It Happens Here: Hand-Crafted Guitars Inspired By The Beaches In Yarmouth Port

YARMOUTH (CBS) -- It happens here: Yarmouth Port. It's home to the original Christmas Tree Shop. This Cape Cod community has salt and freshwater beaches, and it's here where SeaGlass Guitars was born.

Local artist Roger Mello makes guitars inspired by the beaches. He sands, tapers, and contours each inch of wood himself.

"I love doing it with templates. Handmade. It can take three-to-six months," Mello said.

Mello built his first guitar ten years ago, but oddly enough, he doesn't play much. After years of lessons, he found himself picking out details of the instrument instead of picking the strings.

"I'll pick up a guitar and I'll be looking at nut slots and headstock angles and the bridge height and all these different technical features. Then I get up and I walk away."

Each guitar type has the SeaGlass look with unique cut-outs and seamless lines. Whichever type you plugin, each strum is a nod to Massachusetts.

"This is my original template. A little bit of a smaller body," said Mello. It is called Route 6.

Another guitar is the Nor' easter model.

The three body styles available were created through years of trial and error.

While his company is called SeaGlass Guitars, Mello is still working on the science to actually use sea glass in his guitars.

Clients may refer to him as an artist, but Mello wants to be known for his sound.

"You could have the most beautiful guitar in the world and you can still make a fool of yourself if it's not a good instrument. My goal is to make good instruments. One at a time," he said.