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My interest in the classical guitar was first as a player, but the pleasure and challenge of working with wood lured me away from my career in physics and engineering to study instrument making full time.
I began establishing my own workshop whilst studying classical guitar making at Newark and Sherwood College under the tuition of Roy Courtnall and Tony Johnson, where I received The Ashley Mark Publishing Classical Guitar Prize for most outstanding student. Prior to this, I studied Musical Instrument Technology for 2 years at the London Guildhall University (formerly the London College of Furniture), where my first tutor was David Whiteman.
Many of the skills acquired from my previous career are of equal importance in building handmade classical guitars, such as precision measurements and attention to detail. A scientific approach can also be useful, although in making a fine guitar, I believe there are limits to how far this can be taken. Ultimately there is no substitute for the 'feel' and 'ear' of a good maker.
I now teach classical guitar making two days a week at Newark College in Nottinghamshire.
My principal aim as a classical guitar maker is to build instruments that are sensitive to the touch, to allow the player to express their own musicality, and not be dominated by the character of the guitar itself. The best classical guitars will sound good when played by anyone of reasonable musical ability, but the tones produced will be determined by both the style of the player and the guitar itself.
Built mainly in the tradition of Torres, most of my guitars are made to a consistent design based on a 1938 Hauser, but incorporating my own aesthetic ideas, and a slightly modified strutting pattern.
The guitars are light and responsive, with good clarity and separation. My aim is for a warm sound, but to allow the player to produce a brighter tone when required. The guitar should also have a good balance between the fundamental note and the overtones, producing a sustain with a smooth decay.
Ease of playing is an important consideration, and is achieved by attention to detail in shaping the neck, finishing the fingerboard and frets, and accurate setting of the action, adjusted when required to the particular needs of the player.
The visual aspect of my guitars is relatively simple, allowing the grain and colour of the particular woods used to determine the visual impact of the guitar, a theme echoed in the design of the rosette and bridge decoration. Traditional finishes are used, either French polish or oil finish, which tend to enhance the natural beauty of the wood.
Top quality European spruce is used for the front, and normally Indian rosewood for the back and sides. Maple (either flamed or birds-eye) can be used as an alternative to rosewood, producing a slightly different tone from the instrument. Cedar is used for the neck, and Brazilian rosewood for the bridge. The upper bout width is 284mm, and the lower bout 368mm. The standard scale length is 650mm, and the fingerboard width 51mm at the nut, and 61mm at the 12th fret. Action is normally set to 4mm on the bass side, and 3mm on the treble side. One of the many advantages of buying a handmade guitar is that these dimensions can be adjusted to suit the player's individual requirements. I also have available a small stock of aged European spruce tops, mostly over 25 years old, as well as some old Brazilian rosewood sets. I also have available at the moment back and sides sets in Ziricote, Walnut and Kingwood.
Most of my classical guitars are now built using a Hauser I body shape, but with a slightly modified strutting pattern. This design is an attempt to produce a similar tone to my earlier standard Hauser model, but with a little more 'sparkle', and greater projection. Results have been very pleasing, with very favourable comments from (amongst others) Mark Ashford and Christopher Stell.
I now make my bridges with a 12-hole tie block as standard. This design has the advantage that the break angle of the strings over the saddle is increased, and is also more consistent. It also looks very neat, and the strings are more secure (if tied correctly). I have now written a tutorial with pictures showing how this should be done. Click here to see the tutorial.
All of my guitars now incorporate as standard a graphite-epoxy re-inforcing bar to improve the stability of the neck, without changing the external appearance.
I also make handmade flamenco guitars, based on those of Santos Hernandez. Cypress is normally used for the back and sides, although rosewood is an option. Traditional peg tuners can be fitted if required (ebony or rosewood), and transparent golpeador plates are fitted to protect the top. These guitars are very light and responsive, and have a lower action, and lower string height at the bridge. My aim with the flamenco guitars is to produce an instrument which is easy to play, with a slightly narrower and thinner neck, and which has a fast attack, but less sustain.
James Lister