Roger Williams Guitars

 Beautiful guitars, handmade in England

Roger Williams - Luthier

I have worked with my hands, at various crafts, for most of my life both as a hobby and for a livelihood.    An early fascination with materials and structures led me take an engineering apprenticeship with Rolls-Royce where I became a jet-engine designer.  My design and craft experience extends from hi-fi loudspeaker systems through racing sailing dinghies, to guitars; but making music has always been my passion.  I was  given my first guitar at twelve and purchased the materials for my first handmade guitar in 1970 and since then I have restored, repaired and built many hundreds of guitars and string instruments for discerning professional and amateur musicians.

Handmade Guitars

My Classical guitars follow many of the principles established by the early Spanish master Antonio de Torres and are built in the "Granada School" - light in weight and very responsive.  I have also been influenced by the Spanish master luthier Antonio Marin Montero and the English maker Kevin Aram who has been particularly helpful to me.

Flamenco guitars are influenced by Marcel Barbero and Manuel Reyes of which I have repaired several examples.  My Flamenco guitars are available in the traditional Cypress 'Blanca' or the 'Negra' version in Rosewood which has also found a home in the  "Fusion music" of jazz, salsa and World music.

The Baroque guitar was made at the request of Raymond Burley and is loosely based on the Baroque guitar made by Antonio Stradivari about 1680.  It has five courses (ten strings) with pegs and has a raised fingerboard with metal frets and a bridge with bone saddle - really quite unlike a traditional Baroque guitar, however it plays like a Classical guitar and sounds just like a Baroque!

My finger-style  Acoustic guitar, designed and built for Gordon Giltrap, follows a similar design and construction philosophy to my classical and flamenco guitars, resulting in a very light and responsive instrument.

I recently designed and made a 'Requinto' size guitar for Gordon which can be seen here and on Gordon's website here.

Every guitar that I build is special and individual.  I make as many parts as possible myself from raw materials and design and make my own rosettes, purflings and bindings and do all my own finishing.  Your guitar will be truly handmade by one pair of hands - mine.

Repairs

I undertake a limited number of  repairs, restorations and modifications for numerous amateur and professional musicians.  I specialise in recommending and fitting pickup systems to all types of acoustic guitars.

I am also the recommended luthier for Stafford Classical Guitar.  Please contact me by ‘phone or e-mail (digital pictures can be helpful) for a 'no obligation' estimate.