, disparage, intimidate, or discriminate based on gender, sexual orientation, religion, ethnicity, race, age, national origin, or disability; (f) to submit false or misleading information; (g) to upload or transmit viruses or any other type of malicious code that will or may be used in any way that will affect the functionality or operation of the Service or of any related website, other websites, or the Internet; (h) to collect or track the personal information of others; (i) to spam, phish, pharm, pretext, spider, crawl, or scrape; (j) for any obscene or immoral purpose; or (k) to interfere with or circumvent the security features of the Service or any related website, other websites, or the Internet. We reserve the right to terminate your use of the Service or any related website for violating any of the prohibited uses.
Limitation of Liability & Indemnification
We do not guarantee, represent or warrant that your use of our service will be uninterrupted, timely, secure or error-free. You agree that from time to time we may remove the service for indefinite periods of time or cancel the service at any time, without notice to you. You expressly agree that your use of, or inability to use, the service is at your sole risk. The service and all products and services delivered to you through the service are (except as expressly stated by us) provided 'as is' and 'as available' for your use, without any representation, warranties or conditions of any kind, either express or implied.
In no case shall Custom Companies, LLC, our directors, officers, employees, affiliates, agents, contractors, interns, suppliers, service providers or licensors be liable for any injury, loss, claim, or any direct, indirect, incidental, punitive, special, or consequential damages of any kind, including, without limitation lost profits, lost revenue, lost savings, loss of data, replacement costs, or any similar damages, whether based in contract, tort (including negligence), strict liability or otherwise, arising from your use of any of the service or any products procured using the service, or for any other claim related in any way to your use of the service or any product, including, but not limited to, any errors or omissions in any content, or any loss or damage of any kind incurred as a result of the use of the service or any content (or product) posted, transmitted, or otherwise made available via the service, even if advised of their possibility. Because some states or jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion or the limitation of liability for consequential or incidental damages, in such states or jurisdictions, our liability shall be limited to the maximum extent permitted by law.
You agree to indemnify, defend and hold harmless Custom Sound and our parent, subsidiaries, affiliates, partners, officers, directors, agents, contractors, licensors, service providers, subcontractors, suppliers, interns and employees, harmless from any claim or demand, including reasonable attorneys’ fees, made by any third-party due to or arising out of your breach of these Terms of Service or the documents they incorporate by reference, or your violation of any law or the rights of a third-party.
You must cease using our service to terminate this agreement. You may terminate this agreement by notifying us in writing. If in our sole judgment you fail, or we suspect that you have failed, to comply with any term or provision of these Terms of Service, we also may terminate this agreement at any time without notice and you will remain liable for all amounts due up to and including the date of termination; and/or accordingly may deny you access to our Services (or any part thereof). The failure of us to exercise or enforce any right or provision of these Terms of Service shall not constitute a waiver of such right or provision. Any ambiguities in the interpretation of these Terms of Service shall not be construed against the drafting party.
Governing Law
These Terms of Service and any separate agreements whereby we provide you Services shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of Flagstaff, Arizona, 86001, United States.
Changes to Terms of Service
You can review the most current version of the Terms of Service at any time here, at this page, in this section. We reserve the right, at our sole discretion, to update, change or replace any part of these Terms of Service by posting updates and changes to our website. It is your responsibility to check our website periodically for changes. Your continued use of or access to our website or Services, following the posting of any changes to these Terms of Service, constitutes acceptance of those changes.
Contact
Questions about the Terms of Service should be sent to us at [email protected]
Other Store Policies
We guarantee that every instrument on the wall has been inspected and tested by our staff. We tune, condition and restring our items regularly. All instrument sales include a custom setup and a fresh set of strings if needed. Every instrument gets one year of FREE general maintenance if you bring it into our main facility. This includes fret dressing! We will install any pickup for 50% OFF the labor charge.
We warranty and guarantee all repair work for 30 days and all setup work includes re-adjustments within this period. If you need any further adjustments or fine-tuning during that period it is free of charge. This does not cover any issues or changes due to neglect or abuse by the owner.
We honor a 72 hour inspection period for all items. We will issue a full refund in store credit if you are dissatisfied in any way within that time, and a possible processing fee for cash or card refunds. Otherwise, store credit up to one week. We will charge an additional 10% restocking fee for extended or special circumstances.
We will hold any instrument or item up to 48 hours for you without any obligation or deposit. A commitment to purchase the item must be made within 48 hours, either paid in full or layaway arrangement. Contact us directly.
Our layaway terms are 60 days with a 50% non-refundable deposit. If you change your mind on the instrument, or can’t make the final payment, the deposit will be used as store credit minus a 10% restocking fee. No exceptions. Online customers can contact us for layaways via phone or email.
Consignee customers can contact us to request our services with selling their instrument. Our professional sales services can achieve the highest dollar for your piece while covering all the hassle and work with shipment and buyer communications. If you wish to sell a desirable instrument, please contact us. We have expertise and multiple platforms, contacts, and avenues with which to sell your piece. We are happy to discuss specific consignment terms with you in person, via email or phone.
We buy used instruments and other gear for cash! We are always looking for good guitars and other instruments to refurbish and sell. If the instrument is in need of new strings or repair we will deduct this from the value. We also accept used items as trade-in for store credit and purchases. . This credit can be applied toward the purchase of a new instrument or other items. Trades cannot be accepted toward the purchasing items on consignment. We only allow this option for in-store customers only.