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ACOUSTIC&CLASSICAL Issue 4 2012

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GUITARBENCH
EDITOR: Terence Tan
CO-EDITOR: Jessica Pau
SALES/MARKETING: Jessica Pau
PROOF READER: Doug Shaker
Contributing Writers: Anton Emery
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Copyright ©2012. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction in whole
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EDITORSNOTE
Thank you for looking over the final issue of
Guitarbench Magazine for 2012!
We’ve taken your feedback over the past 9
months very seriously. As a result, we think
that this bumper edition with added lessons
from guitar supremos Ken Bonfield and Michael
Watts and more featured guitar builds is our
best yet. And we hope you enjoy it!
Issue 4 also represents our last free edition
as we move towards nominal subscription
fees. Our magazine isn’t perfect but we’d like
to continue to improve on it and to continue
publishing content you’ll enjoy. To do so, we
need your help to fund the publication!
Please help support this magazine to stay
in publication for 2013. Even a simple $5
subscription would tremendously helpful and
appreciated as it would help us to continue
producing quality articles for your enjoyment!

Issue 3 We’re very happy to be able to offer some great

Published by: T.TAN perks as thanks for your donations, these are
Photograph/ Art Work:T.Tan, E.Devine, C.Woods, T.Klassen, A.Manson, A.Emery,
listed in the following pages.
M.Doolin, C.Moore, E.Mcmeen, B.Tippin, K.Bonfield, M.Watts, H.Fleishman, Blue-g,
J.Greven
Terence Tan,
Editor.

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CONTENTS
INTERVIEWS
Mike Doolin x-x
Chuck Moore x-x
El McMeen x-x

LESSONS
Celtic Guitar Masterclass with Anton
Emery: Arranging Celtic Music for
Guitar x-x
Ken Bonfield’s Artistry of the Guitar:
Maintaining the Beginner’s Mind Set
x-x

Tone Obsession with Michael Watts:

A for Attack x-x
 FEATURES
Knowledge: Soundholes x-x
Tonewood: Cuban Mahogany x-x
A New Era: Larson Bros reproduction x-x
Andy Manson’s Sonic Beauty 1x-x
Jay Lichty’s Cuban Mahogany OM x-x
Bill Tippin’s El McMeen Signature Model x-x
Alphomega: Completing a Master’s work x-x
Workbench: Greven Guitars x-x
Different Strings: Devine Ukulele 1x-x

REVIEWS
Paramita x
In Winter x
Red Planet x
A N E W E R A?
Tony Klassen’s Larson Bros. tribute
The Euphonon Round Shoulder Deluxe. It is quite the guitar by Tony
Klassen of New Era guitars!

Tony says: “I love the tone the deep body offers. Especially on my
Larson builds. Larsons tend to be very strong in the midrange and the
deep body warms it up a bit without losing any of the punch in the
midrange and trebles. Cocobolo is one of my favourite tone woods
despite how difficult it is to work with. Very toxic and oily. The sustain
with this wood is incredible and helps add depth to the bass response.”
Photos courtesy of T.Klassen
Some Specs

25.5” scale
1-3/4” nut
2-5/16” bridge spacing
Ebony board, Bridge and
Headstock overlay.
Wide grain Adirondack Red
Spruce top with a vintage top
tint.
Dark Cocobolo back & sides.
3 piece Mahogany neck with
Indian Rosewood center strip.
Deluxe peal vine in headstock.
Fancy pearl inlay in pickguard
by Larry Robinson. Icing on the
cake!
KNOWLEDGE
Guitar Anatomy - Soundholes
If you have been seeing a lot of interesting
modern guitars with a lot of unusual
soundholes, you may be wondering what they
are all about. Your guitar probably has one big
hole in the middle of the guitar.
Although most guitars have always had, and still
do have, one centred soundhole, that orthodoxy
is changing. As with most unconventional ideas,
there is much misinformation and conjecture
about the purpose and effect of multiple
soundholes.
I shifted the soundhole to the upper bout
initially in the eighties to increase the
uninterrupted area of my guitars’ and basses’
tops. Later, after studying the research of
Helmholtz, I experimented with dividing the
hole into two, unevenly sized, smaller holes.
To understand the double soundhole it is
useful to first understand the function of the
Harry Fleishman
soundhole of a conventional guitar. The term
soundhole has led most people to believe that
most of the sound of a guitar comes from the
hole in the top. In fact, if one covers the hole
only the low register is strongly affected. This
is because the soundhole is actually a low
frequency port, not so different from the bass
port on a bass reflex speaker cabinet.
Each aspect of the design of a guitar contributes
to its tone. However the cavity resonance is
based on a simple mathematical formula and can
be set independently of the “voice” of the guitar,
though it will, of course, have some effect on the
voice.
We can either use the following formulae to
calculate the Helmoltz resonance of the guitar’s
body, or we can make educated guesses based on
similarly sized existing guitars. The Helmholtz
resonance is the natural lowest range of the
cavity, in this case the guitar body.
Essentially, it is the lowest note the guitar can
support with an output that is balanced with the
rest of the instrument. There are tricks we can use
to fool the ear, but that is for another article.
H =(C/2π) x (√a/V)
H is the resonance frequency
a is the area of opening
V is the volume of the box, the guitar body.
C = speed of sound = 344 meters per second (1140 ft./ sec)
a = area of soundhole = pi X radius squared
V = volume of air in guitar body
Simply stated, (unlike the formulae above) a larger
box has a lower resonance frequency, all other
things being equal.
The soundhole diameter is the second defining
feature controlling cavity resonance. A smaller
soundhole leads to a lower cavity resonance, which
most people find counter intuitive. As we will see,
this is due to friction, believe it or not!
Multiple soundholes can be added up in area (up
to a point) and each will have its own resonance
frequency with the box. This is based on
Helmholtz’ work (about 1900!). The total will also
have a frequency. Done correctly, the combination
will have an audibly deeper and flatter response
curve than the individual holes would have had.
Raising the resonance frequency improves
miking and recording characteristics, but makes
the guitar seem thinner to the player. Opening
the access panel or having many openings can
do this. Sometimes this less “bassy” voice is
advantageous.
Here’s what is happening, without all the math.
When air is compressed in a cavity, the pressure
inside increases. Once this force of air in the
cavity disappears, the higher-pressure air inside
will flow out.
However, this surge of air flowing out will tend to
over-compensate, due to the inertia of the air in
the body, and the cavity will be left at a pressure
slightly lower than the outside, causing air to
be drawn back in. This process repeats with the
magnitude of the pressure changes decreasing
each time.
This is what effects the sustain of low notes.
What slows down this in and out flow of air is
the friction of the column of air as it tries to go
through the soundhole.
Although it seems counter intuitive, a larger hole
raises the inherent resonance of the cavity; a
smaller one lowers it. People often cite Clarence
White’s Martin, with its enlarged soundhole, as
an example of a larger hole having more bass.
In fact, it is the ability to play closer to the mic
because of less bass that gives it that extra punch.

All of the above relationships are separate from

the effect of the mass of the top and back and the
way they affect sustain, and reflection, as well as
absorption of energy.

By dividing the hole into two smaller, unequal

holes, we may use the ideas from Helmholtz to
both lower the range of the bass frequencies the
guitar is capable of producing, and to flatten
out the pronounced peak normally present in
acoustic guitars. This is especially valuable in
controlling the boominess or evenness of the low
register.

If the soundhole would normally be 78 square

centimetres, we may divide it into two smaller
holes, 31 and 47 square centimeters respectively.
As discussed earlier the smaller soundhole will
provide a lower cavity resonance than the larger,
and the two combined will have the resonance
of the original, combining to form an overall
lower, flatter response than any of the three
individually. You can picture three small hills,
instead of one big mountain.

An additional benefit of multiple smaller holes

is the increased freedom to brace without the
holes in the way. When I first began to move the
hole I simply let the brace jump across the hole.
Soon I realized that I could brace in new, more Harry Fleishman is an accomplished
interesting ways, with more ability to control the
voice of the guitar.
luthier based in California. In addition
to his work as a custom luthier he
By placing the smaller hole toward the treble spends considerable time teaching
side, that area could be relieved or cutaway to in his world famous Luthiers School
provide access to higher frets.
International. He can be reached at:
By playing around with the soundhole sizes we fleishmaninstruments.com or by clicking
can adjust the low register of a guitar, emphasize on the image above!
some frequencies, or reduce bass to improve the
way the guitar sounds on microphone. There
is a lot more to learn about soundholes; I listen
forward to hearing what luthiers come up with
in the future.
SPONSORS
We wouldn’t be able to produce this magazine without their
generous help. Please take a moment to view their services!
TONEWOOD
Cuban Mahogany
Swietenia Mahogani
Quick Facts
Scientific name: Swietenia Mahogani
Trade names: Cuban Mahogany
Janka: 740
Uses: Back & sides, drop tops, necks
Bling factor: Curl is uncommon.
Availability: Very limited usually from
storm downed stock.
CITES status: listed in appendix II

Natural History

Cuban Mahogany is a very close relative of Honduran Mahogany but has a native range from
Florida to Cuba and Jamaica. The semi-evergreen tree is slightly smaller than its mainland brother
[S.Macrophyllia] growing to 35 metres tall.

Status

Due to intensive logging, Cuban mahogany has no longer been commercially available since the 1950s.
However, a few small, well established plantations exist in its natural range and abroad.

This issue’s model for Cuban

Mahogany is a Devine Ukulele
and a Lichty OM. Both are
featured later in this issue,
please read on! Photos
courtesy of Eric Devine and
Jay Lichty.
Physical properties

Cuban Mahogany is a light pink when fresh, oxidising to deep rich red. It is easy to work with hand
or machine tools and takes a excellent polish. Compared to Honduran Mahogany, Cuban is easier
to work with. It has a closer, finer grain and carves beautifully. It is seen in various figures, with curl,
quilt and wavy grain, although these are now rare.

Basic specific gravity (oven dry weight/green volume) 0.40 to 0.68; air- dry density 30 to 52 pcf.
Janka side hardness 740 lb for green material and 800 lb for dry.

As a tonewood…

Cuban mahogany has a long history as a tonewood for necks as well as tops, back and sides. With
easy workability and ability to take a beautiful finish, it is a popular tonewood for small and major
manufacturers.

Subjective tone…

Cuban Mahogany tends to be denser than Honduran and hence has more rosewood-like qualities,
with a better developed midrange and low end.

Availability

Plantations occasionally yield logs wide enough for guitar sets, although old growth timber is now on
the CITES appendix II. Although raw timber trade is regulated, finished articles can be traded freely.
SPONSOR FEATURE
Luthier: Jay Lichty
OM
This guitar was custom built for Shohei Toyoda. He was the 2012 winner of Japan’s National
Fingerstyle Guitar Competition for best player and best arrangement, all the while playing his Cuban
mahogany Lichty guitar in the competition. Shohei had a very specific sound he was going for and
Jay felt that the combination of Cuban mahogany and a Lutz top would be the right combo, along
with an LR Baggs pick-up. Shohei was completely thrilled with his guitar so it all worked out great.
Specs
Back and Sides: Cuban mahogany
Top: Lutz spruce
Neck: Mahogany
Binding: Curly maple binding
Rosette: Redwood burl
Headplate: Redwood burl
Tuners: Gotoh 510
Options: side sound port, LR
Baggs Anthem pick-up
Photos courtesy of C.Woods
Celtic Guitar Masterclass with Anton Emery
Arranging Celtic Music For Guitar

Welcome to Guitarbench Issue Four and the next instalment of the Celtic Guitar
column. In this edition I want to look at the process I use when arranging tunes and
talk about a simple arrangement of the South Wind.

Arranging Celtic music for guitar can be a very satisfying endeavour. Many of these
beautiful melodies are hundreds of years old, if not older. How can we respect the
tradition of the music while giving them a new and fresh voice on the guitar? Let’s
look at some basic musical and technical considerations.

1. Step away from the guitar. Once I hear a tune I want to arrange, I will find a
recording of it on one of the traditional instruments. Usually that is something like
the fiddle, flute, pipes or whistle. Ideally I like to listen to a fairly stripped down
arrangement, just an instrument or two. It’s easier for me to hear the melody and what
is going on.

