Taranis Guitars was founded by two Madison, Wis., luthiers whose paths have crossed for decades: Paul Woolson of Woolson Soundcraft and Lane Venden of Lane’s Lutherie. Between them is a lifetime of building, repairing, refining, and listening closely to what musicians actually need from the instruments they trust.
The spark began the way many good ideas do—a quiet evening, a shared respect for the craft, and a wee dram of whisky. Lane looked across the table and asked Paul a simple question: “Would you ever want to make electric guitars?” Nearly five years and countless prototypes later, that question became a commitment, and that commitment has become the Taranis Voltmaster.
Lane is the backbone of our electric‑guitar DNA—a master repair luthier who has spent decades inside the circuitry, mechanics, and lived‑in realities of the electric world. He knows how great instruments behave, how bad ones fail, and what players need night after night. Paul comes from the acoustic tradition, where design, resonance, and the sculptural side of lutherie define every decision. His approach brings an architectural eye to the electric form: balance, feel, and the kind of detail that only comes from creating fine instruments by hand for a lifetime. Together, those two worlds collide in the Voltmaster. Lane’s electric expertise and Paul’s design‑driven acoustic sensibility fused into a single, modern instrument built with intention, precision, and character.
Taranis (pronounced TAIR‑uh‑niss) takes its name from the Celtic god of lightning and thunder. It’s a nod to Paul’s Scottish heritage and a fitting emblem for two builders stepping boldly onto the “loud side” of the craft. The name captured everything we wanted this company to stand for: power, clarity, elemental force, and a deep connection to tradition. It bridges the acoustic world Paul comes from and the electric world Lane has mastered, giving our instruments a mythic backbone and a modern edge.
Our first model, the Voltmaster, is a heavily chambered electric built for players who want a lightweight, do‑everything workhorse. Outfitted exclusively with TV Jones pickups, it delivers clarity, punch, and versatility without sacrificing the warmth and resonance that come from thoughtful design and hand‑built construction. Every Voltmaster is crafted by only two sets of hands—no production line, no shortcuts, no compromises.
We believe the electric‑guitar world still has room for instruments that are both deeply crafted and forward‑thinking—guitars that honor the lineage of the instrument while pushing it somewhere new. We’re not building for a single type of player. We’re building for anyone who values feel, tone, and the unmistakable character of a guitar shaped with intention.
Taranis isn’t just a brand. It’s a declaration that electrics can be built with the same reverence, precision, and soul that define the finest hand‑crafted acoustics, and that two luthiers, working side by side, can combine forces to bring something genuinely new into the world.
Lane Venden
