Does your guitar need repairs? Instead of taking to Edmonton, why don’t you bring it to Carson Sexsmith, owner of Cold Shot Custom Guitars right here in Slave Lake? The fledgling entrepreneur is hoping that his love of guitars will translate into financial success.
“I’ve only been up and running since September,” says Sexsmith. “I’ve been playing for around 13 years. Officially, I’ve been fixing them for maybe two or three years, but I’ve always tinkered. I’ve been doing it all the time, so why not make it official? I registered the name, started the business; hopefully it will progress to something.”
“There’s nothing like this in northern Alberta (that he knows of - Ed.). Grande Prairie is the closet thing we have. I haven’t been to their guitar stores in quite a few years. I remember it was decent, but I don’t think they had much in the way of guitar repairs. It’s definitely something that’s needed here. There is a lot of talent here, more than people realize. Wabasca is a gold mine. Everyone there can play. I think once word gets out, I’ll (have) to put up a shop where I can sell guitars too.”
Cold Shot is operating in Sexsmith’s basement at the moment and it not his sole means of survival. His gas plant operator day job keeps him busy in the area. As a result, his guitar services cost considerably less than they do in Edmonton.
“I know that if you take your guitar into the city, with the amount of players out there, you’re looking at almost a two week wait period. That’s at 50 bucks an hour once they start working on it. To bump that to the head of the line, you’ll pay 75 bucks an hour. I’m dirt-cheap. I’ll do it for 30 bucks an hour. I’m not trying to make a living at it right now. I’m aiming for that in the future, but for now, I just love to do it.”
Like the gas tank of an Orange County Chopper, many guitarists like to personalize their instruments. Cold Shot offers players the option of having images burned into the body of a guitar.
“With the custom building, I’ve been doing wood burning. Some of the guitars I’ve worked on have pictures of the player’s kids burnt into the back. I’ve got one upstairs that was the ugliest guitar (body) I’ve ever seen. So I needed something pretty ugly to put on. I found a picture of Keith Richards and burnt him into it. It’s a perfect looking novelty guitar. It’s not going to be a show stopper in terms of playing, but it looks great.”
According to Sexsmith, most guitars out there are in need of some work. He believes not everyone knows when there is something wrong with a guitar. He reminds players that being careful and respecting a guitar can lead to many happy years of playing.
“First and foremost, you can minimize the need for repairs by keeping the humidity in your house constant between 40 to 50 per cent. That will prevent swelling of the wood and keep the action where it was originally set. Don’t tinker with anything you don’t understand, keep it clean, and change your strings as often as you can. Treat it well and it will treat you good. They’re delicate things, not canoe paddles.”
Call Cold Shot Custom Guitars at 805-2393 or click coldshotcustomguitars.com for more information.

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