Bozidar (Bozo) Podunavac was born in Serbia in Eastern Europe and was raised in Belgrade. Bozo was originally apprenticed to luthier Milutin Mladenovicin. Bozo came to the USA in the late 1950s and settled in Chicago, Illinois. In the early 1960s he set up shop as a luthier and began building his own instruments. Bozo moved to Escondido (near San Diego), California in 1972, and to San Diego in 1975. In 1978, Bozo opened a school of lutherie, which he ran for a number of years. Bozo has also called Linderhurst, Illinois and East Englewood, Florida home.
His instruments are unique for a variety of reasons. The most notable feature is his "Bell Western" design. This style features an upper bout of a Martin Dreadnought combined with the lower bout of a Gibson J-200. His guitars are typically very ornate with complex and unusal rosettes and wide purfling. The high-quality of craftsmanship is evident in his guitars as well. Many guitars are constructed out of Brazilian rosewood, koa, and Indian rosewood. The sound of his guitars are also unique as they have an original fullness to the notes and sustain that rings for a long time without losing the roundness of the note. His twelve-string guitars are particularly special as Leo Kottke and Peter Lang (among others), used them early in their careers and recorded several songs with them.
In the mid-1970s, Bozo licensed his designs to a Japanese firm, Morris, that manufactured the instruments under the Bozo name. A majority of Bozo guitars consist of the Japanese-made models. Bozo was one of the luthiers contacted by esteemed collector Scott Chinery for a model in the Blue Guitars Collection. Bozo still builds guitars on a limited basis. For more information or to talk to Bozo, contact him directly. Source: Matt Hayden.
Instruments currently built in East Englewood and Port Charlotte, FL since 2005. Previously produced in Lindenhurst, IL.