“I Wish I’d Taken the Plunge Sooner” — Bari’s Tenor Guitar Story

“I Wish I’d Taken the Plunge Sooner” — Bari’s Tenor Guitar Story

September 24, 2025
“It Exceeded My Expectations” — Chris’s Guitar-Bouzouki Story

“It Exceeded My Expectations” — Chris’s Guitar-Bouzouki Story

September 19, 2025
“For Me, Sound Is King” — Marty’s Guitar-Bouzouki Story

“For Me, Sound Is King” — Marty’s Guitar-Bouzouki Story

September 19, 2025
“It Has Exceeded My Expectations in Every Way” — Andrew’s Tenor Guitar Story

“It Has Exceeded My Expectations in Every Way” — Andrew’s Tenor Guitar Story

September 18, 2025
“Just Do It — You Won’t Regret It” — Robert’s Bouzouki Story

“Just Do It — You Won’t Regret It” — Robert’s Bouzouki Story

September 17, 2025
“Ordering It Was One of My Better Life Choices” — Ruadhrai’s Bouzouki Story

“Ordering It Was One of My Better Life Choices” — Ruadhrai’s Bouzouki Story

September 17, 2025
“It Sounded Like a Grand Piano” — Steve’s Bouzouki Story

“It Sounded Like a Grand Piano” — Steve’s Bouzouki Story

September 17, 2025
Strings for the Irish bouzouki

Strings for the Irish bouzouki

September 2, 2025
Three Irish bouzoukis compared

Three Irish bouzoukis compared

August 5, 2025
NK Forster Mandolin Model Comparison: Sizes, Prices & Tonal Character

NK Forster Mandolin Model Comparison: Sizes, Prices & Tonal Character

July 24, 2025
NK Forster Bouzouki Comparison: Sizes, Price & Key Features

NK Forster Bouzouki Comparison: Sizes, Price & Key Features

July 24, 2025
NK Forster Tenor Guitar Comparison: Dimensions, Price & Tonal Qualities

NK Forster Tenor Guitar Comparison: Dimensions, Price & Tonal Qualities

July 24, 2025
NK Forster Guitar Comparison: Dimensions, Price & Tonal Qualities

NK Forster Guitar Comparison: Dimensions, Price & Tonal Qualities

July 23, 2025
Session King tenor guitar available now!

Session King tenor guitar available now!

March 25, 2025
Session King Irish bouzouki demo videos

Session King Irish bouzouki demo videos

February 25, 2025
Session King Irish bouzouki project

Session King Irish bouzouki project

February 21, 2025
Can you help me design the Session King bouzouki?

Can you help me design the Session King bouzouki?

December 12, 2024
Guitar maker interview – I Love my job

Guitar maker interview – I Love my job

November 1, 2024
Irish bouzouki and Parlour King 6 string heading out

Irish bouzouki and Parlour King 6 string heading out

April 9, 2024
How to tune an Irish bouzouki

How to tune an Irish bouzouki

March 24, 2024
DADGAD guitar: Everything you ever wanted to know

DADGAD guitar: Everything you ever wanted to know

March 10, 2024
Everything you need to know about the guitar bouzouki!

Everything you need to know about the guitar bouzouki!

March 1, 2024
Knopfler’s Newcastle Gem: Sold for £20,000!

Knopfler’s Newcastle Gem: Sold for £20,000!

February 28, 2024
Knopfler guitar collection

Knopfler guitar collection

January 18, 2024
Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

December 24, 2023
New Model E-SS video!

New Model E-SS video!

December 2, 2023
1947 Selmer Maccaferri for sale

1947 Selmer Maccaferri for sale

July 3, 2023
On silent retreat

On silent retreat

May 28, 2023
New ebook for luthiers

New ebook for luthiers

March 10, 2023
Tom Kimber tenor guitar video

Tom Kimber tenor guitar video

January 26, 2023
EG3 electric guitar

EG3 electric guitar

January 20, 2023
Electric guitars!

Electric guitars!

November 4, 2022
Interview with Ian Hates Guitars

Interview with Ian Hates Guitars

July 30, 2022
More of the NK Forster 2021/22 mandolin batch

More of the NK Forster 2021/22 mandolin batch

July 2, 2022
Session King 6 string guitar video

Session King 6 string guitar video

March 31, 2022
Australian tonewoods

Australian tonewoods

March 24, 2022
Semi Hemi fret end grinding wheel orders being taken!

Semi Hemi fret end grinding wheel orders being taken!

