Author Archives: steve

About steve

Luthier in the northwest of the Northwest. Classical guitars, custom instruments, repairs and restorations.

Cedar and Padauk – a good guitar combo –

Padauk is an interesting wood for guitars. The first time I tried to bend it for sides, it cracked, and those had to be discarded. 🙁 But it is used for bridges by some luthiers. It has a good resonating … Continue reading

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HERE COMES THE SUN !

A nice morning here in Blaine. Spirits lifted. Jacek Kado plays the uplifting Here Comes the Sun… From 2011, when his friend was being treated for a serious disease. Thanks Jacek. For me, this is an important role of music.

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Anna Pietrzak interprets…

…Sicilienne. A beautiful, moody and moving piece composed by Henryk (Harry) Freedman. I’ve written about Anna on this blog before. Her website is http://annapietrzak.com/en/anna-pietrzak Performed on a 2016 guitar I built: “El Negrito”.

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A nice guitar is a available….Third party.

A longtime customer called me this morning, and due to a combination of medical, family, and financial concerns, he is considering selling his Ganz guitar. The guitar has had plek job, and has an internal passive pickup. 640 scale length. … Continue reading

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Unwrapping and trimming the purfling

Another silent movie

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Gluing/laminating purfling lines

A few minutes of bliss

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Nico’s Baritone is finished.

All strung up. The top is a satin finish with a golpeador, also low gloss. Cypress back and sides, spruce top. 700 mm scale. Tuned a fourth below normal. Nico Audy-Rowland is a composer and musician in the Seattle area. … Continue reading

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A zen approach to stringing the 6 hole tie block

When I started building in 1970, all tie blocks that I ever saw on classical guitars had 1 hole per string. It dawned on me then that there were other other options. For instance, pegs could hold down the strings, … Continue reading

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Dave Richman plays La Vie en Rose

Not too long ago, a guitar I built in 2002 came up for sale in a shop: Gruhn Guitars, in Nashville. This cat, Dave Richman picked it up, bought it, and started picking it. A transcription by Chet Atkins. Dave … Continue reading

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Nico: Some wood sets for consideration

Wood for the back and sides. It has to be long enough for the increased length of the body. The sides have to a little longer as well. The pics below can be enlarged by clicking… First, I’ve had this … Continue reading

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