Ten
years ago I realised that Mahogany and other important furniture
species were seriously on the decline and that I was witnessing the
end of a golden era for these wonderful timbers. Knowing that
furniture requires a lot of wood for an average sized piece, I began
to doubt the long term future for my business. I clearly saw a
change from the way things were done to the way they were going to
be done. This change was inevitable and was the catalyst for me to
make a shift, co-incidentally the guitar had come back into my life
as I had started to build again for myself.
On my first acoustic build I
contacted John Price from a recommendation from a trade rep, to ask
a few questions. John is a very talented luthier and cabinetmaker,
and immediately we had a common interest. It was on my third guitar
that he made an offer to teach me how to build concert classicals,
something I was not at all expecting, but did not hesitate to accept
in an instant. To be taught by someone so talented is a privilege
and compliment all at once, and he has been able to enlighten me to
the very inner knowledge of fine guitar construction and so much
more relating to the world of a classical guitar maker.
I did
a lot of furniture reproductions as a cabinetmaker, but when it came
to building my own guitars I felt the need to produce a non-copy, a
guitar with my own plantilla and slight variations in bracing and
internal structure. I started off following the method that I was
taught and have incrementally changed some things to suit the ideals
I’m looking for. Consequently I have found this to be an ongoing
process of subtle changes, one at a time, with an emphasis on not
making too big a departure from the last guitar. This enables me to
easily identify any improvements gained, without the confusion of
having done too many alterations at once.
To me the classical guitar is
something very special amongst guitars. It is not an easy instrument
to get right and as such I strive to meet a personal benchmark on
each guitar. This benchmark allows me to build on a very consistent
level and therefore guarantees the construction and tonal qualities.
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