Philosophy
There
is no magic formula to making a fine guitar.
A skilled maker thinks deeply about the design, understands the
complex interactions between components and has a feel for light, yet
strong structures.
He can readily sense a materials characteristics and above all has
a sensitive musical ear.
I seek to build a guitar that is intensely musical with a balanced
and quick response, which at the same time is very playable.
I want volume and projection but not at the expense of clarity,
balance, sustain or dynamic range. I strive to
produce a sound that is well balanced with the minimum of
colouration and distortion. The tone of all my guitars is full in the low and mid frequencies,
and bright with excellent
sustain in the upper region of the fingerboard. The sound is
focused and the string balance excellent.
Design
Each of my guitars is meticulously designed
paying particular attention to the layout of the strings, neck angle
and internal structure and bracing. The type of music to be played and the owners playing style greatly influence such elements as
materials and structure, bracing and plate
thickness, scale length and action.
Materials
I buy my tone-woods internationally,
from specialist suppliers and store them in humidity controlled
conditions until properly seasoned. I select the best quality
quarter-sawn wood for the soundboard while for the back and side
woods you can opt either for the 'classical combination' for the
type of guitar you want or choose from a wide range of other exotic
tone-woods to give your instrument that distinctive look and
distinctive sound.
Construction
I build all my guitars individually,
sometimes making two or three sets of components, but I only
assemble and tune one at a time, this enables me to focus entirely
on the feel and sound of that one instrument, something a production
shop can never do. I normally build my guitars in the "Spanish
method", that is with a one piece neck and "Spanish-heel", face
down, on an open work-board or exterior mould. The neck is
reinforced or laminated if necessary, and when combined with the
integral "Spanish heel" ensures maximum energy transfer from the
string to the sound-box.
Front, back and sides are planed,
sanded and scraped to precise thickness from the highest quality
tone-woods. Bracing is hand-split from billets of high-grade
Sitka and Alpine spruce, Cedar or Mahogany and shaped and tuned for optimum strength and
sound.
This produces an instrument that is
"as light as possible and as strong as
it needs to be"!
Decoration
Purfling (the decorative bands found
round the sound-hole and bindings) is inlaid from real woods of
contrasting colours. A striking rosette of line and mosaic
inlay, burr-veneer marquetry or shell can also be inlaid.
Bindings round the edges of the body are cut from beautifully
figured wood and are not only decorative, but considerably stiffen
and strengthen the structure of the instrument enhancing the sound
and tonal response.
I do not believe in over
decoration; elegance and simplicity can be visually striking
when properly executed, although various forms of additional inlay and marquetry are available if requested.
Finish
My instruments are normally shellac French-polished,
alternatively they can have a hybrid-composite finish of my own
development, which is tougher but somewhat heavier. The
finished surfaces are hand polished to produce an elegant antique
gloss surface which is extremely tactile and visually beautiful. The finishing process takes
about six weeks to complete including preparation, application,
drying and polishing. In total each instrument will spend
about four months in my workshop until completion.
For that final distinctive and personal touch, each of my
guitars is individually signed and named with a Spanish female name that
somehow befits the sound and tonality with which the instrument has been gifted.
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