Tonewood, hardware and decoration

Soundboards

When selecting the perfect wood for your guitar’s soundboard, I keep sonority, the instruments’ longevity and your playing experience in mind. Over the years, I’ve found that European spruce is one of the best choices for creating a guitar that sounds just right and the start and gets even better over time. I’ve hand-selected spruce from across Europe, and I’ve discovered that the lighter varieties, no matter where they come from, offer the best tonal qualities.

Every luthier has their own preference for spruce. Some seek the stiffest pieces, but I’ve learned that if the top is too stiff, your guitar won’t “sing” the way you want it to. On the other hand, if the wood is too weak, no amount of support can help it hold up over time. That’s why I take a hands-on approach: every few years, I personally visit dealers in Italy, Switzerland and Germany, where I carefully sort through thousands of soundboards to choose the best spruce and cedar tops for you. I’ve stocked up for the long haul, ensuring that the same high-quality wood will be available for years to come, giving you consistent sound in every instrument – I’m still using stock I bought in the early 2000s.

If you’re not someone who wants to wait years for your guitar to truly “open up,” there are other top woods that might be perfect for you. Western red cedar and torrefied sitka are excellent alternatives. Torrefied sitka, in particular, can deliver a fantastic sound. The process of torrification makes the wood lighter and more resonant, so you’ll get a more vibrant, open sound right from the start. While sitka can sometimes feel a little too heavy or dull, this treatment makes it much more lively and responsive. Cedar is also a great choice if you’re playing an instrument with multiple strings, like an 8 or 10 string guitar bouzouki or 12-string guitar, where the complex harmonics of European spruce might clutter the sound.

If you’re looking for a more affordable option, I offer cedrela. This unique wood has the appearance of mahogany and offers a sound reminiscent of older mahogany guitars. It has a raw, open quality giving you an instrument that sounds like it’s been played for decades, right from the beginning. It’s a robust choice that won’t need binding and will give you an exceptional playing experience.

For bouzouki and cittern, you can choose between European spruce and Western red cedar – both were the go-to choices when I worked with Stefan Sobell. But I also offer redwood, which, when selected carefully, can give you an incredible top wood with a truly raw, open sound that I believe you’ll really appreciate.

 

ss
European spruce
Model C-SK torrefied sitka spruce 3
Torrefied sitka spruce
forster-tenor-guitar-top-2
cedrela
Redwood top and soundhole
redwood
Session King Model E-SS-4
Western red cedar

Back and sides

For many years, Indian rosewood was my go-to timber for back and sides. But, if you’ve been paying attention, you’ll know that Indian rosewood has recently been listed and then delisted as a restricted timber. This was a turning point. What does this mean for you? Well, I still love the wood and offer it as an upgrade, but this instability pushed me to explore new materials that are not only more sustainable but also offer incredible tonal qualities without compromising sound.

A few years before this, I had a shift in my thinking – and it could change how you think about your guitar, too. I began to realize that the back and sides don’t really add to the sound of a guitar. In fact, they can actually subtract from it in various ways. The reason I had always loved Brazilian rosewood wasn’t because of some magical property of the wood – it was simply because it “subtracted” less from the sound of the top. But there’s a way to get even more from the top. This realisation came after attending a course with renowned luthier Trevor Gore. It made me think about the soundboard in a completely new way. Instead of focusing on how the back and sides contribute, I wanted to maximise how much of the sound from the top could reach your ears – without being “wicked away” by the back and sides.

Around the same time, I began experimenting with side mass and its impact on tone. Through this, I found that the sonic qualities I loved about rosewoods could actually be achieved by manipulating the side mass and stiffness by laminating sides for both mass and stability.

Now, I’ve reached a point where the guitars I craft are only slightly heavier than conventional ones (thanks to the laminated sides), yet the sound you get is incredibly focused on the soundboard. It means a louder, more responsive instrument that allows the natural voice of the top wood to shine through.

So, today, my standard builds feature dignified sober mahogany back and sides. If you’re looking for something unique, I offer many other stunning timbers: wenge, pommele bubinga, Malaysian blackwood, quilted sapele, georgeous Australian woods like flame jarrah, Victorian blackwood (straight grained or with fantastic flame figure) or stunning Queensland silkwood. You can even choose Indian rosewood, Bolivian rosewood, or ziricote – all without worrying about CITES restrictions.

Curious about how each of these timbers will affect your guitar’s tone? That’s something we can discuss – it’s a vast topic, more than it is possible to cover here.

Guitar bouzouki-3
pommelle bubinga
10-st-gzouk-3
wenge
Model C-SK torrefied sitka spruce 1
mahogany
new site images 2020-8
figured sapele
Ziricote
ziricote
Model E-SS back Jarrah sobell
flame jarrah
1. Big Celtic mandolin back 2022
flame maple
figured blackwood gzouki back
flame Victorian blackwood
Sobell style guitar bouzouki 2
Bolivian rosewood
RW Tom Kimber tenor back full
Indian rosewood
P1120438
Queensland silkwood
Blackwood Irish bouzouki
Victorian blackwood

 

Necks

So many options – Once again, its all about mass and stiffness when it comes to necks. I’m rather partial to Fiji mahogany and New Guinea rosewood (Asian padauk) and for those who want the very best, 1908 vintage Cuban mahogany. Again, we can discuss what would be best for your instrument when you order.

