Guitars
All Artisan Fretted Instruments guitars are guaranteed for life to the original owner against defects in workmanship and materials.   (Click the images for more information)
Steel String Parlor Concert Grand Concert XL and XLD Arched Top Baritone
Nylon String Fleta Fleta Cutaway Friederich
About My Guitars Artisan Fretted Instruments guitars are made from the finest materials I can find. From the least to the most expensive guitars I make, the woods I use have been air-dried for a minimum of six years and for as much as seventy years. Spruce for tops and bracing are seasoned for a minimum of ten years. This not only guarantees that the wood’s moisture content is in the 5% or less range, but the resins have begun to harden, which in the case of spruce, makes the wood stronger and more stable.     Having repaired instruments for five years before beginning to build, I have always been acutely aware of what makes certain guitars survive better than others and I have striven to incorporate those features in my instruments. Developing designs to increase strength and decrease mass is my main goal. Careful seasoning and processing the top and bracing material by hand splitting to avoid run-out is one of the differences between my guitars and manufactured and most small shop-made instruments. I offer a variety of body styles ranging from parlor guitars to baritone guitars. Both classical and steel string instruments are available in a variety of materials. I will build other body styles to customers’ specifications within reason. All models are available either as standard or cut-away configurations. Because my instruments are truly custom-made, scale lengths, fingerboard widths, body configurations and sizes are variable. Any of the standard models can be modified for the player’s specific needs. Cutaways, asymmetrical neck shapes and fingerboards to accommodate hand injuries and size, wedge bodies to lessen back strain and bursitis.   Standard Specifications: Widths at nut: 1  7/8 inches, 1 ¾ inches, 1 11/16 inches Scale lengths: 24.9 inches, 25.4 inches, 28 inches (baritone guitar), 630 mm and 650 mm (classical guitars) Finish: My instruments are finished with shellac in the French Polish method, a hand-applied padded finish. In my opinion while it is not quite a durable as lacquer, it is easily repaired, it sounds the best and all my personal guitars are finished this way and have held up just fine. This is also a non-toxic finish and since I use pure grain alcohol one could drink the finish, but it would be one hell of a kick.   I can supply instruments with lacquer finishes but this is at considerable added cost and no matter how sophisticated the spray booth, aromatic petroleum solvents get out into the atmosphere and these nasty chemicals continue to outgas for at least a year, very eco-unfriendly.   Materials: While I will be supplying instruments in the standard mahoganies and rosewoods I am trying to convince my customers to order instruments made from domestic hard woods and when using rain forest woods, to use those which can be sustainably harvested, like Indian rosewood. Both Brazilian rosewood and Honduras Mahogany are on the CITES list and can no longer be legally imported or used in instruments which will be taken out of the States. I have been especially impressed with North American sycamore as a tone wood. It produces astonishing sonorities and sustain. Coupled with a black walnut neck it produces sound I’ve never heard before. The guitar you hear on the home page is a sycamore XL. Unfortunately I have not found a substitute for ebony for fingerboards and bridges. I have not found a material to substitute for it in terms of density and wear-resistance.