Physics teacher, Jennifer Meyer assigns every one of her classes a project where students are prompted to create an instrument. This project is to help students in applying what they learned in their waves and sounds unit to the real world.

“It was a Physics project, taking up about a week. By the time the guitar was finished, it had been a year.” senior Pavel Borovik said.
Borovik’s work on his guitar began as a project for Meyer, but soon became his passion. He decided to create a guitar that was truly his own with help from his brother.

“Students have made guitars before Pavel, but no one has made such an amazing guitar! They were usually made out of shoe boxes and rubber bands. The guitar he made was very impressive. It is the best instrument I have ever had a student make in my classes,” Meyer said.

“We didn’t copy it from the internet we just created it from our imagination and minds,” Borovik said.

The body of the guitar was the style of an electric guitar and Borovik decorated the neck with glow paint designs.

For the project itself, it only took Borovik a week to create and finish his first version for Physics. But even after collecting, sanding, and cutting wood to create his work of art, he wasn’t finished. Borovik and his brother kept working on this piece for the next year: constantly improving.

“We would forget about it for a few weeks then come back and work on it every now and then,” Borovik said.

Borovik himself hasn’t played guitar for that long. His only other interaction with the instrument was last year in guitar class here at PCH with Matt Beazley, the guitar and band teacher.

But his family wasn’t new to the idea of music.

“My father had a set of instruments and he stores them at home. One day I just found some pieces of wood in the street and started to build things like them. I have been creating art since I was a child.” Borovik said.
Borovik was originally born here in St. Louis, but soon after his family moved to Russia and he grew up there.

“They [Borovik’s family] brought me and my brother here a few years back so now I am a citizen of the United States,” said Borovik.
Borovik’s father had a similar passion when he was younger, but mostly focused on creating things with electronics involved. With Borovik, he combines the aspects of electronics and woodworking together when piecing together his creations.

Borovik and his family speak fluent Russian and his notes for the guitar project were also written in Russian as it was easier to write out all of his plans.

The guitar isn’t Borovik’s only piece. He has crafted multiple items out of wood including a working amp for the guitar, a wooden rose sculpture, and his most recent piece: a glasses case for his father.

“My favorite piece was the guitar because it took the longest,” said Borovik.
To ensure his guitar and amp worked to their best abilities, Borovik has had friends who play guitar professionally test it out.

“I had a friend in a class with me who plays it regularly with my homemade amp as well,” said Borovik.

The guitar and amp worked just like they were bought in a store but only the strings were actually store-bought. Borovik handcrafted everything else.

With being an upperclassman, Borovik sees building and engineering different products in his future.

“I am probably going to work in a field that pursues creating similar projects,” said Borovik.