2. Listen, listen, listen. I put the track on my iPod and in my car and, play it over and
over. I want to get the melody ingrained in my ear to the point where I can hum or
hear it without listening to the recording. Listening is also the best way to get the
subtle lilt and rhythm of Celtic music under your skin.
 “Listening is also the
best way to get the
subtle lilt and rhythm of
Celtic music under your
skin.”

3. Now it’s time to learn the melody on the
guitar, preferably by ear. Celtic music is a
primarily aural tradition. Tunes are passed
down from player to player in kitchens, living
rooms, and pubs. Though there are many tune
books available these days I find the best use
of your time is learning by ear. Yes, the initial
learning curve may be difficult.
Once you get past that, you will be able to pick
up tunes faster, easier to retain and a lot more
fun to participate in a session. In a dark and
crowded pub there is no time to go flipping
through a tune book trying to find the right
piece of music.
If I am playing in G and using the Orkney
(CGDGCD) tuning I’ve got the root on the
open fifth string, the fourth note of the scale
on the open sixth string, and the fifth on the
open fourth string. That gives me the key bass
notes on open strings, leaving my left hand free
to tackle a complicated melody. If the melody
is difficult sometimes I will just drone a simple
bass line.
If I can I like to vary it with chord substitutions,
passing notes, and throwing in bass notes off the
beat. If its a slower piece like a harp tunes or an
air then we have room to add in a middle part or
perhaps take more variety with the bass.

Many of these tunes go by at a lightning quick
pace, so being able to slow down a recording
and keep it at pitch is helpful. Quicktime for the
Mac and Windows Media Player on Windows
have a feature to slow down mp3’s. If you want
to spend a little bit of money on software like
the Amazing Slow Downer allows you to loop
a section of music, and will also work with a
wider variety of audio formats.
4. Add in the bass part and inner voicings.
Once I have the melody down on guitar I will
start to map out the accompaniment parts.
Most Celtic tunes are based around fairly
simple chords and tend to stay in one key. So
often I will just play the bass part that revolves
around the chord changes. It can be handy
to have some open strings available for this,
especially on the jigs and reels.
5. Vary where you play the melody. Once I have
a basic arrangement fleshed out I like to fine
tune it. Perhaps some parts might sound better
on a different string up the neck for a warmer
tone. Are you playing most of the melody
linearly, with consecutive notes on the same
string? Perhaps some of that might sound better
harp style, with consecutive notes played on
different strings, allowing them to ring together
like a harp. How can you best hold down the
bass notes you need while juggling the melody?
6. Practice, practice, practice. After I get an
arrangement worked out it’s time to get it into
muscle memory. For me the best way is just
plenty of practice time. If I am having trouble
with a certain passage I will focus in on it and
worry less about the parts that are easy. This is
particularly beneficial when I am short on time.
The South Wind
I have tried to illustrate some of these things in my arrangement of the wonderful tune, The South
Wind. It has been covered by a number of guitarists and I have heard it in both G and D. I arranged
it here in G and it works well in the CGDGCD tuning without a capo. I have notated the tune once
through, taking some varieties the second time through the A and B parts to illustrate the concepts
discussed above.

The first time through the A part I am just plucking the accompaniment chords along with the
melody. Notice how the first pickup measure contains notes on adjacent strings. This is a small
example of the harp style technique- be sure to let those notes sustain into each other.

The second time through the A part starts at measure 8. Notice how I have chosen to play those
notes on the third string up the neck instead of on the open 1st and 2nd string. Instead of plucking
the chords this time through I have chose to appregiate them. An appregio is the notes of a chord
played in sequence. So you pluck the melody note and then appregiate the chord, being sure to let
the melody note sustain. Its just a simple thing but I think it adds a lot to the arrangement, especially
on melodies like this one that are sparser.

The B part starts in on measure 17. Instead of harmonizing that first G note with a G major chord
I have chosen to substitute in E minor, the relative minor. This kind of substitution is common and
darkens up the sound a bit. Measure 22 takes the melody up the third string and uses the open 4th
string as a middle voice. Compare that to measure 10 where we play the passage harp style, with the
addition of a harmonized bass line.

The South Wind is a good tune to start with because it’s a relatively simple melody that can be
arranged a number of ways. Experiment with other approaches, perhaps try a simple drone
accompaniment, or harmonize it with different chords in a different key/tuning. If you have any
questions feel free to reach me at http://www.celticfingerstyleguitar.com

Anton Emery lives in Portland

Oregon and plays guitar, flute,
and clawhammer banjo. He
enjoys playing at irish sessions
around town, teaching students,
and drinking far to much coffee.
CGDGCD Tuning
The South Wind Trad Arr. Anton Emery

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Sonic Beauty
Andy Manson’s take on Sonic Sitka

In May 2011, I received a package from the USA containing a bookmatched pair of Sitka spruce
boards. This was the introduction to my participation in a truly fascinating project. I was to be part
of a group of luthiers chosen to each build a guitar to their own design using a soundboard from
the same log of spruce. The finished guitars would then be subjected to technological inspection,
catalogued and kept accessible for further reference over many years to come. A recorded study
of the effect of age on the sound quality of guitars. This has always been a somewhat mythical
appreciation without hard evidence. When I was first accepted into the project I experienced some
apprehension as to whether I could come up to the mark, in such illustrious company. Well, the
wood arrived and as soon as I felt it and heard it's life, the way became clear. I spent a bit of time
visualising the potential, sonically and visually, and what type of guitar it could be.

It had the stiffness to allow for a fairly large instrument, and enough voice to give a strong treble
with plenty of space for the bottom end. Medium jumbo with cutaway, longish scale, .011” - .052”
phosphors. Since the spruce was so lively, let's keep it that way, with 100 year old reclaimed Indian
rosewood for the bridge and fingerboard. I didn't want to risk the 115 year old undocumented
Brazilian rosewood stock I have. I'd recently used some “blistered” maple with success, which
visually looks splendid and has a very compliant sonic nature, not to confusingly colour the spruce
tone.
An old Honduras mahogany door frame would make a nice lively neck, laminated with 5 mm black walnut
in the centre. Some tulip wood I've had for about 30 years for the binding would make a warm link between
the deep colour of the spruce,the pale maple and the rich red of the mahogany. Then, since I live in Portugal,
olive root for the head facing, a strip of it inset between purflings around the sound hole and front edge, and
a wedge of the same in the tail block inlay, just to finish it off.

Antique gold “Gotoh” tuners with black buttons, ebony bridge pins with pearl dots, pearl dots in the side of
the fingerboard and an ebony strap peg in the tail. Just a little pearl flourish in the twelfth fret, and, well, that
seemed to be the recipe defined.
I generally use cherry for the bridge plate, as I
have a lot of offcuts (I use cherry a lot for back and
sides), and it has all the right qualities. Sonically
good, strong, and doesn't split out much when
drilling the pin holes. As for gluing it all together,
I've used “Titebond original” for many years now,
so that's the adhesive. As a final touch, I've been
favouring a mottled green “Corian” for nut and
saddle of late. Wood looks nice with leaves on
it. This material I find to have very pure sonic
connection, without compromising the string and
wood sound.
You have to be careful with perfect bearing surfaces
to avoid crushing, but then I guess that should be
normal practice anyway. Sometimes I feel a harsh
white nut and saddle stand out visually a bit too
strongly.
To maintain the theme and keep things simple, the
truss rod cover to be of olive root, disappearing in
the headstock facing. And of course the finish. My
experience tells the best way to hear all of the wood
is with an oil finish. I've been using a preparation
of tung oil with some other natural ingredients
(strictly no petrochemicals or synthetics) with
excellent results.
So that was the recipe. As to method, I would maintain my usual practice, not wishing to introduce any
unknowns apart from the unusually stiff and lively Sitka top. Voicing the soundboard was really a matter of,
as usual, listening to the wood while shaping the sound bars, placed as I would under normal circumstances,
and continually assessing the stiffness in various areas while trimming the bars. I have to say, the whole
process of handling that spruce kept me thinking “if only I could have an ongoing stock of this.....”
Finally, on stringing up, the usual anti climax came over me, with a general sense of wondering
what on earth possessed me to imagine I know what I'm doing. This always happens, then I
shuffle off and drink coffee for a spell, returning half an hour later to find the instrument starting
to wake up- sit down with it and run through my party pieces. This guitar turned out, over the
next couple of days, to bring me to the belief that it is certainly the best I've made out of about
a thousand instruments in over forty years. It is improving daily. I would love to keep it, but
I would rather it went to someone who could really do it justice. Before that I have to make
a recording of its response to a controlled stimulus. This a requirement for the “Sonic Sitka”
project, and will be repeated periodically in years to come. The experience of building this guitar
has been enlightening for me, and reassuring that my expectation from first touch of the spruce
was realised. I now have to set an elevated standard for my work. I am grateful to Denis Merrill
and Terence Tan for facilitating this.

Andy Manson
Portugal

Photos courtesy of A.Manson

SPONSORS
We wouldn’t be able to produce this magazine without their
Handmade American Guitars
generous help. Please take a moment to view their services!
theacousticmusicco.co.uk
39 St James’s St Brighton 01273 671841

Handmade American Guitars

Over 50 in stock from £1595
The Acoustic Music Co has been offering hand made guitars and mandolins from North America since 2001.
I represent over fifty luthiers, over 150 instruments in stock, a dedicated playing room and free advice. All instruments are on my website.
These instruments are hand crafted by the finest luthiers working today. My shop, by the sea in Brighton, is open tues - sat 11 - 6. Prices from £1295.
T H E I N T E R V I E W:
MIKE DOOLIN
Thanks for taking the time to chat. Can we start at the beginning- how you got into lutherie?

I started out as a professional musician, but I’ve always modified and repaired my own guitars too.
I rewired guitars back in high school, then over the years I gradually took on more involved tasks,
such as truss rod adjustments, making nuts, setting intonation, refinishing, refretting and tremolo
installation. So, it was repairs and modifications for a long time, mostly just for myself, and almost all
on electric guitars since that’s what I played.

Then sometime in the late 80’s I heard Michael Hedges, and that inspired me to want to play acoustic
guitar. But since I was coming from playing electric guitars, I was accustomed to easy high fret
access. Practically all of my solo repertoire was unplayable on even a standard cutaway acoustic,
because the cutaways weren’t deep enough. So that got me thinking about a double-cutaway acoustic
guitar, and since there were none on the market that were to my liking, I realized I’d have to make
one myself.

Happily, I’d been friends with Jeff Elliott for years, so he was the obvious choice to ask for advice.
I got a copy of Cumpiano and Natelson’s “Guitarmaking: Tradition and Technology” and, over the
course of about 10 months, built my first acoustic guitar. This was in 1993.
How have been things progressed
since then?

At that time I was working as a

software engineer, but that career
was not to be. The long hours of
typing gave me chronic tendinitis
in my hands, so I had to quit.
That turned out to be a blessing in
disguise though, as it motivated
me to launch my guitar making
business.

I leveraged my computer knowledge

to write my web site and do my own
digital photography and ad design.
The timing was perfect too, since
1995 was right about the time that
everyone got Internet access and
discovered the World Wide Web.

I was one of the first luthiers to have

a web site, and I was able to get a
high search engine ranking. For
years, I would come up in the first
page on Google with a search for
"Handmade Acoustic Guitar".

I've also done a lot of writing, both

online and in print, for the Guild of
American Luthiers. That can really
boost your reputation, establishing
you as an expert simply by sharing
your knowledge.

I participated in online forums, I

wrote an "Ask the Luthier" column
for a friend's guitar teaching site,
and I published a lot of how-to
articles with the GAL. The best
thing you can do with information
is to give it away!

Another factor in my early success

was advertising in Acoustic Guitar
magazine. I had exhibited at the
1998 Acoustic Guitar Festival, and
the next issue of AG had a photo
collage of exhibitors’ instruments,
including a postage-stamp sized
image of my guitar.
That little picture led to a guitar
order!

