(Click on link in bio)Howdy Folks, Jackson Cunningham here. I wanted to get a short message out to my followers, clients and supporters of Cunningham Handmade Musical Instruments. Last Christmas Eve I was diagnosed with Multiple Scleroses and Optic Neuritis. This diagnoses came out of nowhere just as I was gearing up to start another batch of guitars. What I thought was a routine check turned into almost two months of treatments and doctors visits. I wanted to say to everyone on my build list, or anyone with interest and concern about Cunningham Handmade Instruments in the near future, I am confident once I can get my proper treatment in place, I will be working hard to get back to my passion of building instruments and back to the bench. Please feel free to reach out via text, phone, email, or social media with any concerns, I will read all the messages even if it takes a while longer than normal. It will be a load road to recovery and I AM SO THANKFUL FOR ALL THE SUPPORT I HAVE RECEIVED SO FAR!! For some of you who are hearing about my diagnoses for the first time and would like to stay up to date with developments, or wanting to check in, there is a GoFundMe page (link above in bio)that my friends Joey & Sherry McKenzie and Redd Volkaert have generously stepped up to organize that summarizes the last two months of my health struggles with Multiple Sclerosis and Optic Neuritis, as well as updates in the future. This GoFundMe page is the primary source for raising funds for hospital/hotel stays, travel expenses, second opinions, loss of income/work, utility bills, accommodations, and for seeking the best treatment plan we can find. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!!

Latest off the bench…#archtopguitar #cunninghamhandmadeinstruments #archtopguitarmaker #sunburst #supportsmallbusiness #madeintheusa

My buddy and guitar legend @reddvolkaert dropped in the shop today to pick up his 16” archtop guitar! It was an honor to work with Redd designing this super custom model with all the bells and whistles! Some pretty wild features like the “Stair Step” bound peghead, the fat body bindings, one of a kind fingerboard inlays, “Gypsum Weed” peghead inlay, and the custom “Redd” truss rod cover. WOW!!! The top is old German Spruce, the back/sides and neck are West Virginia Red Maple. More to come…..#reddvolkaert #archtopguitars #cunninghamhandmadeinstruments #guitarsofinstragram #boutiqueguitars #luthierguitars #handmadeguitars #customguitarshop

Had a great visit with @va_humanities recently at the shop. @katyclune and @patjarrett stopped by to check in on the work @raistlinb and I have been doing for our fiddle making apprenticeship this year. It was good to see folks again and I even dusted off the old guitar for a few tunes with Raistlin and Margo!!! 📷 by @katyclune #cunninghamhandmadeinstruments #virginiahumanities #virginiafolklifeprogram

#archtopguitars #westernswing #boutiqueguitars #guitarsofinstagram #cunninghamhandmadeinstruments

Not everything is as romantic as cutting Spruce in the high country, but the hard work needs to be done nevertheless… in-house production of 1920’s style archtop guitar tailpieces in the workshop of @cunninghamhandmadeinstruments #boutiqueguitars #supportsmallbusiness #handmade #jazzguitar #swingguitar #madeintheusa #qualityoverquanity

Ebony 1920’s style archtop bridges are all made in-house from scratch @cunninghamhandmadeinstruments . #cunninghamhandmadeinstruments #boutiqueguitars #archtopguitars #madeinhouse #handmade #madeinusa🇺🇸#ebony

Here’s a few insights into the internal construction/build pics of our 2025 Raffle guitar. Just a few more days to get tickets! Link is on my bio….The top is the Hurricane Helene salvage Red Spruce. It was put on air and heat for a while to get it dried out, I know typically we like to let it dry for a while longer but under the circumstances I think it was pretty stable and all indications are its behaving exactly the way I wanted it to so I am very excited to hear how this top will mature over the years. I believe I thinned this around 0.115 before the glue up. The braces are 20 years old Virginia Red Spruce. This stock was so resonant, it would ring like a bell when tapped. I have tapered the braces on this guitar, this varies on the model but at the moment this is my personal preference(opposed to scalloped) for bracework, I feel I can get the optimum strength and resonance this way, and the least amount of runout with a brace is tapered. All the shaping of the braces is done with edge tools, just my preference. The bridge plate is skew cut Hard Sugar Maple. Yes, it has got figure in it. I harvested this wood myself in Whitetop, Virginia in 2011 and it is some of the hardest Maple I have. The back and side set is some wild figured Virginia Red Maple. It had been on my shelves a while and this seemed like the perfect time to use it. The 3 ply Maple neck is made from a stock I laminated about ten years ago, it’s Maple/Ebony/Maple. Regrettably I did not take as many pics as I meant to of this guitar during the build process, but here are a few I have scrounged up. I did put I lot of heart and soul into this build with a lot of woods that have special meaning to me, but with that being said I felt these woods and the build style would make the best sounding guitar possible. #cunninghamhandmadeinstruments #luthier #tonewood #supportingsmallbusinesses #redspruce #appalachianspruce #guitarmaker #redmaple #madeinswva

Just 4 and a half days left to a get yourself a raffle ticket for this guitar! Here's @scottainsliemusic once again showing off the Cunningham Raffle Guitar in an open tuning! This custom-made beauty was built by @cunninghamhandmadeinstruments for The @handmademusicschool and could be yours! Guitar comes with a pro hardshell case courtesy of Harptone Case Co. / @TKL.Cases Tickets are $25 - Drawing is this Friday, Noveber 14, 2025. Tickets available until noon on Friday. All proceeds support music programming and scholarship fund at The Handmade Music School in Floyd, VA. Full guitar specs, details, photos and TICKETS available at: /guitar-raffle LINK IN BIO!!

This older Cunningham archtop came in for a neck set, fret job, and general tuneup. Love this guitar. The Red Spruce has opened up and aged beautifully. #cunninghamhandmadeinstruments #archtopguitar #guitarsofintagram

Hurricane Helene salvage Virginia Red Spruce top 20 year old Virginia Red Spruce braces Virginia Sugar Maple bridge plate Virginia Red Maple back/sides/neck Old Growth Martin Factory Brazilian Rosewood bridge, fingerboard Honduran mahogany neck/end blocks Basswood kerfed linings Hide Glue construction 25.34 Scale length 1 3/4 nut width 2 3/16 string spacing at the bridge saddle Bone nut and saddle MOP pearl inlay script and FB dots Jescar nickel frets Waverly vintage oval tuning machines Antique Acoustics bridge and end pins Traditional compression truss rod Celluloid bindings Full body sunburst with nitrocellulose lacquer finish. #cunninghamhandmadeinstruments #guitarsofinstagram #boutiqueguitars #virginiaisforlovers❤️ #madeinvirginia

We're excited to present another video from our friends @thewildmans — performing an original song from their brand new record "Longtime Friend." This custom-built @cunninghamhandmadeinstruments guitar is being raffled off in support of @handmademusicschool in Floyd Virginia. Winner also gets a custom, hardshell, Redline series case by Harptone Case Company—also made in Virginia— courtesy of Cedar Creek Custom Guitar Shoppe / @tkl.cases Tickets are $25 (buy as many as you want!) All proceeds support Handmade Music School's programming and their Share The Music Scholarship Fund! Drawing will take place on Friday, November 14th, 2025 at The Floyd Country Store's Friday Night Jamboree. You don't have to be present to win — you can tune in via the free livestream — but you do need to claim your winning ticket within 24 hours via email or phone. We will be contacting the winner as soon as we pull the ticket! All raffle details, full guitar specs AND TICKETS at: handmademusicschool.org/guitar-raffle LINK IN BIO! Tickets also available in-person at the Floyd Country Store.