Welcome to the website of James Lister Classical Guitars. Each guitar is hand made in the Spanish tradition, and to the highest standards, in my workshop in Sheffield, England.

My principal aim as a classical guitar maker is to build instruments that are sensitive to the touch, allowing the player to express their own musicality, and not be dominated by the character of the guitar itself. My guitars are light and responsive, with excellent clarity and separation. Built mainly in the tradition of Torres, most of my guitars are made to a consistent design based on a 1938 Hauser, but incorporating a slightly modified strutting pattern.

Each guitar is handbuilt to meet the customer's requirements, using top quality tonewoods throughout. European Spruce is normally used for the top and Indian rosewood for the back and sides of the guitar. Alternative tonewoods are available, for example the birds-eye maple guitar shown in Gallery 2. Gallery 1 shows the Hauser model with rosewood back and sides, and Danish oil finish, and Gallery 3 the Hauser guitar in Brazilian rosewood, with V-joint and French polish finish. Visit Gallery 4 for images of a rare cedar top classical guitar, with Brazilian rosewood back and sides.

In addition to classical guitars, I also make handbuilt flamenco guitars. Spanish cypress is normally used for the back and sides of the guitar, although rosewood is an option. Traditional wooden peg tuners can be fitted (ebony or rosewood) as an alternative to machine heads. This instrument is made to a design based on the great flamenco guitars of Santos Hernandez. Visit Gallery 5 for images of a cypress flamenco guitar, with ebony peg tuners and Danish oil finish.

The Samples page contains audio files of two classical guitars and one flamenco. Visit the Ordering page for pricing and details of any currently available guitars. Most of my guitars now use 12-hole tie-blocks, click here for instructions on how to tie these correctly. If you would like to know more about my guitars, please contact me by e-mail or phone, details on the Contact page.

Last updated on: 10/12/09