February 11, 2022
Guitar making on Instagram

Guitar making on Instagram

January 22, 2022
34 years of making guitars

34 years of making guitars

January 11, 2022
Semi hemispherical fret ends

Semi hemispherical fret ends

November 24, 2021
Session King tenor guitar (Advanced)

Session King tenor guitar (Advanced)

November 23, 2021
Christmas crop 2021

Christmas crop 2021

November 7, 2021
Why I ended up making so many tenor guitars…

Why I ended up making so many tenor guitars…

October 3, 2021
A pair of recent tenor guitars

A pair of recent tenor guitars

September 7, 2021
Small Celtic O mandolin available now

Small Celtic O mandolin available now

August 4, 2021
New Session King 6 string guitar

New Session King 6 string guitar

June 14, 2021
Celtic mandolins, 2021 batch – last two spots available

Celtic mandolins, 2021 batch – last two spots available

May 17, 2021
New Celtic mandolin prototype

New Celtic mandolin prototype

April 30, 2021
How to tune an octave mandolin and what strings to use.

How to tune an octave mandolin and what strings to use.

April 18, 2021
Guitar bodied octave mandolin – Parlour King OM-SS

Guitar bodied octave mandolin – Parlour King OM-SS

April 13, 2021
Irish bouzouki build thread 8: final sanding, off to the spray shop

Irish bouzouki build thread 8: final sanding, off to the spray shop

February 28, 2021
Irish Bouzouki build thread 7: binding, fretboard, neck

Irish Bouzouki build thread 7: binding, fretboard, neck

February 10, 2021
Irish bouzouki build thread 6 – the soundboard

Irish bouzouki build thread 6 – the soundboard

February 7, 2021
Build thread 5 – Irish bouzouki – ready for the top

Build thread 5 – Irish bouzouki – ready for the top

January 12, 2021
Irish bouzouki build thread 4 – the back goes on

Irish bouzouki build thread 4 – the back goes on

January 11, 2021
Irish bouzouki build thread 3

Irish bouzouki build thread 3

January 7, 2021
Build thread: Irish bouzouki 2

Build thread: Irish bouzouki 2

January 6, 2021
Happy 2021. Build thread: wenge/spruce irish bouzouki

Happy 2021. Build thread: wenge/spruce irish bouzouki

January 5, 2021
Electric short scale, 10 string Octave mandolin (cittern)

Electric short scale, 10 string Octave mandolin (cittern)

December 24, 2020
Interview – Luthier on Luthier Podcast with Michael Bashkin

Interview – Luthier on Luthier Podcast with Michael Bashkin

November 27, 2020
A Model mandolin and Session King shipping out

A Model mandolin and Session King shipping out

November 8, 2020
Buying tonewood in Australia

Buying tonewood in Australia

September 20, 2020
New Celtic mandolin shipping out…

New Celtic mandolin shipping out…

August 30, 2020
Guitar bouzouki all done

Guitar bouzouki all done

July 9, 2020
Model S-SS and Model S-HO comparison.

Model S-SS and Model S-HO comparison.

July 6, 2020
Twins

Twins

May 21, 2020
Fretting

Fretting

April 27, 2020
Grain filling

Grain filling

April 25, 2020
neck carving

neck carving

April 24, 2020
Fretboards

Fretboards

April 21, 2020
Necks

Necks

April 20, 2020
Binding!

Binding!

April 16, 2020
Stolen guitar bouzouki found!

Stolen guitar bouzouki found!

February 9, 2020
Parlour King tenor guitar

Parlour King tenor guitar

December 13, 2019
How to tune a tenor guitar and what strings to use

How to tune a tenor guitar and what strings to use

November 28, 2019
Celtic music video

Celtic music video

September 7, 2019
An hour of music played on NK Forster Guitars

An hour of music played on NK Forster Guitars

August 24, 2019
Session King Advanced guitar bouzouki

Session King Advanced guitar bouzouki

June 19, 2019
New Session King tenor guitar video

New Session King tenor guitar video

June 15, 2019
Session King ukes update

Session King ukes update

May 27, 2019
30 year old Soundboard for the 30th anniversary guitar?

30 year old Soundboard for the 30th anniversary guitar?

April 3, 2019
Workshop burglary update

Workshop burglary update

March 1, 2019
The best sounding acoustic guitar I’ve ever made

The best sounding acoustic guitar I’ve ever made

November 19, 2018
A batch of Session King ukes (updated 7/1/19)

A batch of Session King ukes (updated 7/1/19)

October 29, 2018
G’day mate!

G’day mate!

October 8, 2018
Stolen guitars update

Stolen guitars update

September 8, 2018
Reward for stolen guitars

Reward for stolen guitars

June 14, 2018
NK Forster Hexham workshop robbed – guitars stolen!

NK Forster Hexham workshop robbed – guitars stolen!

June 10, 2018
The guitar bouzouki: everything you need to know (updated 2024)

The guitar bouzouki: everything you need to know (updated 2024)

April 13, 2018
Handmade acoustic guitars – is cedar and mahogany the perfect combination?

Handmade acoustic guitars – is cedar and mahogany the perfect combination?

March 10, 2018
Session King tenor guitar for sale!

Session King tenor guitar for sale!

