Question 1

What kind of instrument can I ask you to make?

Accepted Answer

Basically almost any fretted stringed instrument is at least a possibility. Most of my instruments have been 6-string guitars (small and large-bodied, and parlours), but I have also made traditional (Hawaiian style, nylon string) and 'jazz' (steel string) ukuleles, an octave mandolin and a double-neck guitar/mandolin.

I have made electric guitars and basses too; I prefer now to concentrate on acoustic instruments. But contact me anyway if you are interested in an electric!

Question 2

What kind of elements and customization can I choose for myself?

Accepted Answer

I give you a pretty free choice of not only the woods your instrument will be made of and its size and shape, but also things like inlay design on the headstock, fretboard and body, rosettes, purflings and bindings, soundholes and soundports and so on. The idea is that the instrument should be individual and meaningful to you: there will be no other like it.

This is of course a two-way process during the design stage and even later on - I will help you and guide you where needed, but the end result will be an instrument which is uniquely yours.

Question 3

Can I decide on the kind of sound it will have?

Accepted Answer

Yes. 
I tend to build lightly, which leads to naturally lively, loud instruments (which can of course be played softly!) with plenty of 'headroom'. If a warmer, more mellow sound is preferred, this can be accomplished by choosing particular woods and making small changes in the build process.

Question 4

What will I pay?

Accepted Answer

As each instrument I make is a unique build, I do not have a standard price list. The price I ask will be dependent on the features of your instrument.

Having said this, I am not an internationally-known big name. I try hard not to over-hype my instruments but, in all honesty, they are very good. I neither can nor will charge a small fortune for what I build. I want above all that it will be a treasured item for you and perhaps, later, others. It will be a fair price.

Question 5

What are the model names in your photos if you don't have a fixed range of products?

Accepted Answer

My first guitar I called the 'Totnes' after the little town I was in when I learned how to build it. It is a small-bodied guitar, chosen because I already had a biggish Taylor. Several people who have seen it have liked the size and shape so much that they wanted their guitar to be based on it. I've built half a dozen of them, but all quite different in their look.

Chosing an already-existing form is never an obligation, however. Customers wanting a different size and shape from anything I have built before are encouraged to work with me to develop something which pleases them. We then decide on a name for the model: again, this is often something meaningful to that customer, but I have kept to the convention of making the name something geographical. Not necessarily a town name, it can be an area, street or house name or some other geographical feature, such as a river, mountain, forest etc.

At the end of the day it is useful to me (and potentially to future customers) to have a designation of some sort for a form that I build, for ease of referral, and the first customer for that shape has a say in what its name will be for ever more...!

GARLAND

Hand-built stringed instruments

Heirloom potential through emotional connection

FAQ

What kind of instrument can I ask you to make?

What kind of elements and customization can I choose for myself?

Can I decide on the kind of sound it will have?

What will I pay?

What are the model names in your photos if you don't have a fixed range of products?