Kent Hamblin built his first guitar in 1991 while attending the Roberto-Venn School of Luthiery in Phoenix, Arizona. After graduating, he went to work for a large Southern California guitar manufacturer. While there, he experienced firsthand the large-scale production of finely crafted acoustic guitars. With this knowledge, he returned to Arizona to join the Phoenix Guitar Company, where he was responsible for the design and construction of a number of custom acoustic guitars.
In 1995, Kent returned to Roberto-Venn as a full time instructor. Drawing on experiences in the real world, he was able to help modernize the acoustic guitar building curriculum. He left Roberto-Venn in 1998 and went to work at CFox Guitars until 2001. He has since established Hamblin Guitars and is now focusing on building his own line of acoustic guitars in a one-man shop in Telluride, Colorado. In the pursuit of creating a truly handmade guitar, Kent has taken on as many facets of the guitarmaking process as possible.
