About Musical Saw Shop

Hello!  I am Jon Johnson, owner and founder of the Musical Saw Shop, a one-man business that I started in Northern California back in January, 2018.

Prior to opening the Musical Saw Shop, I spent three years in research and development, engineering a new, advanced design of musical saw.  Although I had been making and playing saws since I was 16, I had never been satisfied with any of the instruments that you could buy - including most so-called musical saws.  Because I couldn't find a musical saw that I liked, I set out to create something different!

My engineering experiments took me through stacks of designs and materials and endless trial and error.  I tested out many kinds of metals along the way - even metals like bronze, nickel silver and titanium.  I eventually settled on two special grades of spring steel, which could not be improved upon.  I also came up with some revolutionary improvements in musical saw design, including very special taper scaling and the use of special insulating vibrational barriers which I incorporated into my handles to greatly improve the bottom notes.

After years of steady improvement, StradSaws are now some of the most advanced musical saws in the world, with plenty of global demand.  They can compete against all other makes - even high-end European brands.  As an ultimate test, a StradSaw can play tunes like Jules Massenet's "Thais" without altering the original arrangement - or extended note-range tunes like Faure's Pavane.  

I take great pride in my work and many very challenging achievements in musical saw engineering.  I extend this pride into every saw that I build, promising only the very best quality to every customer.

I am a professional artist with a college degree in art.  I am also a compulsive-obsessive perfectionist, and everything that I create is an intensive labor of art and of love.  I am SLOW, and I work all alone...so a typical instrument takes me three months to build!  I cannot and will not do fast work, and I make no apologies for that.  Just be aware when you contact me to get on my waiting list...that you need patience to get my work!

After establishing the Musical Saw Shop in Northern California in 2018, I eventually moved to Northern Arizona late in 2022.  My current workshop is tiny and very crowded, but it suffices with careful organization and maintenance!  All clients are always welcome to phone me or to visit me in person.  I live right off of historic Route 66, just east of Kingman, Arizona in the quaint little community of Hackberry.  I actually work seasonally as the grounds manager at the famous Hackberry General Store (google it for fun!), which is a combined museum and souvenir shop.