The craftsmanship of guitar making has reached an extraordinary level. More and more luthiers are offering innovative and high-quality products.
From my experience with guitars, as both a luthier and a guitarist, I can say that playing a quality guitar is an exciting experience.
For many years, I played mid-range guitars that I tried to adapt to make them more comfortable. And of course, you can create a lot of music with guitars of that level. But when I had the opportunity to try high-end guitars, I truly fell in love with this instrument and started to appreciate nuances I had never experienced before.
The amount of time one can spend playing when the guitar is comfortable and the sound is rich and balanced is incredible. You can lose yourself for hours making music, enchanted by the melodies coming from that small wooden box.
When I arrived in Spain, I began studying music and also the construction of the Spanish guitar. With the first guitar I built (which wasn’t the most beautiful one), I realized that playing on guitars made from solid, well-dried, quality wood was a completely different experience.
Of course, I have nothing against factory-made guitars. Many people wouldn’t have been able to learn to play guitar if they were only handmade. I think it’s great that industrial guitars lower the cost and make it possible for everyone who wants to own one.
However, the experience of playing a high-quality handmade guitar is very enriching.
Based on my experience as a guitarist and luthier, I believe it’s possible to create a high-quality yet simple handmade guitar. One that doesn’t take countless hours to build, and therefore doesn’t cost as much.
Some accessories take so much time to make that they significantly raise the price of the guitar. For example, custom wood veneer decorations require a lot of work. Varnishes can also take longer to apply than building the guitar itself, especially when aiming for a mirror-like finish with sealed pores and multiple layers for a shiny look. This process can take months.
We all love this type of guitar, but it’s true that a satin or matte finish, perhaps with oil or other simpler products, can deliver the same sound and playing experience. You could do a blind test, and no one would notice the difference. These glossy, mirror finishes are designed to give the instrument a luxurious appearance.
But they’re not necessary to achieve a high-quality handmade instrument.
That’s why I like to offer guitars with a minimalist and elegant design, which reduces the time spent on construction and, consequently, the cost, without compromising the quality of the instrument. By using high-quality materials and woods and meticulous craftsmanship, you can achieve excellent results.
Less is more. A guitar with an oil finish feels so silky and comfortable that you don’t want to put it down. You don’t have to worry about leaving marks on the wood because they don’t reflect or become visible. On the other hand, guitars with a mirror finish, while beautiful, don’t give me the same feeling. With these guitars, I’m always concerned about not damaging them and constantly trying to maintain their shine so they don’t look dirty. I believe this detracts more than it adds. It gives them a sense of fragility, like relics.
I’d like to conclude this article by quoting the great master Ken Parker on this topic. On his website, he explains the finish he applies to his magnificent Archtop guitars. You can check it out here:
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