Acoustic guitars and ukuleles made by hand, and made by place.
From a quiet off-grid workshop in the Northern California mountains, Mark Iseman builds instruments with patience, precision, and respect for the materials. Each one is made with a clear voice and its own character.
More than the sum of their parts
Each Iseman instrument comes together through a series of small, deliberate choices. Wood is selected for more than appearance. Hardware is chosen for feel and reliability. Binding, inlay, bracing, and finish are all shaped to support the instrument as a whole. The result is not simply a collection of fine parts, but a guitar built for balance, resonance, and years of playing.
The result is a guitar that honors the craft, the player, and the music.
Mark Iseman builds Weissenborn lap steels, acoustic guitars, and ukuleles by hand with an approach shaped by years spent making instruments in both California and Hawaii.
Selecting materials for their character, he builds each instrument one at a time and pays close attention to how it feels and responds in a player’s hands. The goal is not to make more instruments than necessary, but to make ones that will be played, cared for, and lived with for a long time.
Weissenborn Lap Steels
Iseman Weissenborn-style lap steels are built in the tradition of the hollow-neck instruments that helped shape the sound of Hawaii.
Each one is built by hand for players drawn to that sound, whether they are exploring traditional Hawaiian music, blues, folk, ambient work, or something entirely their own. The hollow-neck design gives the instrument its depth and resonance, while careful shaping, bracing, and setup help it feel balanced and responsive from the first note.
Acoustic Guitars
Iseman acoustic guitars are built for the long relationship between a player and an instrument. Each one is made by hand with close attention to balance, feel, and the small details that shape a guitar’s voice over time.
From the first notes at home to years of writing, recording, and playing with others, these are guitars made to feel responsive, familiar, and alive in the hands.
Ukuleles
Iseman ukuleles are made with the same care, patience, and respect for materials that guide every instrument in the workshop. Light in the hands and full of character, each one is built to bring out the direct, open voice that makes a ukulele such a joyful instrument to play.
Whether it is picked up for a few quiet minutes or carried into a room full of people, an Iseman ukulele is made to feel easy, expressive, and ready to make music.
About Iseman Guitars
Iseman Guitars began in Hawaii, where Mark Iseman built instruments shaped by the islands’ deep relationship with music, wood, and the lap steel guitar. The sound of Hawaiian steel guitar has always carried a particular kind of openness: strings played across the lap, notes sliding into one another, and a voice that can feel at once bright, mournful, and wide as the horizon.
That tradition helped inspire Mark’s Weissenborn-style lap steels. The original Weissenborn instruments were developed in the early twentieth century after Hawaiian players introduced the world to a new way of playing guitar. Their hollow-neck construction created a distinctive resonance, designed for an instrument played horizontally across the lap. Mark’s versions honor that history while being built one at a time for today’s players.
Before starting Iseman Guitars, Mark spent years building metal-body resonator guitars, mandolins, and other instruments for National Reso-Phonic in California. He later built custom ukuleles for Kanileʻa Ukulele on Oahu. Those experiences shaped a practical, player-first approach to the work: build carefully, listen closely, and let the instrument speak for itself.
Today, Mark works from an off-grid homestead in the mountains of Northern California. The setting is different, but the approach remains the same. Surrounded by forest, weather, tools, and the daily rhythm of mountain life, he builds acoustic guitars, Hawaiian lap steels, and ukuleles with patience and close attention to the materials in front of him.
The goal has never been to chase novelty. It is to make instruments with a clear voice, an honest feel, and the kind of character that grows more familiar with every year they are played.
Weissenborn Lap Steels
Style 2 Lap Steel
From $7850
The Iseman Style 2 is a Weissenborn-style Hawaiian lap steel with a more detailed, dressed-up presentation.
Like every Iseman lap steel, it is built by hand around the open, sustaining voice of the hollow-neck tradition. The Style 2 adds rosewood binding across the top, back, and headstock, along with a rosewood tailstrip, giving the instrument a more finished visual character than the more pared-back Style 1.
A maple, rosewood, and bloodwood rope rosette, paua abalone position markers, and open-gear Grover Sta-Tite tuners round out the details. Underneath the appointments, the focus remains the same: a responsive instrument with warmth, clarity, and the long resonance players come to a Weissenborn for.
