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Time has not been kind to the electric guitar. Once a dangerous and revered tool in rock 'n' roll's arsenal, the mighty battle axe and amplified phallic symbol has been castrated over the years--smashed to pieces and set on fire by its wielders, all but ignored in hip hop circles and rendered obsolete by the World Air Guitar Championships and video games like Guitar Hero.

But there is hope, young grasshoppers. Although Sparrow Guitars occupies an old greeting card factory in one of the grottier sections of Vancouver's East Side, the only thing warm and fuzzy produced there nowadays is the sound emanating from its flame-covered creations.

Head honcho Billy Bones--yes, that's the name on his driver's licence--started designing guitars several years ago while working at a high end-furniture making shop because, as he puts it, "any knuckle-dragger can do it."

After the shop closed down, Bones took a month-long one-on-one guitar building course in Calgary and got into the guitar design business. He launched Sparrow Guitars three years ago.

"I love rock 'n' roll," says Bones, who plays in local garage punk bands the Vicious Cycles and the on-hiatus Raised by Wolves. "It's a huge part of everything I do, and kids should be able to afford to make rock 'n' roll music."