Rohan Lowe, UK
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About: By the time I started guitar making in my early 30 s I had already learned a number of arts and crafts, so I had no worries about the crafting aspect, but I didn't know how long it would take to be able to produce a really fine musical instrument. In 1993 I began by studying the guitars of Antonio de Torres to gain insight into the fundamentals of traditional spanish guitar-making - from then on, the experience of making itself became my teacher. I found that my guitars improved steadily from batch to batch as I experimented, and I learned to trust my instincts more and more. I continue to work in this way, always adjusting and refining, and usually the ideas work to move things in the right direction. I am more instinctive than scientific in approach, although I do make notes about various things, particularly the pitches of the front and back during construction and afterwards - this has been very useful for subsequent fine-tuning.
I am always seeking to improve on what I've done before, not out of frustration, but because it is natural. Seeking to make "the perfect guitar" I don't find very useful ( except as an abstract idea) since there cannot be only one kind of perfect guitar - but trying to embody the best musical qualities in a guitar at any given time, for a particular set of circumstances, materials, players' requirements, is stimulating and challenging. There are a whole range of different tonal possibilities to explore, which no single guitar can provide, and consequently it is necessary to experiment to discover some of them. Contact: Rohan Lowe, UK Terms & conditions: |