So I immediately realized the power

of targeted print advertising. I
started running 1/8 page colour ads
a few times a year in AG, and later
in Fingerstyle Guitar, Down Beat
and Vintage Guitar. Since that order,
I've always had a wait list.

Well, your guitars do have a

distinctive double cutaway....

Yes, that was another important

factor: I found a niche! There were
already plenty of great luthiers out
there building “a better Martin than
Martin”, offering the kind of quality
a factory can’t afford to produce.

That is a niche in itself of course,

compared to the enormous market
for traditional factory guitars, but
it was very well represented by that
point. I offered a “better mousetrap”
with a design that offered access to
the whole fretboard, which also had
a very identifiable look.

Now, I don’t want all this talk of

market niches to imply that this was
the motivation behind my designs
or my becoming a luthier. That part
was kind of a happy accident.

I came up with a design for myself,

then wanted to build it for myself,
and in the process got seriously
hooked on the whole design/build
process, and only later realized there
might be other people out there who
might want a guitar like that too.

I’ve actually never built a non-

double-cutaway guitar, although
many people have asked me to.
My response is always, why? Why
would you want to cut off access to a
third of the fretboard?
But that insistence on sticking with
my design has had the effect of
establishing trademark, which is
important in marketing. So I guess
I’m an entrepreneur in spite of
myself.

My guitars always have the double-

cutaway, the spiral rosette and my
headstock crest. Everything else is
variable according to the style of
guitar I’m applying that to - OM,
dreadnought, harp guitar, etc.

There’s probably another level of

overall design appearance going
on there too, in that I’ve always
designed guitars by starting with a
standard design and then modifying
it by eye until it looks right to me.

“So I guess I’m an

entrepreneur in spite
of myself. ”

I’ll have a drawing on the drafting

table for a week or more, shifting
lines around, softening or
accentuating curves, walking away
and coming back later to look with
fresh eyes, until everything looks
settled and right with everything
else.

I like to think that even aside from

the more obvious visual features like
the double-cutaway, there’s some
overall design sense to my work,
some common thread of visual style
bubbling up from my subconscious
mind.

At any rate, that’s the part of

designing guitars that I find most
compelling and satisfying.
I suppose I’d have to ask- does that
double cutaway affect the sound of
the instrument, at the end of the
day?

I don’t think so, if you “do it right”.

The upper bout of an acoustic guitar
is pretty dead acoustically, there is a
lot of bracing under the fretboard,
so the loss of surface area of the top
isn’t a problem.

Similarly, the reduction of internal

air volume has surprisingly little
effect, which may be why there are
so many different sizes of guitar
bodies but they all still sound like
guitars.

I think the real issue with cutaways

is the loss of structural integrity
in the upper bout where the neck
attaches. The shoulders of a non-
cutaway guitar are in the shape of
a convex curve, like an archway
or an eggshell; that’s a very strong
structure.

When you add a cutaway, you invert

that structure into a concave curve,
like a leaf spring, and lose a lot of
that strength. That can translate into
a loss of sustain and punch in the
sound.

I recover that upper bout strength

with a pair of flying braces running
from the neck block to the waist
on either side. I think those braces
could even benefit non-cutaway
guitars, but for a double-cutaway
they’re crucial.

So that’s what I mean by “do it right”

- as long as you recover that upper
bout strength, the double-cutaway
doesn’t affect the sound.
Maybe you could share a bit more of your
build philosophy with us?
I'm surprisingly traditional in some ways. I
didn't set out to try to improve the sound of the
guitar, I think the best of the traditional designs
sound fantastic, really no room for improvement
there. So if you look inside my guitars you'll see
Martin style scalloped X bracing on the steel
strings and Hauser-Torres 7-fan bracing on the
nylon strings.
What I did set out to try to improve was
functionality for the player (because initially
that player was me!). First and most obvious
of course was the double-cutaway, to give free
access to the whole neck. But implicit in that
design goal was for the entire neck to be playable
in terms of action too.
Happily, a secondary advantage to the double-
cutaway is that almost all of the frets are
effectively "on the neck", instead of the last 8 or
10 frets being on the fretboard extension over
the body. This solved the classic "hump at the
body joint" problem that's so common in non-
cutaway guitars.
And then, the Adjustable Neck Angle System
solved the last piece of the puzzle, making it
extremely easy to maintain the action without
ever shaving the saddle or paying to have a glued
neck joint reset.
The Pinless Bridge is the one other design
change I’ve implemented, and I didn’t even have
to invent that one since Jeff Elliott already had!
There are several functional advantages to it: no
pins to lose or wear out or get stuck in the holes,
no holes drilled through the bridge to wear open
over time, the string ball ends aren’t grinding
away on the bridge patch. If you break a string,
it simply falls off! I think most importantly, the
rods are permanently glued through the bridge,
top and bridge patch, so my bridges never lift up
in back.
All of that is more along the lines of my design
philosophy. As to my building philosophy, how
I actually go about physically constructing
instruments, I'm somewhere in the middle
between the "old world craftsman" and "modern
engineering approach" schools.
My two main mentors, Jeff Elliott and John
Greven, are definitely the former, old-school
woodworkers with tremendous hand tool chops
who don't need much in the way of power tools
or jigs to build world class guitars.
I came to guitar making with very little
background in woodworking (I got D's in high
school shop class!) but with a natural mental
inclination towards engineering.
“Above all, listening!
To what the wood is
telling me”
So I've always used power tools and jigs and
fixtures to make the components of my guitars.
I do love a sharp chisel or scraper and use them
when appropriate, but I also do a whole lot with
belt and spindle sanders, routers, table and band
saws, and lots of simple jigs that attach to those
power tools to make repeatable accurate cuts.
On the other end of that continuum would be
the CNC luthiers, who program the dimensions
of parts into a computer for the CNC to cut. It's
not that I'm morally opposed to that - I have
my headstock logos cut by CNC laser - but it
doesn't strike me personally as very much fun
either. At the end of the day, I'm still flexing,
tapping, scraping, chiselling, and otherwise
hand-shaping things to final dimension, and
above all, listening! To what the wood is telling
me.
And you’re pretty traditional with
wood choices too?

Yes, in as much as there is such a

thing any more. It’s very lucky for
us all that the voice of an acoustic
instrument is the top (whatever
percentage you’d like to put on
that) because the tops of most
string instruments are made of
softwoods, which are plentiful and
fast growing.

Particularly in the northwestern US

where I am, Sitka and Engelmann
spruce and Western red cedar
all grow nearby, and are readily
available in extremely high quality.
But the other traditional woods
for guitars, such as Honduran
mahogany, Brazilian and Indian
rosewood, and African ebony, are in
short supply.

Would I prefer to use Honduran

mahogany for a neck, Brazilian or
Indian rosewood for back and sides,
and African ebony for the fretboard
and bridge? Sometimes, and happily
I personally have put away enough
of a stash of those woods to make
all the guitars I’m likely to make in
my lifetime.

But I think we all have to get over

some of the traditionalist mindset
regarding wood choices, because of
the reality of current availability and
because there are so many woods
available that can make fantastic
guitars.
I’d say the best guitars I’ve made have
had either cocobolo or Madagascar
rosewood back and sides; my best
dreadnought had a redwood top
and African blackwood back and
sides; my favourite harp guitar has
a redwood top and Peruvian walnut
back and sides;

I recently made an outrageous 00

model with a Lutz (Sitka-Engelmann
hybrid) top; my bass that Esperanza
Spalding is playing has Sapele back,
sides and neck; my personal bass has
a redwood top and zebrawood back
and sides; my best OM had a Western
red cedar top and lacewood back and
sides.

When I first got started 17 years

ago, “alternative woods” was a
huge controversial topic. At first,
everyone wanted traditional wood
combinations, but in a very few years
that started to change.

Instead of “just give me a spruce

top and rosewood back and sides”,
people became interested in what was
available, and started asking what
wood combination would give them
the sound they were looking for.

I think that’s very healthy, both

from the perspective of conserving
endangered species and of being open
to the possibilities afforded by non-
traditional wood choices.
Again, the voice of the instrument is the top, and we have plenty of gorgeous top woods available
to us. I personally think in more general terms about back and side woods.

Heavier woods (Brazilian rosewood, cocobolo, African blackwood) give you more bass and
sustain; lighter woods (mahogany, lacewood, even Indian rosewood) give more punch and
separation; really hard woods (cocobolo, Madagascar rosewood) give an extra kick to the treble;
more damping woods (Macassar ebony, zebrawood, maple) have a drier quicker sound.

The neck wood is another variable - that red cedar / lacewood OM had an Eastern maple neck,
which I think had the weight to put the bass and sustain back under the light weight lacewood
body and bright redwood top. But these are all icing on the cake so to speak. The voice of the
instrument is the top, and we’re all so fortunate to have available to us the plentiful, beautiful,
sonorous softwoods to be the voice of our instruments.
I noticed you've been moving away from
standard 6 string flat-tops and more into
Harp guitars?
Not moving away from 6-strings, I still make
a lot of those, but harp guitars have become
a big part of my business. That was another
case of good timing on my part, completely
accidentally of course.
Back in late 2002 Muriel Anderson came to
town, and both Jeff Elliott and I showed up at
her concert with guitars in hand. It was kinda
funny really, both of us standing in line with
our cases, hoping to show Muriel what was
in them, he the master, me the student, but of
course Jeff was as gracious as always and we
both got back stage with Muriel on the break.
She, in turn, played both of our guitars on stage
in the next set! But then of course the next week
she called Jeff to ask him to build her a harp
guitar. Jeff had a 15-year wait list at the time, so
he offered to consult on the design and have me
build it.
So that's what we did, Jeff designed the bracing
and structural matters, I designed the visuals,
and I finished it in time to attend the first Harp
Guitar Gathering, at which Muriel was a feature
performer.
That led to orders from Gathering attendees,
and of course I put them on my site and in my
print ads so that led to more orders.
After attending the first three Gatherings as a
builder I became interested in playing them
myself, so I’ve built three for myself and one
for my wife. I was a featured performer and
teacher at the 9th Gathering last year, playing
(coincidentally) my 9th harp guitar. I’m also
featured on Harp Guitar Music’s “Christmas
Present” CD playing that instrument. That’s
the redwood/walnut harp guitar I mentioned
earlier.
As an instrument designer and builder, I’d
have to say that harp guitars are a welcome
opportunity to try new things and let the design
muse run wild. There isn’t much of a tradition
to draw on there, particularly in terms of
players or repertoire, but also in terms of the
design of the instruments themselves.
With creative souls such as Fred Carlson out
there pushing the design envelope to the limits
of imagination, it’s an open creative field. I
haven’t done anything nearly as innovative as
some of Fred’s designs, but I’ve definitely felt
free to break with the Dyer/Knudsen tradition
and interpret the design essence of the harp
guitar in my own way.
Similarly as a player, harp guitar is a wide
open field. There's literally no playing
tradition to copy! So at each Gathering we
see how individuals have cast their musical
personalities through the harp guitar.

Speaking for myself, the first harp guitar I

made for myself was an archtop F-hole (as
far as I know, the only such instrument ever
made), which I dubbed the "jazz harp guitar"
and played Pat Metheny and Leni Stern tunes
on.

“As a player, harp

guitar is a wide open
field. ”

The second was my "R&B harp guitar", based

on the Gibson 335 design, which I played
material such as Hall & Oats and Grover
Washington Jr. on. Finally, I came around to
realizing the beauty of the flat-top acoustic
harp guitar (not that it wasn't obvious, but I
was coming from a jazz and R&B perspective
which are fundamentally electric guitar styles)
and built myself one of those.

But my take on that instrument is still rooted

in jazz - it has 7 sub-basses tuned in the key
of Eb, with sharping levers to let me get to any
key from Eb to E. That's let me explore the
possibilities of acoustic guitar with flat-key
bass notes. Most guitar music is in E, D, A or
G, because of the open bass notes available.

With a harp guitar that has 7 subs tuned to Eb,

there's no particular advantage to those keys.
So it lets me play tunes like Stevie Wonder's
"Overjoyed" or Thelonius Monk's "'Round
Midnight" in their original key of Eb (Major
and minor respectively).
Aren’t harp guitars difficult to construct-
even from sourcing materials to the longer
time on design and construction?

