Frequently Asked Questions
What models of guitar do you make?
1) Double Top. Has recently become my most sought after model. 650, 640, or 630 scale. Standard or smaller body
2) Hybrid Lattice Model -650, 640, or 630 scale. Standard or smaller body.
3) Traditional Concert Classical. Solid top w/ fan bracing. Standard or smaller body size.650, 640, or 630 scale. Various Wood options
4) Brazilian Rosewood/ Spruce Model
5) Other. Flamenco guitars, Steel-string acoustics, 19th century guitars, Ouds, and other things.
What is your pricing?
Please contact me for the current prices for commissioned guitars. Prices vary depending on the model, the woods, and the features used for each particular instrument. The price range is $8000 to $12000.
At the cheap end of the spectrum is a flamenca blanca made with cypress. At the expensive end is a double top classical with premo grade brazilian rosewood with all the features. For $8500 to 9000 CAD I can build a standard double top classical guitar using great spruce or cedar, and Indian Rosewood, with all the features you probably need.
Rare quality woods, such as Brazilian Rosewood, very Old spruce, Bear Claw Spruce, premo grade Lutz spruce, or some other back and side wood like ziricote with high figure, will add to the price. Each one of these instruments is priced on an individual basis. So if we work out all the specs I can give you a price...
Prices for my current stock inventory are posted on the FOR SALE PAGE, next to each available instrument.
Please see the models page for a detailed description of each one. Optional modifications can be found on the upgrades page.
How long is your waiting list?
My wait list for commissioned guitars is currently 1.5 years.
If you do not want to wait at all, see my For Sale page. I sometimes have a guitar available for immediate purchase. These stock guitars have a one week trial period. If it proves unsuitable I will give you a full refund upon safe return of the guitar. See the Sales page for more details on this policy.
Do you do repairs and restorations?
Yes, but not as much as I used to since I'm currently so busy building new guitars. From 1998 to 2003, I worked in a specialty repair shop, so I have a background in this work. For more details you can go to the "Repair and Restoration" page of this site. If you have an instrument that needs a repair contact me.
Why are you not on social media?
I am not using social media for promotional purposes, mainly because when I started building guitars social media was not really a thing, and I never really got into it. My business operates more on a word of mouth model. I am actually a very social person. People who know me will attest to that.
I have a massive catalogue of pictures of the guitars I have built. I also like writing, in person communication, and using e-mail. So between these things I can give you an idea of what I do, and how I think, if that interests you. But you have to engauge with me for me to do that. I don't just throw it out into the world, for better of worse. Maybe one day I will get more into using "social" media technologies.
Why do you use expensive, rare woods for your guitars? Could you not make your guitars cheaper with less expensive woods?
1) The first reason - Economics: If I had to, I could make you a great sounding guitar from a pallet, an old wooden orange crate, or a coffee table. In some cases, using cheap materials is still practical or necessary, but nowadays this approach makes no economic sense, because:
For decades now, labor has constituted about 85% of the cost of a fine, hand made guitar, while about 15% of the cost is materials. Because the materials portion is so small, the luthier is better off using the best materials available - the finest quarter sawn spruce, cedar, rosewood, mahogany, maple,and spanish cedar, etc. You are saving very little money by using cheap materials, over high quality materials. But it was not always this way...
Back in the 19th century, before industrial scale logging, wood milling, and efficient global transport networks existed, exotic woods were rare and expensive. This 85 : 15 ratio (labor to materials) was reversed. Labor was cheap, but materials were very, very expensive. For example, in 19th Century Spain, if you wanted an ebony fingerboard it essentially doubled the cost of the finished guitar. Some guy probably hauled the ebony back to Spain from the Congo on his mule! Today, a good ebony fingerboard is about $40. If you went to Antonio de Torres and asked him to make you a cheaper guitar, he could easily substitute cypress for rosewood and save you a lot of money. Cypress was local and cheap. Rosewood came from Brazil, on merchant ships.
Complicating matters, local wood is no longer "cheap." A fine set of flamed Oregon Walnut, or flamed Bigleaf maple is more expensive than East Indian Rosewood. Premo grade spruce and cedar are not always easy to get and although local for me, are not inexpensive.
Using cheap woods to make a guitar is something people do for attention, especially youtubers and hobbyists. Some even try to convince you that you are wasting your money by ordering a guitar made with expensive woods. My response to that: If you are ordering your dream guitar, why use cheap materials just so you can save a couple hundred dollars?
It makes no sense.
I'm not interested in getting a deal on a bunch of mediocre wood, like some luthiers do. I'd rather pay top dollar for the best wood. The best wood makes the best sounding guitars. It's also easier to work with. It looks better, and people want it. When I retire I'll be able to sell the good wood I have left over. It won't be burned in the fireplace. And if you ever decide to sell your guitar, it will be easier to sell because it's made with nice wood.
2) Sound Quality and reliability. Luthiers and musicians have been working together for centuries to create great sounding instruments that will last a long time. This is largely the result of using the right materials and designs.
As a luthier I use the woods that musicians want to have because they like the sound of these woods. I also use them because these woods work well for what they are supposed to do. For example, I like to use mahogany or spanish cedar for my guitar necks. These woods are stiff, light, very stable and strong, and have a nice color. I'm sure I could substitute other woods for the neck that would work, and one day that might happen. But for now there is no reason to use a different neck wood.
3) Professionalism. Keep in mind that everything written here is coming from the point of view of a luthier who makes a living from his craft. If I were making guitars as a hobby I could spend my time making guitars out of cardboard, pencil crayons, pallets or whatever I might fancy. It might even be fun and interesting, but it's not what I do.