TK -Tom Keckler moved to Memphis at an early age and began playing with local bands – notably The Breakers which is when he met guitarist Mike Ladd who was also in the band.
Playing local gigs the young musicians met and played with touring bands coming through Memphis – notably The Yardbirds with the young Jeff Beck – who opened for The Breakers in 1966!
Mike Ladd subsequently opened a small guitar shop in Memphis ,opposite Graceland called Mike Ladd’s Guitar City.
Mike and TK would become a strong force in the electric guitar movement from the late 1960’s.
They also had a love of motorcycles and founded Possum Brothers Motorcycle Group- which included Elvis,Jerry Phillips ,Mike Ladd and TK around 1968-1970!
TK was hired by Mike and helped modify and design guitars, which led to several custom projects for Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin , Jeff Beck and Elvis Presley among others.
Most notably meeting with Gibson executives in 1967 to produce a special run of original late1950’s Les Pauls, which led to the reissue of the Gibson Les Paul in 1968.
The music demanded it – heavy blues based rock heralded in by British bands such as Led Zeppelin , John Mayall and The Blues Breakers , Cream, The Who and The Yardbirds.
Clients and artists such as Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck had coveted the original late 50’s Les Paul models.
In the early 1970’s TK co -founded St. Blues Guitars and designed the original Bluesmaster model.
The model attracted prestigious players such as Joe Walsh in the 1980’s.
To this day TK is a consultant for this Memphis based company.
In the late 1970’s TK pioneered Schecter Guitars – in conjunction with David Schecter – as the company transitioned from being a high end parts manufacturer to offering complete guitars.
This led to Pete Townshend of The Who in 1979 selecting the Schecter PT as his instrument of choice.
Whilst at Schecter, TK was partners with Tom Anderson who now has his own line of prestigious instruments.
TK brings monumental knowledge and experience to guitar luthiery, maintenance and design – having worked with legendary artists and having worked on some iconic instruments.
Follow TK on social media for the latest news – as well as stories from the past, which will recount TK working with iconic artists and their instruments.
Now its time to make your instrument more playable over factory spec and as a result make you a better player and stimulate creativity – contact TK!