Celtic F mandolin Forster
Vintage 1908 Cuban mahogany
c-sk-adv-ribs-and-back
mahogany
wenge bouzouki-13
New guinea rosewood

Rosettes

Over the years I’ve made many types of rosette. Often I prefer a simple rosette of black and white purfling lines. Though there are so many options – slant check, crows foot, herringbone, wood rings. And recently I’ve started to use beautiful dyed maple burl.

wenge bouzouki-6
burl maple
new site images 2020-3
lines
best-guitar-bouzouki-rosette
slant check
rosette
herringbone
SSC rosette
crows foot
Small Celtic O mandolin
lines

 

Fretboard and bridge

I use ebony for fretboards – this wonderful timber exudes quality and class. It features on most of my instruments. But there are other options – Royal blackwood – which is the commercial name for torrefied purpleheart  – another serious option – black, stiff, stable and beautiful to look at. Though I now offer two upgrades – a super hard, dense and beautiful Australian wood called Ringed gidgee, and I also have a stash of stunning old Mun ebony from south east Asia. The most beautiful and one of the most stable of ebonies.

My guitar bridges are ebony.

Model E-SS bridge
ebony guitar bridge
Small Celtic F mandolin
ebony bridge
Ringed gidgee
Ringed gidgee fretboard

Binding

My binding is made from Rocklite along with fibre and wood veneer purfling lines of black and white. But, if you’d like a fancier purfling or custom binding, that is an option. Again, we can discuss this when you order.

European spruce
rocklite binding
Model S-SS-14
rocklite binding with micro bevel
howeorne
cylinder top binding
Model S-SS-11
micro bevel binding and slant check purfling
Model C-SK torrefied sitka spruce 7
herringbone purfling

Head veneer and backstrap

These days most of my head veneers are ebony – dark and sober to match the binding. Backstraps are the same. The backstrap is an idea I took from seeing a really nice old snooker cue – though it turned out banjo makers in the 20s and 30s had got there first. The backstrap not only looks nice, but is the best insurance policy you can get against headstocks breaking off.

Again, if you want the best, the upgrade options include Ringed gidee and Mun ebony.

Model E-SS headstock
ebony
ringed gidgee head veneer
Ringed gidgee
bouzouki headstock
Ebony
Charlie head 1
ebony head veneer

 

Frets, nut and saddle

The nut and saddle are hand polished bone.

All my instruments feature hand polished Evo Gold frets. which is harder than nickel silver. Usually my instruments feature a zero fret. This sets a perfect string action and insures better intonation. Saddles are compensated for equal temperament.

For those who like their soft smooth feel, semi hemispherical fret ends are an option.

 

Tuners

Having tried most tuners on the market, I use the best. Tuners with proven longevity and excellent performance. My guitars, mandolin and bouzouki family instruments all come with Gold Gotoh 510 tuners, with gold buttons. Session King tenor guitars come with brass Gotoh banjo tuners with ivoroid buttons. Electric guitars are fitted with chrome Gotoh 510 tuners.

There are fancier and more expensive tuners on the market. if I thought they were better, I’d be using them.

Tenor guitar headstock
Brass Gotoh for tenor guitar
Model 2 electric head rear
celtic mandolin headstock
Mini Gotoh 510
Charlie head
Gotoh 510

Pickups

I install K&K pickups on request.

There are many pickups on the market. Why is the K&K my goto choice?

Let us be honest about pickups – they NEVER sound like your instrument, despite what pickup makers say. So it’s never a question of which sounds the most realistic. They all sound artificial. So there are two questions to ask – Which artificial sound do I like best?  Or given they all sound a bit odd, which amplified sound do I dislike the least? Second, which pickup does the least harm to the acoustic sound? No point in paying for a good instrument then putting something soft and squashy under the bridge or saddle that damages the acoustic sound.

Here is where the K&K shines. No, it doesn’t sound like your instrument “only louder.” But then, no pickup does. But it does have a sound I find pleasant. Mixed well it can sound impressive. And more importantly, it makes no audible difference to the acoustic sound. That is a big bonus.

I prefer the simple to the complex. The least number of links in the chain the better. I’ve some pals who do have a great stage sound, but they carry a suitcase full of junk with them to achieve it. The K&K doesn’t need a preamp, and works well with a DI box. No batteries. Just plug in and play.

Hence I go for the K&K for most instruments, though if you wish to blend a pickup with a mic or magnetic pickup, I’d suggest the  DTAR wavelength by Seymour Duncan. Which is the best of a bad lot as far as undersaddle pickups go.

Other pickups can be fitted at your request, but these are my recommendations. And I’ve tried ’em all.