The patent is no longer pending for Riversong Guitars as they've received a worldwide patent for their NeckNology system

(BRENDAN KERGIN / iNFOnews.ca)

KAMLOOPS - Riversong Guitars' plans for taking over the world one instrument at a time is going well.

The Kamloops company has secured a worldwide patent for its unique NeckNology system, CEO and founder Mike Miltimore says. Riversong Guitars also received an award for best acoustic bass worldwide and nomination for best acoustic guitar.

“The people that we’re up against for these awards are industry leaders,” he says. “To be recognized is really prestigious.”

While the awards are great recognition for the instruments built by Riversong, the issuing of a worldwide patent for a unique neck system is a big deal as well.

“We developed a system that makes the guitar stronger, resonate more and give the player the ability to control string height,” he says.

Dubbed NeckNology by Miltimore, the system allows players to adjust the height of their strings in seconds. Normally that requires taking a guitar apart, but for one of Riversong’s guitars it just needs an Allen Key.

“We filed for worldwide patent, you get patents for each country,” he says. “And those patents are just starting to pour in.”

The patent will help legally protect Riversong from companies trying to copy the guitar’s unique structure around the world, but doesn’t automatically mean growth.

“It’s business as usual from when we were patent pending to patent,” Miltimore says. “We’ve been patent pending for a number of years.”

Right now, the guitar factory builds 30 to 60 handmade guitars a month, depending on the design and complexity of the instrument. However, the space they’re in right now could handle 440 guitars in a month. Right now 80 per cent of the guitars are made with 100 per cent domestic wood. That’s something Miltimore is proud of.

“The guitars really reflect what you can get in and around Kamloops,” he says.

That includes maple, walnut and special, local varieties of spruce, including one variety only found in the Skeena Valley and another from the northern end of Vancouver Island.

“It’s iridescent,” he says. “It’s just beautiful sounding, beautiful looking wood.”

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