Well, sure, and we have to charge

commensurately. Tops are particularly hard to
find since softwoods aren’t typically available
at exotic wood suppliers. Backs and sides
aren’t so difficult so long as you’re willing to
work from raw lumber, resawing it yourself
or having planks resawn into sets. A lot of
us do that anyway, because you can get some
gorgeous and unusual wood if you don’t rely
on what the lutherie suppliers have available.

I've bought all my cocobolo, Peruvian walnut,

sapele, African blackwood, figured maple and
mahogany as raw lumber and had it resawn
by a mill nearby, which actually saves me a lot
of money and gives me access to materials I
couldn't otherwise get.

Cedar and redwood are available as lumber

too, you just have to wade through a lot of
planks to find one that's clear and quartered.
Spruces are much more difficult, but you can
sometimes find cello top sets big enough to
resaw for harp guitar tops.

The design part is an opportunity really. I

don't think I would have ever become a luthier
if all there was to do was to recreate existing
designs. There's a place for that certainly,
particularly in the world of the violin family,
and there are lots of very traditional guitar
makers as well.

That's a huge technical challenge, to accurately

recreate a traditional design, and an important
way to preserve traditions. I have great respect
for luthiers who do that, but it's not for me.
Harp guitars came along for me at the perfect
time, when I had pretty much got my process
down and my designs finalized.
It was almost getting to be rote - another
Jumbo, another OM, what can I do that I
haven't done yet? - when I got the opportunity
to really design a whole new instrument, and
that was that first harp guitar.
Once the design is done, actually building
a harp guitar isn't that much more difficult
than building a regular guitar. It's about like
one and a half guitars. But again, we charge
commensurately.

Muriel wanted nylon strings, a short "requinto" I guess it gets down to what you want to do with
scale, and 20 frets accessible, so right off there your time, what you enjoy, what your ambitions
was nothing like that in the Dyer/Knutsen are. After all, nobody becomes a luthier because
tradition. it's easy! It's not, and that's not even the point.
We do it, or at least I do it, to create something
That was very freeing. I just started with Jeff beautiful in the world, to realize a vision.
Elliott's smallest classical guitar body shape,
laid the strings all out where they would ideally
be, and from there it was pencil and French
curves on the drafting table, playing with lines
and curves, shifting the soundhole off-center,
working in all my usual design trademarks,
and just trying to draw something that looked
right to me. A very creative, very satisfying
experience.
With harp guitars would you say that player
ergonomics come into play much more?
Yes, certainly with regard to string spacing.
The original Knudsen and Dyer instruments
had the sub-bass strings spread pretty widely
apart, making it more difficult to grab all the
strings with the right hand. I space mine as
close as is practical, so even with seven subs I
can simultaneously sound the lowest sub and
the high E on the neck. Add a bank of super-
trebles to that, and there's no way you're going
to be able to simultaneously sound the lowest
sub and the highest super with your right hand,
but you still want the supers to feel like a natural
extension of the neck strings.
Ergonomic problems definitely arise with the
body shape too, and in some ways there isn't
much you can do about it. The harp arm does
limit the possible playing positions somewhat,
and acoustic harp guitars are, by nature, big
instruments.
But you can still do arm bevels, wedge bodies,
and relatively shallow body depths to help the
ergonomics.
My first harp guitar was in part a response to an
ergonomic need. Muriel Anderson is just about
five feet tall and under 100 lbs, and she was
having a lot of trouble touring with the full-sized
Dyer-style harp guitar that Del Langejans made
for her, as nice as that instrument is. She literally
had to have someone meet her at the airport to
carry it for her in its flight case.
So part of the reason she wanted a harp-requinto
was so she could carry it on a plane and put it
in the overhead compartment. It also just made
sense to make her an instrument scaled to fit her
physically. So that instrument is just about the
size of a standard classical guitar, and it looks
perfect with her holding it.
Not to mention the weight of the tuners and the bass arm....

...add in sharping levers and nut posts and you can have an awful lot of metal out there.
I've always made my harp tuner posts and nut posts out of brass rod, since it's easy to turn
on a lathe and is a nice gold colour. But brass is also relatively heavy, and way out there on
the harp headstock every little bit of weight adds up.

On my most recent HG I made those out of 7075 aircraft aluminium, and learned to
anodize it and tint it gold. That made a huge difference, shaving 100 grams off! I also use
open back tuners with wood knobs, both to save weight on the tuner casings and because
the tuner post screw is accessible so I can replace the posts. I replace the tuner posts so I
can make them a larger diameter to handle the larger gauge bass strings.
I also save some weight by making the harp headstock out of Spanish cedar. It looks like
mahogany but is much lighter weight. It's also rather soft and not as strong as mahogany,
so I reinforce the harp headstock with two layers of graphite cloth. Graphite cloth is
interesting stuff. It's only .007" thick and very flexible on its own, so you wouldn't think it
could add stiffness and strength.

But the fibres have no stretch whatsoever, so if you epoxy it to both sides of a sheet of
wood, it makes the assembly amazingly stiff. I split the thickness of the headstock and
epoxy it back together with graphite in between, and put another layer of graphite under
the head veneer on the front. If you look at the edge of the harp headstock you can see
the first layer of graphite as a fine black line running all around. The other layer is hidden
under the binding. It adds practically no weight but a great deal of strength and stiffness.
There's not only the bass strings to contend
with, these days there are more folks looking
at additional courses of strings or treble
bank...

Muriel had me build her a second instrument

with super-trebles, and most of the inquiries
I get are for HGs with both supers and subs.
Come to think of it, other than that first one
for Muriel, all of my harp guitar orders have
been for both supers and subs.

The only other subs-only HGs I've built

have been for myself and my wife. I haven't
felt attracted to super-trebles as a player, I
guess the prospect of all those strings kind of
intimidates me!

“You typically need

about 27 lbs of tension
per string”

From a design perspective, super-trebles are

easier to deal with since there isn't typically
a body extension to hold them, they're just
strapped across the treble side of the body.

I've been using zither pins for attachment

and violin fine tuners for tuning, which are
much lighter than regular tuning machines,
so there isn't much of an issue with additional
weight. What does become problematic is the
additional string tension.

A subs-only harp guitar is about like a

12-string for tension, but supers add another 8
strings worth, and that's getting way up there!
You typically need about 27 lbs of tension per
string, any lower than that and the string goes
sharp when you first pluck it, it sounds like a
koto.
So a regular steel string guitar is carrying about
160 lbs of tension at the bridge, while a 7-sub
HG has about 350, like a 12-string strung with
heavy gauge strings. Add 8 supers to that, and
you’re looking at 540 lbs of tension! I think that’s
going beyond reasonable expectations for what
a flat-top glued-bridge guitar is going to be able
to hold.

On that most recent instrument for Muriel, I

found a way around that. She wanted another
nylon string instrument, but she wanted steel
supers. There's a huge design conflict there: do
you brace it for nylon or steel? If you brace it
for nylon, the supers will cave the top in; if you
brace it for steel, the nylon strings won't be able
to drive the top.

But I realized that if I didn't attach the supers at

the bridge, if I ran them all the way to the edge
of the body instead, their tension wouldn't be
applied to the bridge.

They go through the tie block and over the

saddle, but they're attached to the fine tuners
all the way back at the edge of the lower bout.
That let me brace the top for nylon strings with
fan bracing, so the neck strings and subs can
drive the top properly. This worked so well, I
don't think I would do super-trebles the old way
again.

So no plans for multiple banks of super

trebles?

MD: Actually, I do have one order for a harp

guitar with three super-treble banks, and it will
use that same design of taking the supers off of
the bridge. But I can't say any more about that
project, it's top-secret!
Ok, maybe we can talk a little about the
announcement on your site about your
retirement...

Sure. The simple answer is that I came into

some money, enough that I don't have to work
any more. That's the kind of event that makes
one ponder what one wants to do with one's
life. I've been building guitars full time for 16
years, and working on them as a hobby since
my teens.

I've also been, at times, a software engineer,

technical writer, web designer and a few other
assorted things. Throughout all of that, I've
always been a musician, since second grade in
fact. I made my living at it through the 80's,
but that's not an easy thing to do and it's gotten
harder over the years. So I've usually made my
living at something else. Now that I don't have
to do that any more, I'm simply returning to the
thing I've always wanted to do, which is play
music.

When they hear this, some people have taken it

to mean that lutherie was not a passion for me,
that it was nothing but a way for me to make
money. Nothing could be further from the
truth. In fact, I'm still making guitars, designing
jigs and tools, and writing for American
Lutherie. I'm just not taking orders.

I think that in my heart of hearts, every guitar I

ever built, I was building for myself... and then
I'd have to pack it up and ship it to its owner,
deposit their check, and go on to the next one.
That did give me a lot of experience building,
but it was often hard to send those guitars away.
Now I really do just build them for myself, and
I get to keep them, and play them!

That sounds wonderful- you can now

concentrate on the stuff you want to build.
But that means there is currently, no way we
can obtain a new Doolin?

Yes, I’m afraid so. It’s down to the hundred or

so instruments already out there. There are a
couple in particular that I’d buy back for myself
if they became available!
So which we your favourites you've had to let
go over all these years?

Well, there was this 12-string, curly black

walnut with a sitka top. I've only built three
12-strings, and this was the third one. The
person who commissioned it actually refused it!
Didn't like the neck profile or some such.

I later found out that he bought my second

12-string "used" right after that. Enough said
about that situation... but I took the guitar back,
per my policy of "first right of refusal", and sent
it on to a dealer who sold it immediately.

For me as a player, a 12-string is a bit of a

novelty, so I don't know if I'd take the time and
trouble to make one for myself now. But I'm a
huge Ralph Towner fan, and that was a really
wonderful instrument, so I wouldn't mind
getting it back.

There was also a Madagascar rosewood

jumbo with a cedar top and dove inlays on the
fretboard. It's the guitar I put on my business
card and in many of my ads. My wife designed
and cut the inlays. I heard that the owner sold it
after a year or two, which kinda broke my heart.

I guess that always hurts, when you pour

everything you have into an instrument, doing
everything the customer asks and everything
you know will make a great guitar, and then
they either immediately refuse it or sell it later.
(To be fair to both my customers and myself,
I’ve only had two instruments refused in 16
years of lutherie).

