NK Forster Guitars

the blog 2006 - 2013

www.nkforsterguitars.com 1 www.nkforsterguitars.com 2 www.nkforsterguitars.com 3 www.nkforsterguitars.com 4 Table of Contents

In Memoriam Keith Forster 1943 – 2006 43 2006 More Rio sets 44

nkforsterguitars 8 Bending and joining sides 45 Indian Rosewood Model C 9 Rosettes 47 Arch Top Bouzouki 10 Another new Model – no name yet though 48 Model C Cutaway 11 Fun in Cheltenham! 49 Model E 12 12 string goes home 50 Purflings 13 Work in progress: Rio Model B 51 New Model F 14 Work in progress:Rio Model F 52 Model F 15 Experimental Model C 53 Neck/Head Joint 16 Richard selects some timber 55

more Neck/Head joint 17 Russ picks up his Model F 56 yet more Neck/Head joint 18 Model A 19

Neck/Head Joint – last part 20 2008 Different Dalbergias 58 Model J Guitar 21 Yellow Cows 59 Burgundy rosette, Indian Rio mix 22 Indian Model C for Japan 60 Indian/Rio mix 23 Goodbye Model J 61 Indian/Rio mix model C complete 24 Just for Damien 62 New Model J 25 Another Model J 63 Happy Customer picks up his Model A 26 Fitting a bridge 64 The English Heel 27 Another experiment 65 Damian picks up his Camatillo Model B 66 2007 Work in progress: Howe Orme and Rio D 67 Images for the new book 68

Model ES – another new one! 29 How to order an instrument 69 Indian/Rio mix Model A 30 Work in progress 70 More Indian/Rio mix Model A 31 Panamanian Rosewood 71 More Model A 32 Buying Spruce in Germany 72 Model A continued 33 Bearclaw anyone? 73 Model A – Nearly there 34 Work in progress – trial run for the 74 Model G – adjustable neck 35 Anniversary Model 74 Sunburst Model C 36 Panamanian Model C goes home 75 Model A all done 37 Adjustable neck IndianModel C 76 Indian/Rio mix 12 string Model F 38 Panamanian Rosewood Model C 77 Model A goes to her new home 39 Rio Model D 78 Making a back. Part 1. 40 New interview ! 79 Making a back part 2 41 Latest images for the book 86 Rio sets 42 Ullapool guitar festival 87

www.nkforsterguitars.com 5 Work in progress – new mandolin 88 2011 Model C in Panamanian Rosewood 89

Panamanian Rosewood Model J 90 2006 Model C cutaway 130 Work in progress – Model S 91 Saddles! 131 work in progress – guitar bouzouki 92 The journey of an idea I 132 An ideas journey II:a modern flat top guitar 133 An idea’s journey:a fine archtop is born 134

2009 A guitar bouzouki for Lisa 136 An ideas’ journey V – new archtop guitar – CHARLIE 137 India trip 2009 94 An ideas’ journey IV:great jazz guitar playing 138 Model S pictures 95 View from the hammock, Thailand 2011 139 Guitar Bouzouki 96 A fine archtop guitar – “Oscar” 140 Maple Mandolin! 97 Just for Duncan 98 FAQ 99 2012 New style Bouzouki 101

Work in progress – a C and a S 102 A day at the Newark College guitar making course 142 Mandolinetto 103 Images for a new guitar making book? 143

Stripped down Model C 104 The guitar bouzouki that turned into a Les Paul… 144 Work in progress: redwood and 105 Selmer Maccaferri inspired archtop... 146 cocobolo bouzouki 105 Not all guitars are equal! 106 Work in progress: guitar bouzouki 107 2013

