Viewing: Luthier Built Guitars - View all posts

Following on from the Grimes Beamer model I showed you last time, here is another beautiful guitar design - the Grimes Freehand Parlor. This one is made from Brazilian Kingwood and Cedar. 

This asymmetrical body with a 14-fret neck makes…

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…

If there was the slighted question mark in my mind about this guitar it was the use of Tasmanian Blackwood on the back and sides. I’ve had limited joy with guitars made of this wood in the past but this…

During my recent visit to Colorado for the Rocky Mountain Archtop Festival I got the chance to spend time with one of my favourite guitar builders - and people - Michael Bashkin. Next week will bring the premiere of the…

Cris Mirabella never intended his for his exquisite archtop jazz guitars to be flung into DADGAD and used as fingerstyle machines but they really do work for me!

Here's a case in point - a sensation Mirabella Crossfire New…

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…

It was a privilege to be asked to contribute to the SUNFLOWER GUITAR appeal for Ukraine - a humanitarian endeavour by Linda Manzer, a dear friend and one of the world's finest guitar makers. 

Heartbroken at the suffering caused…

It was a real pleasure to work on a new video project for Elixir Strings! In this video I look at 80/20 Bronze and Phosphor Bronze NANOWEB strings from the player's point of view. 

It was such a joy…

Do you have a love/hate relationship with certain tone woods? I have to admit that I do, and in particular the more vitreous members of the rosewood family can be hard work for me. 

If there is one wood that…

The name Ciaran McNally may be a new one to many of you but this young luthier based in Armagh Northern Ireland already has a huge amount of experience as an acoustic guitar maker having worked for both Lowden and…

Right - we should be back on track after a few weeks deep in other beautiful things (not complaining - it's a wonderful problem to have!) and here is the news as regards my incoming instrument from Casimi Guitars!

As…

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…

Since I played my first notes on a Casimi acoustic guitar back in 2014 I have been inspired, awestruck and not a little obsessed with the sound that Mattias Roux and Matthew Rice of Casimi Guitars manage to pull out…

Recently I've had a lot of emails asking what happened to the Clara Archtop that Luthier Thierry André and I had been working on for the 2020 Holy Grail Guitar Show in Berlin. 

80 Year Old Sinker Cedar anybody?

How…

It's always a joy to spend time with my friend John Stubbings - John is the author of one of the most beautiful books on the acoustic guitar that I have ever read The Devil Is In it - if…

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…

Linda Manzer's Wedge design is an elegant ergonomic solution to the challenge of playing a large-bodied acoustic guitar.

Not to be confused with The Manzer Wedgie - a playground manoeuvre also invented by Linda some years previously - The…

I'd like to share this new piece with you - It's called Birdseye and while it's still a work in progress to some extent, I managed to pull off a take during some long-overdue time spent with loved ones in…

Maple is a wood that divides opinion amongst acoustic guitarists with almost surgical precision. "It's too bright, There's no bass, it's too trebly, it's sterile" etc are accusations often levelled at this superb wood. 

Cheerfully I say unto you "Bollocks". 

…

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…

Ok here we go! Quilted Mahogany from The Tree is the rarest and most expensive tone wood in the world. Its striking figure and rich colour makes The Tree immediately identifiable but what is it like to own a guitar…

Ordering your first custom guitar is an incredibly exciting experience as well as a considerable investment in time, emotions and money. With this video I want to give you the tools to get it right by asking the sort of…

African Blackwood! Heavy, powerful, rare, eye-wateringly expensive and deeply elegant but surely there is more to this exotic tone wood than just a Brazilian Rosewood substitute? 

Delicious...

With a ferocious Casimi C3 Signature fan fret in hand I explore some…

I have been a heartfelt endorser of Elixir Strings for years and when they invited me to take part in a long-distance collaboration, featuring artists from all over the world, I was delighted to accept!

Octet is a composition by…

Thinking back over the past year I am tremendously grateful for the vocal support and appreciation of my growing audience. 2020 did not go to plan for any of us but knowing you were out there helped me to keep…