January 8, 2018
The best guitar for DADGAD?

The best guitar for DADGAD?

December 3, 2017
Why I don’t make sitka spruce guitars

Why I don’t make sitka spruce guitars

May 26, 2017
Raising money for Beth’s cancer treatment

Raising money for Beth’s cancer treatment

May 14, 2017
Japan 2017

Japan 2017

April 21, 2017
Session King guitar “suspension”

Session King guitar “suspension”

April 6, 2017
email woes

email woes

March 25, 2017
Snaarmaarwaar pop ’round the workshop for some tunes

Snaarmaarwaar pop ’round the workshop for some tunes

March 24, 2017
New Irish bouzouki, what shall we call it?

New Irish bouzouki, what shall we call it?

February 20, 2017
Celtic mandolins, an Irish bouzouki, a guitar bouzouki….

Celtic mandolins, an Irish bouzouki, a guitar bouzouki….

February 18, 2017
Buying a tenor guitar – one man’s story…

Buying a tenor guitar – one man’s story…

February 11, 2017
What’s on the bench? A new Model D

What’s on the bench? A new Model D

December 7, 2016
Guitar repair in Leipzig

Guitar repair in Leipzig

November 20, 2016
What is the best DADGAD guitar? The Model C-HO

What is the best DADGAD guitar? The Model C-HO

November 17, 2016
Super responsive guitar bodied octave mandolin!

Super responsive guitar bodied octave mandolin!

November 7, 2016
Introducing the Session King advanced

Introducing the Session King advanced

October 23, 2016
New Celtic bouzouki on the bench

New Celtic bouzouki on the bench

October 11, 2016
Ian Stephensn and his Model S on Vimeo

Ian Stephensn and his Model S on Vimeo

September 26, 2016
New luthier ebook!

New luthier ebook!

August 16, 2016
Two reasons to sign up to the NK Forster guitars newsletter…

Two reasons to sign up to the NK Forster guitars newsletter…

June 18, 2016
New take on the Sobell guitar design?

New take on the Sobell guitar design?

May 1, 2016
New Session King Gzouki

New Session King Gzouki

April 8, 2016
New Celtic F mandolin on the bench

New Celtic F mandolin on the bench

February 9, 2016
Great new Celtic music band – Ímar

Great new Celtic music band – Ímar

January 13, 2016
Loudest acoustic guitar? Another Session King review

Loudest acoustic guitar? Another Session King review

November 23, 2015
NK Forster Guitars – Leipzig luthier

NK Forster Guitars – Leipzig luthier

November 15, 2015
Session King review

Session King review

November 9, 2015
One new guzouki and one happy chap!

One new guzouki and one happy chap!

October 12, 2015
On retreat

On retreat

July 3, 2015
Barrule new album – Manannan’s Cloak

Barrule new album – Manannan’s Cloak

June 30, 2015
“The loudest tenor guitar I’ve ever played…”

“The loudest tenor guitar I’ve ever played…”

May 31, 2015
Session King videos and sound samples

Session King videos and sound samples

April 12, 2015
My favourite guitar – Howe Orme

My favourite guitar – Howe Orme

February 25, 2015
Interview with Johnny Dickinson

Interview with Johnny Dickinson

February 1, 2015
What is a Celtic mandolin?

What is a Celtic mandolin?

August 12, 2014
Studying in Japan

Studying in Japan

July 31, 2014
The guitar bouzouki: a brief and interesting history

The guitar bouzouki: a brief and interesting history

July 8, 2014
Helping out in Cambodia 2

Helping out in Cambodia 2

June 25, 2014
Helping out in Cambodia

Helping out in Cambodia

May 28, 2014
Flashpacking minimalist travelling luthier!

Flashpacking minimalist travelling luthier!

April 13, 2014
New interview with Guitar Connoisseur magazine

New interview with Guitar Connoisseur magazine

October 21, 2013
Irish bouzouki? What about Isle of Man bouzouki? Interview with Adam Rhodes, Barrule.

Irish bouzouki? What about Isle of Man bouzouki? Interview with Adam Rhodes, Barrule.

June 9, 2013
What’s the best value handmade acoustic guitars?

What’s the best value handmade acoustic guitars?

April 14, 2013
A day at the Newark College guitar making course

A day at the Newark College guitar making course

April 5, 2012
A fine archtop guitar – “Oscar”

A fine archtop guitar – “Oscar”

October 18, 2011
Influences V – Stefan Sobell

Influences V – Stefan Sobell

July 12, 2010
Influences IV – Howe Orme Guitars

Influences IV – Howe Orme Guitars

July 8, 2010
Influences III – Shaker furniture

Influences III – Shaker furniture

June 19, 2010
Influences II – Hermann Hauser I

Influences II – Hermann Hauser I

June 6, 2010
Influences 1 – Selmer guitar

Influences 1 – Selmer guitar

May 28, 2010