Methods Of Construction and Materials

My guitars are constructed and in a controlled, dry atmosphere using only the finest and carefully selected seasoned tonewoods.

I use European spruce for the soundboards and Brazilian or Indian rosewood for the backs and sides, though I personally prefer Brazilian for its superior density and visual beauty. I have also used flamed maple and bird's eye maple as an alternative to the rosewoods which apart from being very beautiful when finished, produces a slightly dryer tone in the completed instrument.

Necks are Honduras mahogany or cedar and the heads are fitted using the traditional 'V' joint. The heads are faced with ebony or Brazilian rosewood and the centre joint is often inlaid with strips of decorative veneers to match the rosette. The head angle to the neck, at 9 degrees, is fairly shallow but combined with a slightly thicker soundboard creates the ideal string tension. Also the fingerboards are adjusted so that the bass side tapers down slightly towards the soundhole. This allows the height of the strings above the soundboard to remain the same at the bridge and contributes to the ease of playing.

For my standard concert guitar I have adopted a traditional strutting design derived from Torres (seven fan struts and two diagonal bars) and Hauser 1 (thin plate under the bridge). In 'La Suprema' the lower harmonic bar has cutouts which allow the outer fan struts to run up to the soundhole reinforcement. All struts and bars are quarter sawn and from split billets, and using a solera (dished workboard), attached only when the ambient relative humidity is around 40%, ensuring that the correct doming of the soundboard is achieved in the finished instrument.

The top linings are made up of separate blocks and the bottom linings are of bent spruce.

The fret slots are cut on a machine I designed myself, using templates produced with the aid of computer technology. The fret positions are therefore consistently accurate and intonation is as perfect as practically possible.

Over the past couple of years I have used the 12 hole system for tying strings to the bridge. Apart from the obvious improvement in maintaining a constant break angle over the saddle, I've found that it's possible to subtly adjust the tension of any string and also the way it sounds by reverting to the usual tying method. Try it yourself!

All inlays are made individually and usually differ from one guitar to another, though there are decorative themes running throughout such as the fine wheatsheaf herringbone reminiscent of Torres. I tend to prefer natural 'woody' inlays though I've been known to splash out with colour now and then!

Having experimented with various finishes over the years I am convinced that french polish is unquestionably the most beautiful as well as being relatively easy to repair and maintain. I apply it in the traditional way using only freshly mixed 'Luna' pale shellac polish.