STEM Guitar External Advisory Committee

The STEM Guitar External Advisory Committee is a group of dedicated industry representatives and corporate sponsors, who actively support the strategic objectives and goals of the STEM Guitar Institute. In turn, they provide the project with valuable input concerning current and future trends in the industry, resources for research and development, industry

Dick Boak

Dick Boak, former art teacher, lathe turner, performing musician and luthier, discovered C. F. Martin & Co. in 1973 and was hired as a design draftsman. Since then and for the past 32 years, he has held many diverse and creative positions there, leading to the formation of Martin’s Artist Relations Department and the conception of more than one hundred and forty signature guitar collaborations with the top musical talents of our time. His acclaimed book Martin Guitar Masterpieces relays the stories of those collaborations. For 17 years, he lived in his converted “Church Of Art,” an active studio for art, woodworking and live music. Currently living in Nazareth, Pennsylvania with his wife Susan and their two daughters Emily and Grace, he continues to build his legacy with The Martin Guitar Company, finding occasional time to further his art and music, and work on the publication of his more personal book Dot To Dot – The Creative, Comical & Covert Adventures of Dick Boak.

Josh Hurst

Josh works for Fender and holds the title of Principal Engineer. In this capacity, Josh has been responsible for bringing a number of important guitars to the marketplace. Notable models include the reissue Coronado/Starcaster, Dimension basses, and Carved Top Tele and Jazzmasters. Josh has also designed products for other Fender family brands including EVH, Charvel, Gretsch, Jackson, Squier, Guild, Ovation and Hamer. Josh is responsible for executing new model prototypes from start to finish for display at the NAMM show every year.

Tim Shaw

During his long career in guitar R&D, Tim has designed and built acoustic and electric instruments in many different styles. He spent 14 years in Gibson R&D and product development, where he worked on historic models and guitar series for artists like Chet Atkins, BB King, and Howard Roberts, as well as recreating several classic pickups. At both Gibson and later at Fender, Tim traveled frequently to guitar factories on the Pacific Rim, designing many instruments and teaching. Tim is now Director of Research for guitars at Fender, where he’s circled back to pickup design and is working on cutting-edge technologies for future guitars.