Luthier Philosophy

Talk about musical instrument construction, setup and repair.

Moderators: kiwigeo, Jeremy D

Post Reply
ndiggles
Gidgee
Posts: 4
Joined: Wed Oct 20, 2010 8:18 am

Luthier Philosophy

Post by ndiggles » Thu Aug 13, 2015 10:05 am

Hi everyone,

The vast majority of you wouldn't know me, but I have been a self-taught 'luthier' for the last 5 years. My (somewhat solitary) journey of lutherie has now come to an end, and it is time to move onto other things. Over those years of course, I wasn't just building guitars (and I have many other interests), but I was building myself too - researching myself, discovering myself - something we all do in our daily lives as we naturally evolve. Lutherie was the first practice I ever found myself in "the zone", where space and time melts away, where I was consciously connected to something I felt was greater than myself, and working with timber taught me to find peace in yielding control, in letting go of preconceptions, allowing the guitar to be itself.

I built mostly steel string guitars, and at some point I felt urged to write about my personally developed philosophy of handbuilding them in order to communicate to any prospective customers the why of it all. This never actually concluded as planned, but I include here what I managed to write up to that point - perhaps it can be of some use to others, to inspire, reinforce or indeed contrast your own philosophy, as we each grow and evolve on this journey. Feel free to use/copy/whatever resonates with you - philosophy is not something that can be owned by any particular individual. Peace.

Diggles Custom Lutherie

I am a self-taught luthier. I have always loved wood, and enjoyed designing, building and carving all sorts of things from an early age. As I grew into an adult I explored the depths of science, mechanics, engineering, physics and the environment. All the while I made things myself, and I always liked guitars. Eventually I bought one and started to teach myself to play. Eventually I became intrigued by the processes of science, mechanics, engineering, physics and the environment that appeared to manifest themselves in this simple six-stringed instrument. And eventually, I became immersed in the unbounded world of making them myself. Whilst this has been a journey of a few short years, I have found all my past experience distilled into this one pursuit that pushes me further along its path every day. And through the lessons it has taught me, I have developed: My philosophy.

Why handbuilt?

The steel string guitar as we know it today was born in a factory production setting. When steel strings became available as a cheaper, louder and more durable alternative to gut strings, the major guitar factories in America developed instruments to carry the new strings, and a complete departure from the traditional design of ‘classical’ guitars ensued, resulting in what we know today as the ‘X’ braced steel string guitar. Gut strung ‘classical’ guitars had been built upon the heritage of centuries of development and hand craftsmanship, which had in some cases moved into a factory setting – steel string guitars however, started their lives in a ‘mass production’ environment, and have to some degree been designed around the demands of that production method. Current mass production technology combines huge production output with incredible accuracy, and this has been applied to guitars very successfully and ingeniously. This, and the ensuing marketing of this product over the last 100 years, has cemented our perceptions of what a steel string guitar is and ‘should’ be. Now, if you see the guitar as an assortment of wood that must be brought together into an instrument as quickly and cheaply as your target market will allow, with the monotonous standards of replication and finish that you have trained the market to value and only a machine can produce, then a good quality factory instrument will certainly serve you well. But the one quality that the instrument will lack, is the exact same quality that brought those early gut strung instruments out of the wood shavings into being the refined and unmistakable ‘guitar’ that we know today – hand building.

How I build my guitars:

- Individually hand built
Every hand built guitar is unique. Every stroke of the plane or chisel is different from the last. Where a machine is limited to producing one shape, one style, every time, the human hand has available an infinite repertoire of responses from moment to moment. Every human being is an individual, born out of nature. Just like a tree. As a unique human, I can fashion unique timbers into a unique instrument for another unique individual. I feel that this fully honours all participants – myself, the materials, the instrument, and the player. This is not possible in a factory setting, in which the instrument becomes subservient to the production method, no matter how accurate or consistent that may be. With a handbuilt instrument, the subtle processes of feeling, weighing, flexing, tapping, carving, sanding and finishing are how the luthiers hands and the timbers communicate to produce a collaborative outcome – unique every time. Hand built guitars feel hand built – why? There are no straight lines in nature, and no piece of wood worked by hand will be ‘perfect’, at least not from the perspective of a machine. There will be subtle irregularities that make anything handbuilt feel ‘natural’, just like how a tree branch feels ‘natural’. As with humans and trees, perfection lies within the small imperfections that make up what we are - if you want a guitar that feels like a machine built it…you know what to do.

- Style
I believe in simple adornments and trim that allows the beauty of the timber and the tone it produces to speak ever more clearly. I can certainly include rosettes, extra trim or personalized inlays in a custom instrument, although my respect for minimalism will still remain

- Finish
Timber is a natural, beautiful, tactile material. I believe as little as possible should come between the player and the timber the instrument is constructed from. When you play a guitar, when you feel it in your hands, it should feel like timber, not plastic, and you should feel the timber resonate, alive with tone, not dampened by a thick finish. The finish should be just thick enough to protect the guitar from minor marking and rapid humidity changes, but thin enough to allow its maximum resonance and tactile experience. To this end, I apply a modern shellac based product entirely by hand (in my own adaptation of a traditional French Polish). This leaves a very thin protective coating of fine appearance on the instrument, but it will never be as shiny or perfect as other types of finishes. It will also never be as resistant to harsh treatment as other types of finishes. Yet, this is the finish I currently prefer, for its minimal obstruction to volume and tone, and for the joy I receive in applying it as I watch the timbers’ depth of colour and figure appear under my hand. I would say that all that is required to ensure long life from this finish is to merely be mindful of it when handling and storing the guitar. Usually those that can appreciate a handbuilt instrument will automatically treat one appropriately for this finish anyway. It is important to remember what guitars were like before factories and mass production – what would a steel string guitar feel and sound like if it had ever evolved through centuries of hand-built heritage before modern finishes and spray equipment?

Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Google and 97 guests