Back In The Shop and wandering around the old continent

I'm back in the shop and plugging along after the GFA convention and the first real vacation that I've taken in years. Three weeks wandering around Austria, Germany, France and Italy. Visited my old house in France, swam in as many lakes as possible, did a little nostalgic hiking around the Puy de Dome and slept on a Volcano.

Now, I'm picking up where I left off with this cedar concert model and starting a new batch of custom Torres models for various clients and hopefully one for myself. Finally!

GFA Convention

The convention came and went so quickly that it almost seems like it never happened. Got to see a lot of old friends, meet some new ones, talk shop with other luthiers, hear my guitars played by some amazing guitarists and see some AMAZING concerts. I didn't get to see everything because I had to man my table, but I managed to catch Raphaella Smits, Fabio Zanon, Duo Melis, Michael Nicolella, Judicael Perroy and Thibaut Garcia. All really great concerts!

It was also a treat to catch up with my old teacher Robert Ruck, see him give a lecture and be inducted in to the GFA Hall of Fame. Congratulations! Also, congratulations to all of the competition finalists.

Of course there was also a lot of celebrating and drinking at the end of each night and into the morning; at the Augustine reception, Marshall Brune, Max Sipe and I were practically cornered and handed glass after glass of the most expensive Scotch and tequila they had - not such a bad problem to have!

Guitars for 2016 GFA Convention in Denver

Looking forward to the GFA convention coming up in Denver next week. Very excited to show these two new guitars that I'm becoming attached to. These are two very traditional sounding Spanish guitars. Light, low cavity resonances, big variety of timbres, balanced, loose basses and just enough stiffness for clarity, complexity and good projection.

Also very excited to see some old friends, new friends and some great concerts. Make sure to check out one of my old teachers Michael Nicolella on Friday afternoon!

Torres Model

  • European Spruce top
  • Peruvian walnut back and sides
  • Spanish cedar neck/Ebony fingerboard
  • Hand engraved Alessi tuners
  • 650mm scale length
  • 51mm nut width

Torres/Romanillos Model:

  • European Spruce top
  • Indian Rosewood back and sides
  • Spanish cedar neck/Ebony fingerboard
  • Hand engraved Alessi tuners
  • 650mm scale length
  • 51mm nut width

Settling In

Finished up the final polish and strung up this guitar the other day. I've been letting the strings stretch out and settle in. I spent some time with it this morning while waiting for some glue to dry on another instrument; this is one of my favorite guitars to date. Elegant, lively, light and balanced. European spruce soundboard, Indian rosewood back and sides, Spanish cedar neck, East Indian ebony fret board, hand engraved Alessi tuners with ebony buttons.

Its Peruvian walnut counterpart is hot on its heels. Just waiting for tuners.

First Coats of Shellac

Finally started getting some finish on these two guitars the other day. The Peruvian walnut back is very striking! The figure popped even more than I imagined. Excited to show these two off at the GFA in Denver next month.

On and On and On...

Finally back in a groove after taking some much needed time off from the shop. These guys are getting closer every day. Excited to get some finish on them.

Finished Rosettes

Finally finished up the new Romanillos inspired rosette that I've been working on. Very happy with how it turned out. A lot of rosewood, maple, mahogany, birch, walnut and boxwood. I've admired this thing on Julian Bream's guitar since I was a little kid, so it was kind of fun to make one and see all of the work that goes into it. It's meant to depict the arches from the famous Alhambra in Granada, Spain.

Finished Guitars for NW Handmade Musical Instrument Exhibit

Got these two new guitars strung up and photographed for the show in Portland this weekend. A new Torres model and a standard Concert model, both with European spruce, Indian rosewood back and sides, Spanish cedar necks, ebony fingerboards, Gotoh premium tuners and new fancy labels letterpress printed by the lovely folks at Evolution Press in Ballard. Looking forward to the show!

For more info: http://www.nwmusicalinstrumentshow.org/

Romanillos Tribute Rosette

While I've been waiting for the finish on a couple of new guitars to fully dry, I've been messing around with ideas for the next few. I finally had to try my hand at a copy of the iconic arches designed by Jose Romanillos. I've admired this rosette since I was a teenager. I think that it is the most ingenious, relevant and still tasteful bit of inlay work of any living guitar builder. It's also very time consuming to recreat, but a fun challenge.

He recently published a book that details much of this and a whole host of other useful things regarding his approach to guitar building. I highly recommend ordering it:

http://www.romanillosguitarbooks.com/

Congratulations to 2016 Northwest Solo Classical Guitar Competition Winners

Congrats to all of the winners of this year's Northwest Solo Classical Guitar Competition and a special shout-out to Lucas Victor who won second place in the youth division using one of my guitars!

In other news, I got bridges glued on two guitars today for the upcoming Northwest Handmade Musical Instrument Exhibit. I still have a final French polishing session to do, but take great care in protecting the initial bodying layer so as to avoid as much unnecessary fussing as possible!