A guitar belonging to the late, great Jeff Beck went under the hammer at Bonhams Auctioneers in London this week and it was a thrill to be invited to see this important instrument up close.
This Graffiti Yellow Strat was…
Read moreMay 25 2023
A guitar belonging to the late, great Jeff Beck went under the hammer at Bonhams Auctioneers in London this week and it was a thrill to be invited to see this important instrument up close.
This Graffiti Yellow Strat was…
Read moreMay 12 2023
What a way to start my time in Hawaii. The Grimes Beamer model is a twin-soundhole full-voiced instrument originally based on a guitar that Steve Grimes repaired for Hawaiian slack key legend Keola Beamer in the 1980s.
The Beamer is…
Read moreFeb 25 2023
Ken Parker is a true visionary in the world of the modern electric and arch top guitars. His revolutionary “Parker Fly” design was a paradigm shift when it first appeared but as you will see - it didn’t quite turn…
Read moreFeb 18 2023
I have absolutely loved Linda Manzer’s guitars for many years but it was only recently that I had the opportunity to visit her workshop in Almonte Ontario.
Linda’s influence runs deep throughout the guitar luthier community with many of her…
Read moreFeb 11 2023
Kim Walker's work has fascinated me for many years - not least because, despite his stellar reputation - I had never had the chance to play one of his guitars. However, while on the road with The Archtop Foundation last…
Read moreJan 15 2023
George Gruhn knows what he's doing - as he showed me around his private collection of achingly rare guitars - my curiosity was piqued by a 12-fret Euphonon dreadnought. It is one of a pair made in 1940 - explains…
Read moreAug 28 2022
The final guitar that was calling my name as I recorded The Blue Guitar Collection is this delicately wonderful Martin O-18 K which has offered discerning and fortunate players over 100 years of gorgeousity since its birth in 1921.
Centre…
Read moreAug 17 2022
Another extraordinary instrument that I found in the new home of The Blue Guitar Collection is this Ken Parker acoustic archtop - just gorgeous!
Just wow!
This was only the second time I had ever seen a Ken Parker acoustic…
Read moreAug 11 2022
In amongst The Blue Guitars I found a trio of exceptional brown guitars and in a relatively quiet moment in amongst the azure mayhem I managed to film them.
Just look at them!
Here is the first, a sumptuous Casimi…
Read moreMar 29 2022
Rickenbacker guitars have a magnetic pull for me - I can't explain exactly why but I find them to be some of the most beautiful electric guitar designs out there.
As such it was a pleasure to visit Shapero Rare…
Read moreMar 2 2022
While I do get regular offers to play rare and exotic guitars I am not so jaded that the thought of spending quality time with an original 1959 Gibson Sunburst Les Paul doesn't get the blood pumping!
In this video…
Read moreJan 22 2022
I am regularly asked for my thoughts on the differences between acoustic guitars from the USA and the UK and rather than get bogged down in minutiae I find that a direct comparison is often the most useful way to…
Read moreNov 12 2021
I have been very fortunate, over the past couple of decades I have been left unsupervised with some truly stellar instruments made with love by many of the world's most talented luthiers.
This sort of thing being a case in…
Read moreSep 29 2021
The Modified Dreadnought acoustic guitar was created by the luthier Ervin Somogyi (Oakland, California) in the late 1970s at the request of several artists recording for Will Ackerman's nascent Windham Hill record label - most notably Daniel Hecht who…
Read moreSep 23 2021
While trawling my archive of hours of raw footage from the first season of Luthier Stories I came across this clip where legendary guitar builder Ervin Somogyi talks about the creation of an unusual instrument made with decayed woods and…
Read moreSep 9 2021
It is a question that comes up with unfailing regularity wherever acoustic guitarists congregate. Inevitably one, perhaps a little bolder than the rest, will offer an opinion on the efficacy of Martin's venerable dreadnought design when pressed into service as…
Read moreMay 15 2021
I have made no secret of my admiration for the work of luthier Michihiro Matsuda (Oakland CA). Since first meeting him in 2009 I have been regularly left dumbfounded by the extraordinary elegance and startling lines of his instruments. As…
Read moreMay 21 2020
In a recent chat with Jason Kostal he told me about a fascinating project he'd undertaken to create an instrument for 39th President of the USA Jimmy Carter!
President Carter with his new Kostal OM
The guitar is made from…
Read moreFeb 21 2020
One of the joys of a visit to the Turnstone Guitars workshop is a cup of tea and a chat with Rosie Heydenrych, the luthier behind all these beautiful instruments.
This time we filmed it (it's been a while!) as…
Read moreJan 8 2020
It's been an exciting start to the year for me and I sincerely hope for you too!
Thank you to everyone for your messages over the holiday period. It was wonderful to hear from you all!
I've been busy in…
Read moreJul 10 2019
I spent a wonderful morning at ATB Guitars in Cheltenham this week and amongst the frankly superb (even for someone as jaded as me!) inventory I found this beautiful Gibson Super 400 from 1935, the first year of production.
It…
Read moreNov 15 2018
This wonderful instrument is the first Casimi Guitar, it even predates the company's logo so there's nothing on the headstock and no label! It is what was to become the Casimi C2 model and is made from Cocobolo on the…
Read moreNov 7 2018
I've loved Linda Manzer's work since first meeting her in 2009 and had harboured a secret hope that at some point I'd get a chance to play her astonishing Iceberg harp guitar having seen it exhibited as part of the…
Read moreAug 4 2018
Just look at this! It's a century old Gibson archtop with a gorgeous dry, sparky voice and a neck like a tree trunk! I filmed this wonderful guitar in Paris while preparing for a private concert with Derek Gripper…
Read more