I understand, there’s no accounting for taste

and everyone has their own preferences and
desires, and these things are a considerable
financial investment too - I’ve had to sell a few
guitars that I loved but couldn’t afford to keep.
But it is ironic that those two instruments that
I consider some of my best were not so highly
appreciated my their original owners. Oh well.
That probably influenced my decision to retire
too.
Maybe we could shift focus a little and speak
about your musical career- what are you up to
now?
I guess the short answer would be, "all the same
stuff, but more of it". I've been a sideman in jazz
and R&B bands around Portland for the past 30
years or so, and I also have a fondness for duo
and solo playing.
My gigs are about equally divided between
duos with singers in wine bars and coffee shops
during the week, and big R&B horn bands in
dance clubs on the weekends.
The latter are high energy dance gigs, playing
loud and fast, while the former are lower key
and quieter but often more challenging since
I'm sort of functioning as the whole band. My
strengths as a guitarist seem to be in harmony
and rhythm - the R&B bands like me for my
rhythm playing, and my duo partners like
that I can hold down a bass line and comp
simultaneously while holding down a groove.
I read fairly well for a guitar player (which isn't
saying much!) so I do get calls for reading gigs.
I'm the accompanist at a weekly vocal jam that
has me reading lead sheets for jazz standards in
funny keys (that's a great thing about working
with singers - they put their tunes in whatever
key suits their voice, so you end up playing in
keys like Db a lot, and after a while key just
doesn't matter any more). I'm also in the bands
of several songwriters, playing and sometimes
recording their original material.
In between all of that, I'm working up solo
repertoire on harp guitar, in anticipation of this
year's Harp Guitar Gathering. I'm going to be
writing material for a second album with David
Martin, which we'll record this August.
I'm writing and recording background music for
a set of meditation CDs. And I'm writing and
recording theme and incidental music for an
upcoming film.
And in between all of that, I'm practicing,
learning tunes, studying chord voicings,
transcribing solos... just trying to become a
better musician. I don't have any ambitions for
fame or to play with famous people, I just want
to play good music well.
Composing for the harp guitar - is that harder
than just six strings?
I don’t think it’s much harder. It actually frees
you up quite a bit in terms of what you can do
with your left hand, when you don’t have to be
fretting bass notes all the time. What’s hard is
learning to play the piece once it’s written!
I’ve been playing harp guitar for about 7 years
now (although admittedly not as my primary
instrument), and I still have to think pretty hard
to keep the subs going. I only have a handful
of pieces I can play on it. But it is a fascinating
instrument.
Thank you for your time and we wish you all
the best on your next album!
And thank you, Terence, for interviewing me for
Guitarbench!
T H E I N T E R V I E W:
CHUCK MOORE
Thank for taking the time off your busy
schedule to speak to us, Chuck. Maybe we
could start at the beginning with how you got
started?
I moved to Moloka'i in the late 1980s and after
building my house I found myself with little
else to do. Like many of us that went through
the hippie movement, I had learned a lot of
the hand arts including pottery, wood carving,
leather work, stained glass, jewellery making,
even scrimshaw. So I had the hand skills but no
focus.
After a while I became known as the local fixit
guy mainly because I had a bunch of tools and
a whole lot of time on my hands and I was too
foolish to refuse people. Folks would bring
be all sorts of projects to make or repair in
exchange for lobsters or a few hands of bananas.
Some one once brought me a basketcase uke for
me to look at. I don’t remember anything about
it except that the neck was off, the bridge was
gone and the top was peeling away.
When I took it apart to repair, the inner
mysteries were exposed and I knew it was
something I could do.
After all I’ve built my share of bird houses and
cutting boards and even a dulcimer from a
kit many years before. Since my tiny public
library offered no clues on instrument building
I ordered a Stewart MacDonald parts catalogue
(I didn’t want to invest in a book at that point),
figuring out the steps and putting the pieces
together in my head.
I immediately caught the bug (or flea as it were)
and started building ukuleles from scratch using
the most common materials I had at hand--
coconuts!
I made a couple dozen of these that were pretty
awful but they fuelled my desire to pursue
more traditional style instruments. This was
during the pre-Internet days of the 1980s, and
information on building ukuleles was scarce.
Being as isolated as I was, my learning process
was long and slow.
What originally attracted you to Hawaii?

I had little to do with it. Fate played a major

role and I just went along for the ride.
I've always had a love for tropical, exotic
destinations and I would take any opportunity
to flee the Bay Area where I was living and
seek out remote palm laden beaches.

In 1985 we had just returned from a trip

to Rangiroa in the Tuamotu island group,
looking at a small, rustic, dilapidated hotel
that was for sale which we were considering
buying.

On our way home we stopped at crafts fair and

at one of the booths I bought a raffle ticket to
support a local canoe club. A couple of weeks
later I received a phone call to inform me I’ve
won first prize, which was a trip to Hawaii,
any island of my choice.

I’ve always felt that everything happens for

a reason so we turned right around, jumped
on a plane, and headed for Moloka’i which
is one of the least visited islands in Hawaii.
We immediately fell in love with the people,
music, culture, and the Hawaiian lifestyle.

To our surprise, we flew home with the deed

to a small plot of land in our pockets and
within a year the Matson shipping containers
were packed and we were making our way
back across the Pacific, this time for good.

So being self taught in those days, on the

least visited island in Hawaii, meant having
to build pretty much from scratch? Breaking
down billets?

Billets? My materials were as rough and raw as

life on Moloki’a was. A lot of the wood I used
was scavenged and recycled. I lived on the
beach and occasionally we’d get large Douglas
fir logs or redwood slabs wash up on the reef
after storms. Most of the wood guys then were
bowl turners and I’d go through their piles.
Sometimes a tree would blow down and we’d
be out there with the chain saws. I don’t
remember ever buying any wood. These were
back in the days when everyone seemed to
have a lot more time than money. Even koa at
$4 a board foot was too expensive.

I’d spend all day hand carving a set of tuning

pegs from ivory, back when it was still legal.
Some finishes were merely pressed kukui nut
old, real old school stuff. I really didn’t know
there was any other option. I made some
pretty bizarre instruments.

I’d look at a Kamaka ukulele and think it was

pure magic, having no idea how they were
made. I feel very fortunate to have never
received any formal training. For someone
who learns any craft or skill in isolation, there
are no limits and no one to tell you, you can’t
do this or that.

“Lessons learned on
your own are lessons
learned well”
Lessons learned on your own are lessons
learned well. But the learning curve is sure
slow. I think even with the best instruction
and resources it probably takes a luthier
upward of 100 instruments or so to start
coming into their own and to begin getting a
grasp of the total picture, of what’s happening
on every level.

Many of the techniques involved in this craft

can be taught, but they can only be learned
from experience, doing the same thing over
and over again until you are successful. And
there is so much to learn, from proper wood
selection and seasoning to finishing and
setting up.

It just takes time and paying attention to your

results. The intriguing thing about instrument
building is that I still learn something from
every one of the 500 ukuleles I’ve built. It
keeps things interesting.
Now, it’s very different, specialised tools
and the ability to find an experienced
builder to ask questions have changed
things, wouldn’t you say?
I moved to the Big Island shortly after I
discovered the Internet. YouTube videos
along with all the other information available
made it a lot easier to discover and share
information.
One of the big benefits is that it also brought
a lot of builders much closer, being able
to talk story with builders in Atlanta and
Portland and the far corners of the globe.
One of the biggest complaints about the
Internet is that it tends to de-socialize
people. I think it’s had the opposite effect on
me.
I’ll spend a couple of hours every morning
on the Internet talking with builders all
over discussing everything from finishes
to customers, and occasionally engaging in
mutual luthier therapy.
I was also fortunate to have moved in close
proximity to builders like Bob Gleason and
David Hurd. These guys were setting new
standards in ukulele building and knowing
them really rocked my world.
We also have a fairly active builders
guild here so there’s no lack of builders
to exchange ideas with. With the strong
Hawaiian music influence, positive peer
support, and koa almost growing in my
backyard, I really couldn’t ask for a better
place to be.
I understand you build almost exclusively
with Koa?
From my perspective it would be silly to be a
Hawaiian ukulele builder working in Hawaii
and not to be using koa. Koa has been the
traditional tonewood for ukuleles for over a
hundred years. It's even been suggested by
some that it's not a genuine ukulele unless it's
built from koa.
When customers contacts me they want and
expect a koa instrument. If they had another
wood in mind they'd be more likely to contact
one of the many builders on the Mainland.
Although acacia koa is found on all the major
islands of Hawaii, the vast majority is grown
right here on the Big island and it grows
nowhere else in the world. How could I ignore
such an amazing resource right in my back
yard?
While koa doesn’t excel in any one particular
are, it performs quite well over a large
spectrum, especially on small bodies
instruments as ukuleles.
The weight, stiffness and density of koa can
vary greatly from tree to tree and board to
board.
I have some that is as light as cedar and others
that resemble ironwood.
Building by a specific set of numbers is
impossible and every koa set has to be
evaluated on it’s own merits.
With rare exception, the majority of my
ukuleles are built using koa and I honestly
don’t have much experience using other species
of tonewoods.
If Koa is so variable, would you say it might
be better for an all Koa uke to be make
from different pieces of Koa as opposed to a
matched top/back/sides?
I guess it would but I don’t get that far into it.
Traditionally, Hawaiian ukuleles have matching
tops, backs & sides. I do have some gorgeous
koa that is too dense and stiff to build a
complete ukulele from.
In that case I’ll use it for backs and sides
and throw a spruce or redwood top on it. I
deflection tune my tops so that takes some of
the guess work out of it and all of my all-koa
ukes sound pretty much alike.
And what do usually use for bracing and
necks?

For necks I’m using either Spanish cedar or

Honduran mahogany. I like Spanish cedar
because it’s incredibly light and strong.

We also have a lot of toon (Australian

red cedar) growing here and I find it’s
properties to be somewhere between
Spanish cedar and Honduran mahogany.

Regardless of the wood used, every neck

gets reinforced with a non-adjustable
carbon fibre rod installed under the fret
board.

I also build in a tiny bit of relief. The carbon

fibre rod is cheap insurance against the neck
deforming against the string tension and
environmental changes.

Depending upon the colour of the koa

body, I will sometimes tint the neck lacquer
for a better match. I use traditional three
fan bracing for my tenor tops, five fans for
anything over four strings.

David Hurd introduced me to carbon fibre

and I’m currently using it as a bridge patch.
(I also reinforce my sound holes and side
sound ports with it.) I buy Sitka spruce
billets and hand split them, later resawing
them and running the bracing through the
drum sander. Honduran mahogany is used
for back braces.

I use Titebond Original for all assembly

work. I’ve been tempted to use hot hide
glue but having a glue pot plugged in all day
would be just another strain on my solar
system.

All building takes places in a climate

controlled room where I maintain 70
degrees and 45% RH by means of a small
room air conditioner and/or a dehumidifier.
My rough wood and wood sets are also kept
in this room.
Speaking of which your workshop is solar
powered, how does that affect the way
your work process?

People are impressed by how much I can

accomplish being off-grid and on solar
power.

When you consider I run a full wood shop,

my wife’s jewellery studio and a fairly good
size house it’s really quite a challenge.
Luckily we are blessed to be in a location
where the sun shines on most days.

Having to rely on the sun for my electrical

needs really dictates the rhythm of my work
schedule. What it means in my business is
that I often have to juggle my tasks.

“I’m constantly playing

energy cop, turning this
on and that off ”

I have a 3,000 watt solar system, which

seems like a lot but you certainly can’t turn
everything on at the same time! The climate
controlled room has to be maintained all
the time and that draws about a third of my
power at.

When I’m spraying or running the drum

sander with the dust collector on I’ll
sometimes have to shut down the air
conditioner while I’m doing that.

I’m constantly playing energy cop, turning

this on and that off. When bending sides
I run directly off the generator because
heating elements are hard on the batteries.

I might devote rainy days to sanding or

other less demanding task if the generator
can’t keep up with my needs. Those are also
good days to do book work, clean the shop
or just go into town.
Modern solar inverters and controllers are pretty
much trouble free, requiring little attention. The
weak link in the system is the storage batteries,
needing to be replaced every 2 or three years.
They also need constant maintenance to keep
them charged. Because the storage capacity is
limited it means I can’t work at night, which is
probably a good thing.

Other things like providing my own water

collection system, cellular communications and
broadband Internet service are cumbersome,
unreliable and come with their own set of
problems. Every day there’s something to fix. It’s a
rather small price to pay however, in exchange for
living where I do.

In my shop I’m restricted to motors of under 2

horsepower so my equipment is a bit on the small
side. I have a couple of 14” bandsaws, a 16”/32”
drum sander, table saw, joiner, drill press, etc.
The only thing I'm incapable of doing efficiently
is resawing. I buy saw time and do all of my
“I’m proud of the fact
resawing off-site on a saw that's meant to do the
job quickly and accurately. With koa being as
that I do everything
expensive as it is, it's really the only option that myself from selecting
makes sense.
my wood to making
The set up I have is really quite adequate for a
one man shop. If I had lots of power available, kerfing, hand cutting my
I'd be tempted to expand my business and then
I'd have to contend with all the headaches of pearl and finishing.”
running a larger production shop.