India 2013 148 2010 Winter 2013, Thailand 149 STOLEN – GUITAR BOUZOUKI 151 Thailand 2010 109 Another Howe Orme inspired guitar: Japan 2010 110 Tom picks up his Model C Modern 152 intonation 111 What’s the best value handmade acoustic guitars? 153 Japanese Bamboo Art 112 Exclusive! Richard Dawson, and his new album, Redwood Zouk with new design tailpiece 113 The Glass Trunk 155 Influences 1 – Selmer guitar 114 Irish bouzouki? What about Isle of Man bouzouki? Influences II – Hermann Hauser I 116 Interview with Adam Rhodes, Barrule. 160 Influences III – Shaker furniture 117 The flat top guitar that isn’t a flat top 164 Influences IV – Howe Orme Guitars 118 New interview with Guitar Connoisseur magazine 167 Work in progress – Cocobolo Model B 119 Two new celtic bouzouki videos! 181 Influences V – Stefan Sobell 120 Luthiers BBQ 25th July 121 On the bench – new Celtic Mandolin 123 Work in progress: cocobolo 10 string bouzouki 124 In memoriam: Jennifer Forster 125 1947-2009 125 New A model Mandolin 127 Nov 3, 2010 127 THE BOOK! 128

www.nkforsterguitars.com 6 2006

www.nkforsterguitars.com 7 nkforsterguitars

Feb 25, 2006

Well, how exciting! I intend to use this space to post pictures of my latest work – an online gallery. There will be pics and articles about construction and new timber as well. How clever.

www.nkforsterguitars.com 8 Indian Rosewood Model C Feb 25, 2006

This is my standard Indian Model C with European Spruce top and 1908 Cu- ban Mahogany neck.

www.nkforsterguitars.com 9 Arch Top Bouzouki Feb 25, 2006

Here is a nice 8 string arch top Irish bouzouki, that now lives in Scotland.

www.nkforsterguitars.com 10 Model C Cutaway Mar 3, 2006

This is a tasty Model C cutaway in Indian rosewood and European spruce and 1908 Cuban mahogany. Nice eh?

www.nkforsterguitars.com 11 Model E Mar 3, 2006

This is the latest addition to the range – Model E. Made from plantation grown Mahogany and Rosewood. A great no frills guitar with a warm sweet voice.

www.nkforsterguitars.com 12 Purflings Mar 12, 2006

Purflings – Click on the images to enlarge – Some of my guitars like my Mod- el D (third picture) really suit traditional Herringbone. This one also has nice Maple binding. I really like using rope purfling – like a half herringbone. Here are two exam- ples with dyed Birds Eye Maple. One green and one blue. The guitar with the blue veneers also has double Rosewood bindings. It looks great. At the top is my new Model F. It has very simple decoration, just blue Birds Eye with black edges. Minimal and lovely.

www.nkforsterguitars.com 13 New Model F May 10, 2006

At last! This model is a Spruce and Rosewood version of Model E. Its great, loud, clear, and I’m very happy with it.

www.nkforsterguitars.com 14 Model F May 10, 2006

More pics of the Model F. Still can’t get the hang of this camera. I can see a eivening class coming on. Just played the guitar again today, and it sounds so strong. I have changed the composition of the struts and the results are re- markable. The top is heavier than normal, which contradicts current theories, but the guitar is louder and clearer and richer than any other I’ve made. So much for current thinking.

www.nkforsterguitars.com 15 Neck/Head Joint Jun 8, 2006

This complicated joint was inspired by my Grandfather’s old Selmer guitar and by some fantastic old reclaimed Cuban Mahogany. The result is an ex- tremly strong solid joint, that is also very attractive. The form follows the function. WARNING!! This is not meant as instruction for a amatuer maker. These cut- ters can cause serious harm. You have been warned! The pics show the initial simple butt joint, which is then machined away to form a half round mortise. A matching half round ten- on is machined from more Cuban and shaped to fit the female half. More to come…

www.nkforsterguitars.com 16 more Neck/Head joint Jun 13, 2006

Complicated this – the tenon is split to ensure a perfect fit, then glued in. After trimming, a slot is routed for the truss rod. Next wings are added to the head. More to come…

www.nkforsterguitars.com 17 yet more Neck/Head joint Jun 19, 2006

Nearly there – the head veneers are now glued one, one at a time. The front one first then the head is ticknessed and the back ve- neer is glued on. After the glue dries, the fingerboard and head tem- plate are double taped on and the whole thing is routed to shape. Sorry the images are not in the correct order – this program puts them in an order I cannot predict. But see if you can work it out for yourself eh? When you’ve done that, scroll down to the very bottom picture in the entire blog. Right to the bottom. This shows what this joint looks like when the neck is carved and sprayed. Rather nice. www.nkforsterguitars.com 18 Model A Jun 25, 2006

