1. Why do you build in the tradition of Torres? Specifically the 1938 Hauser?

When I first started playing and listening to classical guitar, the sound I connected with was coming from traditionally built guitars – the guitars of Segovia and Bream, and this really was the sound I’ve always searched for, initially as a player, and then later as a luthier.

Whilst studying at Newark College, I played a guitar made by Gary Southwell. It was one of his Hauser copies, and at the time it was for me the best guitar I had ever played. It had beautiful, deep, resonant basses, and sweet trebles. At this point I had only made a few instruments, a few based on the guitars of Torres, and one based on a Bouchet, with the large transverse bar directly below the saddle. The Hauser copy seemed to combine the best qualities of these guitars, with the warmth and sweetness of the Torres, and the projection and clarity of the Bouchet. I was very pleased with the first few Hauser based guitars I made, and so decided to stick with this design.

I believe it is important to concentrate on a single design when you’re starting out making classical guitars. There are so many variables affecting the final sound of a guitar that it becomes almost impossible to understand what is going on if you change some element of the design on every guitar.

2. What have you modified to the original design?

After sticking fairly closely to the original Hauser strutting pattern for a few years, I started trying a modified strutting pattern based on a suggestion from a fellow luthier. The design adds two transverse struts to the basic fan strut design (and in place of the Hauser bridge plate). The first guitar made with this pattern was a great success, retaining all the warmth and strong bass response of my earlier Hauser based guitars, but adding more projection, improving separation, and more brightness in the trebles. It has now reached the point where I will probably stop referring to this guitar as a “Hauser model”, as the only remaining element that is identical to the original design is the plantilla.

3. How has your background in physics and engineering effected your building of guitars?

I wouldn’t say that I take a scientific approach to my guitar building. I do measure critical properties of the tonewoods I use, and check the resonant frequencies of completed instruments, but this is mostly in an effort to improve consistency, rather than trying to analyse how the guitar works, and make changes based on the results. I think that musical instruments in general are too complex a system to benefit from a rigorous scientific approach. Other makers have tried to build guitars this way, but for me, none of them have made any great advances.

A general understanding of engineering concepts can certainly be helpful, but again, to take a purely engineering based approach to building guitars would be to miss the point. I’m currently making a very experimental guitar, and using more of an engineering approach. To be honest, I’m not expecting it to be a great guitar (at least not at first), but I’m hoping to learn a lot from how it does perform, and from the changes I expect to have to make to it after it is completed!

One of the things I like about making classical guitars is that there is not much agreement amongst players as to what the perfect guitar should sound like. This gives me the freedom to aim to make guitars that are “perfect” for me as a player, with the knowledge that there will be plenty of other players out there who are looking for the same qualities.

4. You now teach two days a week at Newark College. How has this new venture enhanced your understanding of guitar building?

I’ve been teaching at Newark for over 5 years now, and there are a number of benefits. Most significantly, it gets me out of the workshop for 2 days a week, and gives me the opportunity to discuss guitar making with the students, and the other tutors. Luthiery can be a very solitary business, and it can be difficult to maintain your focus and motivation if you’re working on your own in the workshop 5 days a week. From time to time, you also pick up new ideas from the students. Of course, many students will have ideas about guitar making that they think will be revolutionary in some way, and few of them come to anything, but being in that environment keeps you on your toes, and stops your thinking becoming too stale.

5. For our readers that may not know, why do you choose to use a 12-hole tie block for the strings?

I had had a guitar in the workshop for some set-up work, and needed to lower the bridge to get the action to a reasonable height. The only way I could maintain a reasonable break angle over the saddle was to convert the bridge to 12 holes. It worked well, so I started to use them as standard on all my guitars, unless requested otherwise. 12-hole (and 18-hole) tie blocks not only increase the break angle, but also make the break angle more consistent across all the strings. They also look neat, and are easier to tie once you know how.

6. Why do you choose to use a graphite-epoxy re-inforcement in the neck instead of an adjustable truss rod as other builders are beginning to use?

The graphite epoxy bars add stiffness and stability to the neck, without adding any significant amount of weight, and I don’t really see the need for an adjustable truss rod on a nylon strung guitar. If the neck is stable, then the action shouldn’t change, and in my experience there aren’t many players who are interested in adjusting the action of their guitars on a regular basis. Of course, as more makers fit adjustable truss rods, players may get used to the idea of this extra convenience and start demanding it more. If this happens, I think I’m more likely to offer an adjustable neck system than a truss rod. The experimental guitar mentioned before will also have an adjustable neck, similar to the one used by Gary Southwell on his A series guitar which is based on a Stauffer design. This allows the action to be adjusted without changing the amount of relief built into the neck.

7. How do the challenges differ from making your classical guitars to making your flamenco guitars? In what ways do you approach it differently and similarly?

The main additional challenge when it comes to building a flamenco guitar is that I don’t play flamenco, and so I don’t have as clear an idea of the sound I’m aiming for. I try to make the whole guitar lighter (although my classical guitars are already very light by most standards), and in particular I thickness the top differently to give a faster attack, and less sustain. It also seems that flamenco players agree even less than classical players about what they want from their guitars! For example, some flamenco players talk about wanting a really low action, with plenty of fret noise when they strike the strings hard, while others seem to want a cleaner sound.

8. Do you give any consideration to the string choice for your instruments?

Generally I like to stick with the same strings for all of my guitars as it is important when assessing the guitars that I minimise the variables. I’m currently using D’Addario normal or hard tension strings. I find these work well with my guitars, helping to get the most warmth from the basses, and the sweet treble tone I’m looking for. They are also the best strings I’ve tried in terms of reliability and consistency. I’ve experimented with a few other string makes and types, and I’m always looking for something better, particularly for the third string, which is always difficult to balance with the other trebles.

9. What are your thoughts on the new wave of builders using elevated fretboards, sound ports, and other newly developed technologies?

I’m a bit of a traditionalist really, and I’m not a great fan of elevated fretboards or soundports. I don’t have anything against new innovations, but for me it comes down to knowing that I can get everything I want from a guitar with traditional construction. I do think it’s a shame that many luthiers seem to feel the need to put so much effort into trying out every new idea that comes along, sometimes without fully understanding what is involved.

A good example of this is lattice bracing. When Greg Smallman guitars started to become popular, many makers started using lattice bracing in place of traditional fan strutting, without really understanding that the bracing pattern was only a very small part of Smallman’s concept, which basically was to mount the lightest possible membrane on a very heavy and rigid frame surrounding the lower bout – the lattice bracing was just his idea of the best solution to support a really thin top.

New materials certainly have their place, and I like the increased stability I get from the graphite-epoxy neck reinforcements, but one of the reasons I started making guitars was because I loved working with wood, and for me the joy would go out of it if I was using too many hi-tech materials.

10. How do you take your coffee or tea?

I try to keep my caffeine intake fairly low, so I drink redbush tea, and mostly de-caffeinated coffee, both with milk, and neither with sugar. If I’m out and about I’ll sometimes treat myself to a foamy latte – preferably with an almond croissant or a chocolate muffin!

11. How do you relax and unwind?

I live fairly close to the Peak District National Park in the heart of England, so I like to go walking in the hills with my family. My main other escape is playing the guitar, which might not seem like much of an escape, but I think it’s important for me to connect with the guitar on that level. Sometimes at the end of a long day, if I haven’t got the energy to pick up the guitar, I’ll just collapse in front of the TV or listen to some music. In the summer months I do some off road cycling, but I can’t bring myself to go out in the mud and the rain, so I don’t get as much exercise as I should in the winter.

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