Specifications: 25-inch scale length · 37.5-inch overall length · 15.5-inch lower bout · 3.25-inch body depth · 2-inch nut width · Includes hard case and lifetime warranty
Style 3 Lap Steel
From $8850
The Iseman Style 3 is a Weissenborn-style Hawaiian lap steel for players drawn to the resonance of the hollow-neck tradition and the visual richness of a more fully appointed instrument.
Built by hand, the Style 3 carries the same open voice, warmth, and long sustain found across the Iseman lap steel line. Its difference is in the detail: rope marquetry binding with bloodwood purfling, a matching bound fretboard, and a rope rosette give the instrument a more elaborate, cohesive character from edge to edge.
The result is an expressive lap steel with a clear, responsive voice and a level of visual detail that rewards a closer look. Each one is carefully set up and played before it leaves the workshop.
Specifications: 25-inch scale length · 37.5-inch overall length · 15.5-inch lower bout · 3.25-inch body depth · 2-inch nut width · Includes hard case and lifetime warranty
Style 4 Lap Steel
From $9850
The Iseman Style 4 is the most fully appointed Weissenborn-style Hawaiian lap steel in the collection.
Built by hand in the Northern California workshop, it carries the open, sustaining voice of the hollow-neck tradition with the most detailed visual treatment in the line. Rope marquetry binding wraps the top, back, and headstock, with matching detail carried through the fretboard and rosette. Mother-of-pearl diamond and triangle markers add another layer of character without taking attention away from the instrument as a whole.
Like every Iseman lap steel, the Style 4 is built for warmth, clarity, and a responsive feel under the bar. It is a more elaborate expression of the same player-first approach: carefully made, balanced in the lap, and ready to be played for years.
Specifications: 25-inch scale length · 37.5-inch overall length · 15.5-inch lower bout · 3.25-inch body depth · 2-inch nut width · Includes hard case and lifetime warranty
Acoustic Guitars
Selmer Petite-Bouche Gypsy Jazz Guitar
From $18,000
The Iseman Selmer Petite-Bouche is a hand-built acoustic guitar inspired by the fast, direct voice of classic gypsy jazz instruments.
Its compact oval soundhole, pliage top, and focused body shape give it a quick response, strong projection, and the dry, articulate character players look for in this style. The hand-formed pliage is created using a traditional hot-iron method, helping the top move freely and giving the instrument a lively, immediate feel.
OM Guitar
From $14,500
The Iseman OM is a hand-built acoustic guitar with a balanced, open voice and the responsiveness players look for in an orchestra model.
Its comfortable body size makes it equally at home with fingerstyle playing, flatpicking, and everyday writing sessions. A carefully voiced top and scalloped X-bracing help it produce clear note separation, strong resonance, and a full sound without feeling oversized.
Details like the bound fretboard, hand-shaped neck, custom rosette, and hand-rubbed finish give the instrument a refined but natural feel. Built one at a time, each OM is made to be expressive, comfortable, and easy to keep reaching for.
Dreadnought
From $15,000
The Iseman Dreadnought is a hand-built acoustic guitar with a strong, open voice and the presence this body shape is known for.
Built one at a time in Mark Iseman’s Northern California workshop, this guitar is made for players who want depth, clarity, and volume without losing touch or nuance. The larger body gives the instrument a full low end and a wide dynamic range, while careful voicing and setup help it stay responsive under the hand.
Ukuleles
Style 2 Ukulele
From $6,500
The Iseman Style 2 is a hand-built ukulele with a warm, open voice and a more detailed sense of character.
Designed for players who want an instrument that feels personal from the first strum, the Style 2 pairs a responsive build with thoughtful appointments, including a rope rosette, side soundhole, custom bridge, and hand-shaped neck. Each detail is considered as part of the instrument’s overall feel, balance, and voice.
Available in soprano, concert, and tenor sizes, every Style 2 is built one at a time and carefully set up before it leaves the workshop.
Style 3 Ukulele
From $7,500
The Iseman Style 3 is a hand-built ukulele with a warm, open voice and a more fully detailed presentation.
Like the Style 2, it is built for balance, responsiveness, and an easy feel in the hands. The Style 3 adds a more complete visual treatment, with matching binding carried across the body and fretboard, a matching tailstrip, and a hand-carved headstock detail that gives the instrument a more finished, cohesive character.
A side soundhole, custom bridge, rope rosette, and open-gear tuners round out the build. Available in soprano, concert, and tenor sizes, each Style 3 is made one at a time and carefully set up before it leaves the workshop.