I like keeping things small and manageable. I'm

proud of the fact that I do everything myself
from selecting my wood to making kerfing,
hand cutting my pearl and finishing.
What finish do you favour? And what are you
using at the moment?
I think a good finish should be thin, hard, easy
to apply and repair. Nitrocellulose lacquer fits
all those requirements for me. I'm also fond of
the look of nitro and the way it ages. I'm not
going to argue the variety of finishes available
to the luthier. I've tried most of them at some
point and they all have their merits.
As with anything else in this business, I think
the choice comes down to finding a material
and application schedule that suits who you are
as a builder and choosing what it comfortable
for you to work with. I spend a lot of time on
my finishes and am proud of the results I'm
getting.
It's one of the areas where there is always room
for improvement and at any luthier's gathering
the discussing will inevitably turn to finishing
techniques at some point.
Between the spraying, pore filling, sanding and
buffing I can easily spend 12 hours finishing
an ukulele. Proper finishing requires more
focus and attention than any other aspect of
building.
And speaking of finishing, your ukes often
feature inlays and intricately engraved art.....
Doing inlay work is an opportunity for me to
get real creative. When I start the inlay work
the instrument is almost finished. It's at that
point that I can stop holding my breath and
have some real fun.
 Inlay gives the customer an opportunity to
personalize his or her instrument, making it
truly unique theirs, whether it’s one of my ideas
or one of theirs.
While other aspects of building can become
mundane, creating new inlay work is always
challenging for me and keeps my interest
piqued. One of the difficult parts is in
successfully interpreting the customer's vision
into an expression of shell, wood and stone that
will satisfy them.
Educating them as to what can and cannot be
done has to be done from the very beginning.
The materials I use are cold, static and hard,
and blending colours is difficult. It's almost
impossible to render things like rainbows, wind,
rain, etc.
Ideally, the process begins with a customer giving
me some guidance as to what they want, and they
usually trust me to complete their vision.
I spend as much time in thinking about, designing
and drawing up the patterns I need as I do in the
actually cutting and inlaying of the pieces. This
will often begin weeks or months before I make
the first sketch and it's often difficult to come up
with new ideas.
I find the actual process of cutting shell to be
soothing, almost meditative, in the experience. I
can also tap into my experience as a scrimshander
to etch details on the fossil ivories I sometimes
use. About one week a month is reserved for
doing inlay work and I welcome the change to do
something really creative and different. I see the
finished product as playable, functional art.

So we’ve spoken about woods, your workshop
and art, now is the dreaded construction
part- with the modern ukes, more and more
resembling guitars in terms of looks and
construction, what is your take on the modern
techniques (like say Kasha bracing?)
I think every thinking builder at some point
attempts to reinvent the wheel. But you need
to remember, ukuleles are not guitars. When it
comes to top bracing, there's only so much you
can do with a sound board that's 50 square inches
or smaller.
Keeping in mind that most tenor uke string
tension loads are under forty pounds the most
important consideration is keeping the top light
and responsive while making sure it's structural
strong enough to last. If there's one common flaw
I see in many ukuleles, especially amongst novice
builders, is that they are over-built.
A look at some of the old bench-mark ukulele,
Nunes and Martins for example will show them to
have a minimum amount of bracing. I think the
standard rule of keeping it simple applies here.
I applaud those who experiment with different
bracing ideas in ukuleles. The ideas can be talked
to death, but in the end there is no substitute to
building lots of instruments in order to develop the
sound you're after. At some point or other I've tried
most of the more common bracing patterns.
X-bracing and lattice bracing, while not very
common, have their advocates in the ukulele
world. And I'm not sure Kasha has ever lived up
to it's initial hype, but several uke builders are
incorporating that pattern and are pleased with the
results they get. For me it's hard to beat the classical
Torres style bracing for the unique "Hawaiian"
sound I'm looking for in my instruments.
I've always come back to the traditional three fan
pattern for my tenors, two for my concerts and
none at all in my sopranos. I've even given up on
the idea of tap tuning a ukulele top. While it's an
amazing thing to watch a guitar sized sound board
come to life through tap tuning,
I've never seen it successfully done with such a
small plate such as one you'd use for an ukulele.
Instead, in addition to tactile inspection, I
deflection- test with a dial indicator and map out
all of my sound boards (and to a lesser extent, the
backs) so that I can repeat my results with fairly
good consistency.
So do you think it is the luthier’s job to bring
out the very best in the materials or to follow
as closely as possible what the player wants out
of the instrument? Is there a happy medium
between the two?
My focus is to get the wood and materials to
respond to the best of my ability in an effort
to achieve the sound I'm looking for. The first
responsibility I have as a builder is to myself.
The advantage to pigeon-holing myself into
building only ukuleles, built primarily of koa, is
that I've spent enough time around the wood to
know it intimately. Even at ten feet away I can get
some pretty good clues as to how a specific koa
board will react sonically.
It's grain and colour are good visual clues of how
it will respond, and if I get close enough to touch
it, feeling it's warmth or coolness and the raspy
tone it makes as I run my hand against the board
will tell give me clues of its density.
The choice of woods I have to offer, primarily
koa, naturally limits the customer's options. A
lot of customers need to be in total control of the
building process, whether their ideas are right
or wrong. Much of their input is based on what
they’ve read or heard and has no substance in
reality or in the luthier’s actual experience.
I’m able to quickly spot them and I happily refer
them to other builders. Almost all of my custom
business is through word of mouth these days,
many going to repeat customers or friends of theirs.
They've all seen an heard my work before and
they've liked what they seen and heard.
Lately I've become less of a traditional custom
builder in the truest sense of the term. I may be a
bit unique in that I build every thing as if I were
building it for myself, considering both sound and
design. I tell customers early on that I will only
build an instrument that excites and appeals to
me, one that I would be proud to own and keep for
myself.
While I appreciate customer input, the final
decisions are mine. Instruments of all types tend
to be traded like baseball cards. No matter how
many hands of ownership an instrument I'll build
will change in the course of it's lifetime, it will
always have my name on the label and I will always
consider it mine.
So I build what I want, and if the customer
wants the same thing then we’re both happy.
Life’s too short no to be doing exactly what you
want to be doing. I’ve never had an ukulele
returned to me because the customer was
unhappy with it in any way.
Does that make it hard to ship your ukes off to
customers?
I should clarify, I start building every uke as
“if ” I were building it for myself. The sound,
the design elements, the colours and materials
I choose all stem from my own biases and
preferences. The finished uke is a significant part
of who I am and it reflect my years of experience
as an artist and designer.
At the same time, it’s very important for me to
know as much as I can about the customer I’m
building for including any hobbies or outside
interests. I’m going to be spending a lot of time
thinking about who the customer is while I build
the instrument over the period of a few months.
Because I take the relationship between myself
and the customer very seriously it’s import to
recognize whether or not we are a good match
before the process gets too far along. If we aren’t
a good match, the uke doesn’t get built.
This doesn’t mean that I’m closed to any new
ideas though. Some of my most creative designs
have been inspired by customers and they’ve
pushed me and have allowed me to grow even
despite my sometimes initial resistance.
I’m just not into harp ukes or hybrid ukes or
carbon fibre ones, or transparent coloured
finishes or LED lights as fret markers or inlaying
your wife’s portrait in the head stock, or any one
of a thousand goofy ideas I’ve heard.
I just can’t see spending up to 70 hours doing
something that doesn’t interest me. I learned
a long time ago that the time in my shop that
is best spent is the time I take in choosing my
customers.

It’s usually a mutually positive experience, one
that both parties benefit from in many ways. I’ve
made many close friends as customers and we
continue to stay in touch over the years.
Many will bring their families on vacation to
visit the place where there ukulele was born.
Making these close friendships is probably the
most rewarding aspect of the entire process.
So by the time I’m finished with the uke I’m
ready to turn it over to the customer whom I’ve
gotten to know fairly well and have becomes
friends with. Still, there have been many unique
ukuleles that I’ve wanted to keep, at least for a
while.
There’ve been a few where I’ve thought to myself
“If I could build only one more uke in my life to
keep for myself, this would be it.” But once these
“artisan” ukes are finished my heart’s not into it
anymore and those designs seldom get repeated.
I haven’t run out of fresh ideas yet.
Thanks for that Chuck, before we let you go,
would you have any exciting projects on the
horizon you’d like to share?
That’s a good question. I haven’t had much time
to think about what I’ll be doing in the future.
Besides, when you are neighbours with one of
the world’s most active lava flows you tend not
to plan too far in advance!
I have a fondness for the old days, the pre-
statehood days of Hawaii, what are sometimes
referred to as Hawaii’s golden era when the
island group was a far away, exciting and exotic
destination.
I’d like to incorporate more Hawaiiana
inlay themes into my work, especially those
representing the early days of air and cruise
ship travel, the Pan American Clippers and
Matson cruise lines. There is something very
romantic about those times and those modes of
travelling.
I’m also a big fan of Hawaiian steel guitar and
it’s been my intention to try my hand at building
Weisenborns. Several years ago I started playing
steel guitar so that I’d have a better idea of how
to approach it. I’ve had the plans and the wood
set aside, collecting dust- it’s just a matter of
finding the time to do it.
I learn something from every instrument I build
, no matter how insignificant it may seem. I
find that the more I build, the harder it gets, as I
raise the bar and my personal expectations. My
goal is to keep learning, to keep growing and
pushing the limit in the attempt to make the
next instrument better that the one before.
T H E I N T E R V I E W:
EL MCMEEN Thanks for taking the time to do
this interview el. I was wonder-
ing how you started playing the
guitar?

I started playing guitar around

1965. My roommate Blake Swan
in secondary school (Mt. Her-
mon School–now called North-
field Mt. Hermon), in Massachu-
setts, played guitar a lot, and I
was inspired to learn.

After hearing him sing and play

“Sloop John B” approximately
a thousand times, however, I
did tend to steer away from that
song. <:) (He did a nice job on it,
by the way.)

My mother got me a Gibson all-

mahogany guitar in 1965 (I be-
lieve it cost $50 back then), and
I started learning some chords.
I played almost exclusively in
standard tuning for many years
– up until the mid-1980’s. I do
remember one song I did play in
college, at Harvard, in G tuning,
called “Mole’s Moan”, by Geoff
Muldaur. I really enjoyed playing
that song–by the hour!
In fact, I have a clear recollection of playing that song for a friend from my Freshman Year, 1965–a
really talented classical guitarist and brilliant student (and great swimmer) by the name of Marty
Chalfie. I’ll drop my friend Marty’s name here, and give him some props, because he later went on to
win the Nobel Prize in Chemistry: http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/chemistry/laureates/2008/

For many years I played guitar to accompany myself singing. It was not until the mid-to-late 1980’s
that I got into the mode of doing guitar instrumentals. That process accelerated after I happened
upon the wonderful CGDGAD guitar tuning, which I learned form the arrangements and composi-
tions of the great British guitarist, Dave Evans.
 T H E I N T E R V I E W:
EL MCMEEN
And that started your journey into Celtic
fingerstyle?
Yes. Dave’s music, plus the music of hammer
dulcimer player Joemy Wilson, who recorded
several Celtic albums in the mid-1980’s that
showcased the beauty of the music. I also want
to give credit to my friend Caleb Crowell, of
Montclair, NJ, who rode the daily commuter
train with me into New York City and shared
with me multiple versions of almost every
Celtic tune I was learning on guitar.
That approach and generosity really broad-
ened my horizons and appreciation for the
music. I should also credit the arrangements
and, in some cases, instructional recordings of
Stefan Grossman, Duck Baker, Martin Simp-
son and John Renbourn.
I’ve noticed with a lot of the players that really
credit someone physically sitting and impart-
ing tunes to them- do you think that is an
important part of the learning process?
One can learn in many different ways. In the
1980’s I must have purchased $1000 worth of au-
diocassette lessons from Stefan Grossman’s Gui-
tar Workshop — lessons given by Stefan himself
and some by other players, like John Renbourn
and Duck Baker. Later those lessons became
video lessons, and then DVD lessons –and now,
in certain cases, direct downloads! http://www.
guitarvideos.com/
Technology marches on. Those types of lessons
were great for someone like me, who is predomi-
nantly an ear player and a pretty motivated self-
starter. They are the equivalent of having some-
one there with you teaching (but with infinite
patience, since you can play the DVD over-and-
over-and over….).
I must credit my friend Stefan with one
critical hands-on technique he taught me. In
the late 1980’s or early 1990’s, he showed me
the “slowhand vibrato”, made famous by Eric
Clapton–where you sustain and colour the
fretted notes through a vibrato in which the
hand moves the string perpendicular to the
neck of the guitar, rather than parallel. That
can be quite hard to do on acoustic guitar,
because of the string tension and because
one is not using the thumb as a fulcrum,
anchored behind the neck. The fulcrum is
the body of the player. You can see by the
description that a hands-on approach is really
necessary because it sounds like something
out of a physics book or something!

