By: Fred Groves, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Tilbury Times Reporter
Creativity has no boundaries.
It is a combination of intrigue, passion, and in Taras Kovaliv’s case, a dash of heredity.
The St. Joachim resident has been designing and building guitars for a decade and his ability continues to draw attention to those in the music business.
His guitars have caught the attention of Guitar World Magazine that described him as an ‘ambitious builder’ and a pioneer.
Kovaliv comes by his love of music honestly as his mother Kristine was on the ground floor of the Rock’and Roll culture in England in the early 1960’s.
She was working in a music store that was unveiling famous Fender guitars and as her son describes it, she was there when a soon to be world famous group came in looking for some equipment – The Rolling Stones.
“They had a private session in the store and my mom helped them buy a Fender guitar in the 1960’s,” says Kovaliv.
Fender, Gibson, and Les Paul guitars are synonymous with musicians around the world and maybe, just maybe someday they will be touring with a Kovaliv creation.
His knowledge of the instrument is based on a lot of time spent researching, adapting, and modifying.
“I am not trying to replace the guitar. It is more like a sibling that no one has met yet.”
What is most interesting about Kovaliv is that he takes what has already been discovered, like the Indian Sitar which dates back to the 18th century, along with modern classic and electric guitars and tinkers until he comes up with his own creation.
Currently he is proud of the VP-1 which is a futuristic instrument which has a body shaped like wings, made of wood and a material known as rich lite which is basically laminated, recycled paper.
“To come up with something unique is hard,” admits Kovaliv.
The back room of his mother’s house is filled with wires, tools and the pieces that are fused together to make such models as the VP-1. However, it is his knowledge of the two different methods of playing that sets him apart.
He has authored a book called, The Singing Bow – On String…and the Arrow of Time. It is an in depth, and quite detailed, look at how strings, when bent in different directions, can produce different sounds.
“After playing different styles, why not start with what the strings do and then design the furniture that hold the strings.”
Kovaliv has followed and closely studied great guitar players over the years including one of the most well-known groups in Canada.
“At one point I was learning every Rush song I could. I was crazy about Alex Lifeson.”
And their others that he has admired including Robert Fripp of King Crimson, although his mother Kristine is a big fan of Angus Young of AC/DC.
Creativity has no boundaries for Kovaliv as he is a talented artist and, before designing guitars, he was a professional photographer having his work published in such papers as the Globe and Mail and the Hong Kong Standard.
