Look, listen and do, never ask why! Kennosuke Hayakawa, master Japanese carpenter I started learning the technique of French polishing about seventeen years ago, I watched Ron Fernandez's video, French Polishing for Guitarmakers, 2.0., followed his instructions to the letter on a guitar and was stunned by the beauty of the finish! Before I purchased this video I had used several well known varnishes and various recipes gleaned from wood working magazines on my guitars, the resulting finishes were very disappointing. Yes, French, or English polishing, depending on who you learn from, can be a d ..read more

Our observations have led us to a conclusion that some readers may find surprising: Specific elements of brace design, in and of themselves, are not all that important! One has only to look at the myriad designs employed on great guitars to recognize that there is no design secret that will unlock the door to world-class consistency. A great maker will probably build a great guitar no matter what brace designed is used. William R. Cumpiano, Guitarmaking, Tradition and Technology, 1987 There are many opinions among classical guitar makers and guitarists, especially the guitarists, on how ..read more

The industry has done too good of a job convincing the vast majority of guitar players that high end acoustic guitars must be made from rosewood, mahogany, ebony and spruce. And yeah, they work-but other woods work also. Chris Martin IV, Martin Guitars The traditional wood choices for classical guitar making were largely dictated by what was available in 19th century Spain, which is not a particularly useful criteria for choosing wood in 21st century England. Martin Woodhouse, luthier Sustainability of tone woods is topic that no classical guitarist wants to talk to me about, they change the s ..read more

There are times when I wonder if making my own hand tools is worth the time and effort, making a tool means time away from guitar making, but if the tool can increase my efficiency in building a guitar, then that time is not wasted. That is a very unromantic view towards making my own hand tools, it is very rewarding when the tool I made works right when I finish. I admit that over the last thirty years I have made several hand tools that didn’t work, those got tossed into the wood stove, a factory made tool was bought so I could get back to the work at hand. I decided to make a pair of ve ..read more

Here is your chance to own a piece of classical guitar history! I currently have in my shop a “Hernandis 1A” classical guitar that is in near mint condition! Back in the 1960’s and 1970’s, James Sherry, of Sherry-Breyer Company, Chicago was an importer of classical and flamenco guitars made by Jose Ramirez III. It was well known in classical guitar circles that he sold Ramirez guitars to Andrés Segovia, Christopher Parkening, Julian Bream and other top notch guitarists of the day. Sherry created some controversy by labeling one model line of Ramirez guitars as the “Segovia Model”, this act inf ..read more

“So, Wilson, what got you into guitar making?”  “I grew up with the guitar. A guitar was always around or someone who could play it. How about you?” “I love trees. Every guitar I make is an homage to trees!” “Wow! If you love trees so much then you must really love a forest!” “The forest?! What the hell does a forest have to do with trees ..read more

  “Forests are of great value from their effect upon the climate, making it more equable. They tend to cause abundant and needed rainfall and to preserve the moisture when fallen, releasing it to the rivers gradually, and thus preventing abnormal freshets and extreme droughts. By absorbing and parting with heat slowly they cause the changes of temperature to be less sudden than in the open country. They temper the heat, and they serve as a protection, or "wind-break," to adjacent land. Trees, with other vegetation, are essential to the purification of the air. All this is in addition to t ..read more

 Day in and day out my parents said to me, “The forest is our life ..read more

I put strings on the redwood/laurel classic guitar yesterday afternoon and was very happy to hear that is has a gorgeous voice. Today, it’s voice had much more depth and it is LOUD! I will start French polishing it early August. It would be wonderful if a talented guitarist would stop by my studio to record a sound byte of this guitar, I haven’t practiced playing the guitar in almost four months.  ..read more

Double top guitars are awesome! Overheard at a classical guitar competition, 2019 This double top classical guitar will be completed by September 9, 2022 and available for viewing and a test drive at the Denver Guitar Festival September 9-11, 2022.  The Engelmann spruce top has an inlay of honeycomb Nomex withSitka spruce veneer, the back and sides are curly maple with an Indian rosewood fillet in the back. Please email me for more information.. Engelmann spruce top Curly maple back and sides with rosewood fillet in back  650mm string length 52mm wide fretboard at nut 62mm at 1 ..read more