So is there any advice you might give

someone looking to seriously play Celtic
fingerstyle?

I would suggest exploring DVD lessons,

“Guitar Artistry” DVD’s and performance
DVD’s (like the “Blarney Pilgrim” and
“Ramble to Cashel” DVD’s) available through
Stefan Grossman’s Guitar Workshop: http://
www.guitarvideos.com/

I would also suggest the person listen to a

wide variety of Celtic music by the greats
out there in traditional music on other
instruments – like fiddle, harp, pipes, Irish
whistle, button accordion, piano – to see what
grabs the person. It might be the slow airs
and songs; it might be the dance tunes. What
got to me first were the beautiful melodies, El Mcmeen’s Essential Listening:
particularly in Irish traditional music. It was
later on that I tackled the dance tunes. Guitar:
Pierre Bensusan
I understand you’ve had quite a few guitars Al Petteway
and now even have a signature model? John Renbourn
Martin Simpson
I have been a poster child for “GAS” (“guitar Steve Baughman
acquisition syndrome”), having owned, Tony McManus
I would estimate, over 140 guitars in my John Sherman
“adult” (a relative term, in my case) life. We Tony Cuffe (RIP)
are blessed, in this day and age, with many Larry Pattis
talented and dedicated guitar builders, as well Other musicians:
as the iconic American guitar maker, C.F. Alasdair Fraser (fiddle)
Martin & Co. John Whelan (button accordion)
Liz Carroll (fiddle)
 My primary guitars now are: Tippin
guitars and Franklin guitars

I am very excited about the new El

McMeen signature model guitar series
by Tippin Guitars. The series is called the
“Tippin Bravado Contour, El McMeen
Series”. (See El’s signature guitar just after
this interview!)

Bill and I started with his excellent

“Bravado” model to make a guitar
that addresses the music of fingerstyle
guitarists, including a shallower,
contoured design (shallower at the bass
side than at the treble), and a somewhat
shorter scale (25.5, as opposed to the
Bravado’s 25.7 scale). The result is a
guitar with a quick response, plenty of
volume and the trademark Tippin sound.
After we did the prototype described
in the above link, we decided to make
the guitar a little deeper. I have ordered
one in Brazilian rosewood. The guitar
will retain the quick response but have
a little more “air” and sound from the
standpoint of the player, listening to the
guitar from behind.
Customers may choose the woods and
“bling” they want. The photos on the
above site show what Bill and I opted for
on the prototype guitar.

And do you think there is an archetypal

Celtic sound or Celtic guitar?

Fingerstyle guitar arrangements of Irish

Groups: and Scottish music are “faux” from the
Bothy Band get-go (hey, I’m a poet!), since they aren’t
Solas in the tradition, but instead are attempts
Capercaillie to render music originally done on other
Chieftains instruments. I think the field is wide
Cherish the Ladies open for guitars. I’ve heard music I like
played on a wide range of guitars, from
Singers: deeper/Steinway-grand-sounding-type
Mary Black guitars, to shallower models. It really
Moire O’Connell comes down to the quality of the music, I
Gordon Bok believe, and even that can often be quite
subjective.
But there is a reason why alternate tunings
are more popular with celtic guitarists right?
Standard guitar tuning–EADGBE– is
wonderful for many things, including playing
in many keys, in closed (i.e., fretted) positions.
Many guitarists, however, have found that
alternative tunings afford them an easier
means of evoking the sound of the harp, fiddle
or pipes. (The CGDGAD tuning changed
my life, not because it was more Celtic, but
because, for some mystical reason, songs
seemed to issue forth from the guitar every
time I would pick a few strings! That started
for me in the late 1980’s.)
Here’s an example of the benefit of an
alternative tuning. Standard tuning does not
have an interval between strings of one step;
the intervals are always greater. Other tunings,
like DADGAD and CGDGAD, and CGDGCD
(called “Orkney” by Steve Baughman, who
does wonderful things in that tuning –and
other tunings, for that matter!), have this one-
step interval.
That interval allows for a very harplike
approach playing around the strings with that
interval. Can that be done in Standard? Yes,
and I understand that Al Petteway has been
recasting some tunes in Standard, as did Seth
Austen in the late 1980’s, as I recall.
So, if you can use Standard to accomplish some
of this, why go to another tuning? Each guitarist
would have his or her own reason, so we can’t
generalize, but I bet that much of it is the sheer
inspiration that the particular alternative tuning
has for the player.
The guitarist wants to keep playing, and
exploring, and making music in the tuning. The
challenge then becomes, as Stefan Grossman
says, to make sure that you play in the tuning,
and that the tuning doesn’t play you!
Thanks for that El. Before we let you go – maybe you might like to share with us about any pro-
jects you have on the way?

I just completed my CD entitled “At-Home Picking…and Talking” a few months ago: http://www.
elmcmeen.com/athome.htm

It is available through the above site, and internationally though CD Baby: http://www.cdbaby.com/
cd/elmcmeen10

I’ve got some tunes I’m working on, but no plans for a new CD any time soon, frankly. I have been
picking up my guitar teaching substantially. I have always enjoyed working with other guitarists on
playing, arranging and composing, and am doing much more of that these days, since I play out
much less frequently than I did before.

Thanks, Terence, for giving me the opportunity to talk about guitars and music; much appreciated.
FEATURE
Luthier: Bill Tippin
El McMeen Signature Model
In the summer of 2009, I was discussing
guitars with Bill Tippin. (I had recorded my
CD called “The Lea Rig” with Bill’s OMT
model.) What emerged from that discussion
was the idea of an El McMeen Signature
Model Guitar, which Bill and I would design
and Bill would build!

I was deeply honoured by Bill’s respect for

my music and me, and was appreciative of
having the opportunity to work with such
an elite builder as Bill on a guitar with his
and my ideas for a great fingerstyle instru-
ment.

Bill’s largest model is his Bravado. It is a

great guitar, which can be played fingerstyle,
flat-picked, or strummed. I prefer a slightly
shorter scale (25.5, versus the Bravado’s
25.7 scale). In addition, I favour a shallower
jumbo (such as the Jumbo model of Nick
Kukich, of Franklin Guitars), with a quick
response, even across the fingerboard, and
with a focused bass and powerful projected
volume.

Bill came up with an idea that met my

desires and still preserved the distinctive
Tippin guitar tone. He designed a contoured
body-- shallower on the bass side than on
the treble side. (For my prototype, I chose
Bill’s select Santa Maria mahogany for the
back and sides, and a Carpathian spruce
top.).

Bill re-braced the guitar to reflect the

contoured shape. He suggested a subtle
black and abalone body binding, rosette,
and back stripe. The bridge is Brazilian
rosewood, beautifully sculpted. The
fingerboard is ebony, and there is no name
on anything but the labels inside.
Specs
Top: Carpathian spruce
Back & Sides: Santa Maria
mahogany (Cuban)
Scale length: 25.5”
Body depth: – 4 ½” on treble side,
tapered to 3 5/8” on the bass
Lower bout: 16 3/16”
Standard nut width: 1 ¾”
Body length: 20 13/16”

Photos courtesy of B.Tippin

 Ken Bonfield’s Artistry of the Guitar
Maintaining the Beginner’s Mind-Set
Hello and welcome to my first article for
Guitarbench. Here at Ken Bonfield’s ‘Artistry
of the Guitar’ column we’ll talk about acoustic
guitar; practice, performance, designing
custom guitars, playing in alternate tunings,
plugging in and sounding good, all sorts of
stuff I spend my time thinking about and
doing. It’s geared towards the intermediate to
advanced player, but hopefully there will be
something here for everyone and I hope you
find it as interesting as I do.

For my first column I wanted to address a

foundational piece in any guitarist’s quest
to learn new techniques or break through
plateaus- maintaining a beginner’s mindset.

Over the past four years I’ve had to go through

my own journey in maintaining a beginner’s
mind-set when in 2008 I started learning to
play slide and in late 2010 when I got a harp
guitar from luthier, Alan Carruth. I’d always
wanted to play slide guitar; I’ve been a huge
fan of Ry Cooder, David Lindley, Martin
Simpson, Sonny Landreth, Lowell George,
and the late Duane Allman since I first started
playing guitar in 1974.
What’s stopping them (and me) from adding new
techniques or breaking through plateaus? And their
answers were telling; almost without fail they said
that at this point in their playing if they can’t do
it right away they’re convinced they can’t do it all.
And why? Because they’re already accomplished
guitarists and should be able to learn any new
technique quickly.

Over the years I’ve bought and collected a
variety of slides and unsuccessfully tried to
add slide playing to my list- always with utter
failure. This time however, I was determined
to meet my goal.
The first thing I did was analyse why I was
unsuccessful in the past. What did I do
wrong? Or, what did I not do? I’ve learned
over the years in teaching workshops and
in private lessons that when people say they
can’t master a technique it usually means they
haven’t done the work or spent the required
time. But why? These are good guitarists, and
not lazy people. Over the years I’ve chided
them about that, but lately I’ve been asking
folks why they don’t do the work.
They think they just don’t have the slide ‘gene’ or the
alternative tuning gene, etc. And that stopped me in
my tracks-because that was also true for me. Hell,
I get paid, not a lot, but I get paid to be a virtuoso
guitarist-the kind people come out to see and say
“Holy crow, how’d he do that?’. But when I took a
hard look at it I realized that any new technique,
especially one as different as playing slide, would
take months of playing, many many hours to
accomplish. Hours I’d not put in, and to wrap my
head around that I had to become a beginner again.
But what did that mean? To become a beginner
again one must trust in one thing; that proper
practice done over time will yield the desired
results. The key phrase is ‘over time’.
Think back to when you were a beginner and
first learning to play chords, and then learning
to move from one chord to another while
maintaining the rhythm. Think about how
many hours and weeks it took to do something
we all think of as simple now. So, I made a
plan. For the next 90 days I’d play slide guitar
for at least 45 minutes every day-no less-more
would be OK. And boy that first week was
hard.

I had no material to play, just an idea that I

wanted to play in open D tuning and learn a
song by my friend Brooks Williams, “Goodbye
Walker Percy” a haunting blues ballad on
his “Little Lion” cd. This song would be my
primer for learning slide. I also started messing
around with “Amazing Grace” a song I know
quite well and have arranged in a variety of
alternate tunings for fingerstyle guitar.

And I plugged away; sometimes I could only

as again met with success-I performed my first
play for 15 or 20 minutes at a time before I got
piece on it in mid November less than a month
bored or frustrated, but I would come back
later in a show I did with Larry Coryell, and
later in the day and play more; I always played
again the audience LOVED it. But I also noticed
for 45 minutes, staying patient and remaining
things were different-in early January just passed
confident that my plan would succeed. The 90
60 days into my 90 day plan I was feeling a bit
days passed and I was shocked, I’d written a
lost, negative, and unsure of my direction.
half-dozen pieces-two quite good, and others
were promising.
I realized then that the second, and probably
most important component of maintaining
The key moment came for me in April of 2009
a beginner’s mindset is keeping a positive
at the Governor’s Mansion in Little Rock, AR
attitude. I started talking to other guitarists
when I debuted my slide piece “My Magnolia”
who were having problems with a technique
for 300 people. And they loved it. I’m not a
change or playing a new instrument or playing
slide master, yet, but it gives me tremendous
in a new tuning; and the common thread was
joy, and another trick up my performer’s
negative self-talk. The words they were saying to
sleeve. And more importantly, my plan had
themselves were holding them back every bit as
worked. I’d gone from not playing slide, to
much as their lack of time. Wow.
entertaining a paying audience with an original
slide tune.
So, over the next few weeks I kept a real close eye
on my thoughts and made sure to clear out the
This experience buoyed me greatly when
negative thoughts as soon as they’d appear. It was
Al Carruth presented me with a harp guitar
hard at first; it took practice. I also made sure
in October of 2010. It’s an 11-string with 6
that when I picked up the harp guitar that I was
standard guitar strings and 5 sub-basses. It
in good mental shape for the work ahead-it was
was daunting at first just holding this guitar let
daunting at first-the harp guitar is just so damned
alone trying to play it, but I incorporated my
hard, but I persevered and maintained a positive
45-minute, 90 day plan for the harp guitar and
attitude.
Now, it’s late 2012, and while playing the harp guitar is still the hardest thing I do, it’s not daunting
anymore. I feel comfortable with the instrument, and when I pick it up I play it, it’s not work like it
used to be. But I’ve also played it at least 1000 hours since I got it, and for most of those hours I’ve
been locked in the beginner’s mindset. Again, the most fulfilling thing to me is that the plan worked.

