Emma Dunlop
IN the world of guitar making Tony Tomlinson is something of a phenomenon.
For the past 24 years from the bedroom of his Sheffield home he has been making the most unusual rock guitars ever seen.
His wacky designs include one designed like a cobra – carved out of mahogany with a snake's body coiled around a man.
Another is the ebony and aluminium jaguar-shaped guitar with its specially crafted "gear change" part of a steering wheel and the Jaguar mascot at the top.
His designs are so unusual they have even attracted internet interest, with one American even offering £10,000 for one of his designs.
But the 40-year-old entrepreneur is bashful about singing his own praises. So far he has only sold one of his numerous designs – for £510, a sum which he was proud of achieving.
Within months, however, it had reappeared on e-Bay, this time selling for a phenomenal $4,500 (£2,500).
But despite being on the brink of a potential goldmine, the father-of-two is in no rush to sell his wares – not unless his hero Syd Barrett, formerly of Pink Floyd, asked to buy one.
He is, though, about to exhibit at one of the world's largest guitar shows in London's Wembley Arena on May 5-7.
He expects he will be inundated with orders following the show, and despite his initial reluctance to part with his electric guitars, he realises just what a good opportunity it is.
"I was rather pleased with the money it initially reached," said Mr Tomlinson, who lives in the Parson Cross area of Sheffield. "I had thought it would only fetch a couple of hundred pounds at most. I could not believe it when I saw how much it had ended up going for."
He added: "I know my partner would like the spare room back. When I made them I never thought about selling them. I make the guitars because I like to, not for business reasons. But there is nothing else like these out there, I have checked.
"I began making them because every magazine you pick up and every guitar you see are all the same shape. They are either a Gibson Les Paul or Fender Stratocaster.
"Basically they are all the same. No-one was making anything different. I just thought 'Why can't they be different?'
"Ideas just pop into my mind. I'll be watching the television and I'll think of a design and I have to jot it down on whatever I can find. There are no limits."
Most guitars are made of wood, but Mr Tomlin-son has not let that stop him experimenting with other materials. He has made instruments out of aluminium, brass and even copper.
And according to Mr Tomlinson, who plays guitar himself, they still play "brilliantly".
The different materials and shapes made no difference whatsoever in terms of the instrument's resonance, he said.
For the self-effacing former mechanic, making the guitars is a form of therapy. Several years ago he was forced to give up his job as a watch repairer because he started to have panic attacks.
After that he had a string of other jobs, but none of them seemed to work for him. Now he realises selling his hand-made guitars might just be the answer.
"It is not like we don't need the money," he said.
"But, on saying that, I was offered £10,000 for one of the guitars I had made for my partner, Louise Marshall, but she loves it so much she just won't part with it.
"But I think we might have to rethink our ideas if we want to make any money from this."
emma.dunlop@ypn.co.uk