Lastly, as someone who has taught privately for over 20 years, I felt competent in teaching myself
these new techniques. But I did ring up Brooks a couple of times for tips, and I did go to two Harp
Guitar Gatherings, and I used them to ask questions, watch and learn from other players before I
then applied them to my approach. If you maintain a beginner’s mind set, do the work, and keep
a positive attitude and you’re still struggling; get help from a good teacher; that’s the last step in
maintaining a beginner’s mind set; go to a good teacher. And there are some great teachers out there,
and with the advent of Skype, YouTube, and social media you have an opportunity to hook up with a
teacher halfway around the world if that’s the best teacher for you.

So, become a beginner again: do the work, talk nicely to yourself, get some outside help, and if you
do all those things I firmly believe you can accomplish any musical goal you set for yourself.

Ken Bonfield lives in

Gloucester, Massachusetts
and can be reached at:
kenbonfield.com or by
clicking on the image of his
latest CD to the right!
SPONSORS
We wouldn’t be able to produce this magazine without their
generous help. Please take a moment to view their services!
 Tone Obsession with Michael Watts
“I’ve practiced my tone for almost 50 years, and if I can’t hear my
tone, I can’t play. If I can’t play, then I won’t get paid. If I don’t get
paid, then I lose the house, you know? It’s like a chain reaction. If
I lose my tone, I ...can’t do nothin’. I’ll just walk into the ocean and
die, if I lose my tone.” - Miles Davis
Hi, my name is Michael Watts and I am
obsessed with the sound of the guitar. In
particular the tonal possibilities afforded
to the players of modern luthier-built
instruments as well as the legendary vintage
guitars of the past.

The guitar is my voice as a composer and

performer and has been a vital part of my
life since childhood. From the ancient (I
can still remember very vividly the sound
and response of a 1929 Gibson Nick Lucas I
played some years ago) to the modern ultra
responsive thoroughbreds of luthiers such
as Michael Greenfield, Jason Kostal, Linda
Manzer etc, it is no exaggeration to say that I
have “gone deep” into the sonic universe of the
guitar.

In this article I will be outlining some of my

approaches towards generating a wide and
expressive tonal palette in order to embark on
the process that Frank Zappa likened to “air
sculpture”, more commonly known as playing
your guitar.
I know, this magazine is about the guitar, and
believe me, when it comes to guitar geekery
I can hold my own, but I firmly believe that
owning a an instrument is a privilege that
brings with it responsibility. In this case the
responsibility to make as musical a sound as
possible every time you play your guitar.
ADSR
In order to further our understanding of tone it
helps to have a preliminary grasp of the anatomy
of a sound. Any sound, from the softest (think
a gut strung 19th Century Martin) to the most
aggressive (an EMG-loaded Les Paul perhaps,
through a Death by Audio “Apocalypse” fuzz
pedal, maybe, into a row of Marshall plexi’s ), is
comprised of four parts the attack, the decay, the
sustain, and the release.
The Attack
While the late 1970’s were hardly a golden era
for guitar manufacture,they did herald a greater
understanding of sound due to the advent of
the synthesiser. Early experiments in synthesis
and psycho-acoustics revealed some very
interesting- the fact that the human brain gets
a huge amount of the information it uses to
process sound from the initial attack.
I had personal experience of this in the studio,
one night mixing doubled lines of cello and
baritone sax. I conducted a little experiment
and faded out the initial attack of each note.
The sound of each instrument after the
initial attack of the note was as close as, to be
indistinguishable. Spooky!
So, this obviously has implications for us as
creators of tone. Given that so much of the
identity and perceived quality of the sound we
make is dependent on how our brains (and
indeed those of our audience) process the initial
transients of each note then we must focus on
those first milliseconds of chaos as the sound
explodes into being.
Let’s try an exercise:
Grab the nearest guitar to you, it doesn’t matter
what tuning it’s in, who built it or how much
it cost, as long as it has at least one string on it
then it will do the job.
Attack it.
Eventually you will hear an attack that stands
out, you may not be able to explain why (and
few would believe you even if you could…) but
for some reason it seems more immediate, more
honest, more musical…
Now do it again. Repeat that EXACT attack.
It may take a little while to dial it in but
eventually you should be able to duplicate this
attack a couple of times in a row.
Then five…
Then ten…
It’s not as easy as it sounds… but you have
found something, something you can call your
own. Where will you use it?
Next Issue: D is for decay…
Michael Watts is an award-winning
fingerstyle guitarist based in the UK.
He has demonstrated the work of
some of the world’s greatest luthiers
at numerous international guitar
festivals and runs The North American
Guitar, thenorthamericanguitar.com, a
company specialising in bespoke luthier-
built guitars. He can be reached at:
michaelwattsguitar.com or by clicking
on the image below!

Seriously, move that string, shift some air. See

how many UNIQUE sounds you can make (no
need to fret it, just the open string will do fine).
Use the tops/backs of your nails, your knuckles,
the edge of your plectrum, fingertips, whatever
you can think of. Ignore anything but the initial
transient. Do not look for beauty, only variation.
Adjust the amount of energy going into the
attack, the angle at which it hits the string and
the position along the string relative to the nut
and saddle.
Alphomega.
Completing a masterpiece
Taku Sakashta’s passing in 2012 robbed the world of a brilliant and creative luthier. But his legacy
lives on, through his students and through his instruments. This one, in particular, the Alphomega, is
particularly striking.

This was planned as a special instrument for his 100th guitar. Over 8 years, Sakashta worked on this
guitar, giving, extreme care and attention befitting such a milestone instrument. At the time of his
passing, this instrument was almost completed. Mr Sunami, a former apprentice finished the build.

Photos courtesy of Blue-G

Specs
Alphomega SD Cutaway (2012)
Top: Figured German spruce
Back and sides: Premium Figured Brazilian rosewood
Sides: Laminated Figured Brazilian rosewood
Neck: Curly Spanish cedar
Binding: African Blackwood
Fingerboard: Snakewood
Bridge: Snakewood
Purfling: Abalone
Rosette: White Mother-of-Pearl
Finish: Shellac finish
Waverly gold tuners w/snakewood buttons
Scalloped nut

Taku Sakashita said “Alphomega to me is like Mona Lisa for da Vinci. I have been
taking my time to make sure that the guitar comes out the way I exactly want.
This will be the last guitar I can use such a rare and premium materials.”
REVIEW
Paramita
Rev. Heng Sure & Friends
Rev. Heng Sure is a California based ordained
Buddhist and ‘Paramita’ is a combination of
his love for folk songs and Buddhist scriptures.
Throw in a superb musicians (Josh Michaell,
Paul Hostetter, Robin Petrie, Alan Senauke
and Brian Godchaux) and an eclectic choice of
instruments (Alberico OM, Howe-Orme high
strung parlor, Santa Cruz H13, hammered
dulcimer, Givens mandolin) and you have
a potent recipe for what he calls American
Buddhist folk songs.
The CD represents his efforts in creating a
genre using classic American folk music and
Buddhist themes. The melodies are at once
recognisable but the lyrics provoke thought.
Sometimes humorous, sometimes searching,
the themes revolve around current and endless
themes.
Mad Beef Cows, Oil, karma, all are covered in
the 17 tracks on the album. The end product
is highly polished but never losing that
intimate connection between the artist and
listener.
Highly successful is the mix of instruments
and musicians involved, with fiddle work,
dulcimer and mandolin all playing in
harmonious melody.
Standout tracks include Earth Store with its
haunting trace like melodies and Yashodhara,
showcasing a complex fingerstyle composition
blending with the telling of Prince
Siddhartha’s journey.
REVIEW
In Winter
Michael Manring & Kevin Kastning

Atmospheric, contemplative, introspective.... Throw out the conventional compositions and

all describing our reactions to this offering
from extended range guitarist Kevin Kastning
and bass supremo Michael Manring.
Both are masters of their unusual
instruments- Manring designed the Zon
Hyperbass which has an extended range and
is capable of a myriad of altered tunings.
Kastning uses the Contraguitar and a 12 string
alto guitar also, of his own design to extend
the range and voice beyond the norm.
(Note: We recently interviewed Daniel
Roberts, the luthier behind Kastning’s guitars,
in Issue 2!)
melodies here. The tracks are all about mood
and atmosphere. The extended tonal range
allows for the two to play out improvisations,
drawn out harmonics and endless shades of
mood.
We definitely felt the evocation of nature and
introspective emotional searching. Much
like the ECM recording of Abercombie and
Towner, this is not a car CD and whilst not
an immediately accessible album, certainly
rewards listeners with an emotional,
contemplative journey.

So when you take two avant grade musicians

and collide them in a late Autumn/early
Winter New England, you get ‘In Winter’.
REVIEW
Red Planet
Arborea
If the name Arborea hasn’t registered in your
musical scape yet, don’t worry, it will soon.
The duo of Buck and Shanti Curran has been
earning a slew of accolades, from Rolling
Stone to Acoustic Guitar, from Editor’s Picks
to Best Under-the-Radar Albums.
‘Red Planet’ is actually the third offering from
this band. Variously labelled as folk-trance to
new folk, it is safe to say that the tracks here
are a wondrous blend of a traditional folk
voice, modernist minimalism and all wrapped
around hypnotic melodies.
With traditional instruments such as
mandolins, guitars, ukes, dulcimers the more
modern vocals of Shanti, windy and ethereal
sings through.
Can you tell that we like their work? Let’s just
say that the album gets a lot of play time here
in the office.
Standouts include the trance like
interpretation of the very traditional folk
ballard ‘Black is the Colour’ and Tim
Buckley’s ‘Phantasmagoria in 2’.
On the whole, Red Planet is somewhat like a
mash up of the two albums we reviewed, take
an introspective slightly avant-grade approach
to a traditional folk voice and out will pop a
richly textured, melodic but deeply emotional
ten tracks.
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WORKBENCH
GREVEN GUITARS

This month, we’re featuring a few photos from the workshop of John Greven. Greven has a reputa-
tion as a master of inlay and engraving, a skill developed during his time as a repairman at George
Gruhn’s shop.

Above:
Hand engraving tools. Each has been with Greven for past decade and has been sharpened countless
of time to maintain a keen edge for a clean cut and clean lines.
Above:
It begins with the shell blanks
shaped and inlaid into the
veneer. Once sanded smooth,
they are ready for the engraving
process.

Below:
With magnified vision, Greven
uses the tools to cut out many
fine lines. These will then help
to form the final image.
The result of years of practise
and mastery: intricate artwork
adorning various Greven
guitars!

Photos courtesy of J.Greven

DIFFERENT STRINGS
This month’s Different Strings features another ukulele. Okay, we admit we have a lot of ukes here, but have
you seen a Kasha inspired uke before? How about one made from curly Cuban Mahogany! This little beauty
is crafted by Eric Devine and has lots of tasty little details!
Specs
Total length: 26 1/4”
Body length:12”
Upper bout width: 6 1/2”
Lower bout width: 8 3/4”
Upper bout depth: 2 3/4”
Lower bout depth: 3”
Scale length: 17”

Top, back, sides: Cuban mahogany

Neck: Cuban mahogany
Binding: Curly koa
Fretboard and headstock veneer: Ebony
Photos courtesy of E.Devine
PREVIEW
Stay tuned for Issue 5 of
Guitarbench Magazine.

With our usual mix of

great guitars,

information on
tonewoods.....
 PREVIEW

interviews with
Fabrizio Alberico
and more...

Lessons, reviews and

much more...
 DO YOU LIKE OUR
MAGAZINE?
Please consider subscribing
for our future editions and
help us stay in publication.
Just Click Here!