English Sycamore, European Spruce, Honduras Mahogany. Loud and bal- anced. You can buy one if you like.

www.nkforsterguitars.com 19 Neck/Head Joint – last part Jun 28, 2006

Well, that took a while eh? Here are some pics of the neck in different stages showing the holes being drilled for the machines, and the neck being carved round from square. This is when that lovely rosewood dart appears on the back of the neck. Both strong and bonny. This has become something of a trade mark on my guitars, owners love it, so they all have it now, even if the head is spliced in the conventional style. It really does add strength to the neck which can suffer breaks quite easily.

www.nkforsterguitars.com 20 Model J Guitar Jul 20, 2006

This is the body of my new Model J – a DADGAD specific guitar. The body is a full 17 1/2” wide to cope with those low notes, the scale length is to be 660mm, joining the body at the 12th fret to let that low D ring out without having to resort to extra heavy strings. The bracing is of my new type, but altered to cope with this extra wide body. The back and sides are Indian Rose- wood, the top is Italian Spruce, the binding is Columbian Rosewood, similar to Kingwood. Very pretty. I’ll let you see it with the neck on next.

www.nkforsterguitars.com 21 Burgundy rosette, Indian Rio mix Aug 10, 2006

Made for Mr D. Brown, a Scotsman in HongKong. I like it. shall tell you more soon.

www.nkforsterguitars.com 22 Indian/Rio mix Aug 15, 2006

Rio sides and a back of Indian Rosewood with a central piece of Rio. A great compromise of sound, cost and stability. Don’t ask me why the sides should contribute so much to the sound. But they do. Here are some pictures showing how I line the body – the top linings are kerfed, but the back linings are made from a long strip of ultra light Pop- lar. See how I mask off the back? This saves a lot of cleaning up later. When complete, the interior of the body is sprayed to further aid stablity.

www.nkforsterguitars.com 23 Indian/Rio mix model C complete Aug 16, 2006

Here is the finished article – and what a beauty it is too! The sides are fancy fig- ured Rio, the back dark Indian wings with a central stip of dark Rio. The rosette has a lovely burgundy central band at the request of Mr Brown. Lucky chap. The sound really does lie between the two timbers, leaning heavily towards the Rio end of the scale with its deep dark bass and thick treble. But the mid has the punch you often find in good Indian. A delicious and complex sound.

www.nkforsterguitars.com 24 New Model J Sep 25, 2006

This one was designed with DADGAD tuning in mind. Long 660mm scale, extra wide 17 1/2” lower bout to let that low D ring out. The saddle is intonated for DADGAD and to crown it off, Gotoh 510’s – the best tuners you can get. The soundboard is Italian Spruce, the back and sides Indian Rosewood. The su- per slim neck is flame 1908 vintage Cuban Mahogany. Fingerboard and bridge, best Ebony. The frets I use now are a Brass alloy. Much harder than Nickel-Silver. The sound is smooth, full and even, the bass came as a surprise – I expected it to be full, but it also has great warmth and power. If you are a open tunings kind of player, this may well be the guitar for you. Get in touch.

www.nkforsterguitars.com 25 Happy Customer picks up his Model A Nov 19, 2006

What a happy chap! Andy Young ordered his 13frets to the body Sycamore Model A shortly after we met at the London Guitar show in March this year. He and his partner Terri came up to Newcastle to pick it up. We had a nice time chatting and drinking tea, and playing. The three of them are all now back in Berkshire, and I imagine Terri hasn’t seen much of Andy or the guitar since!

www.nkforsterguitars.com 26 The English Heel Dec 3, 2006

Here are a few pics showing how I join the neck to the body. This is a wedged bridal joint, and as far as I know no one else uses this for guitar making. I call it the English heel. What I like about it is its remarkable strength and stability and that the neck extends into the body to around the 18th fret. On the downside, it is difficult to make, time consuming and pretty difficult to reverse. But then my guitars don’t require neck resets. A mortise is cut into the body and a corresponding tenon cut into the neck. Great care needs to be taken to get your angles right, to ensure the neck points down the middle of the body and the correct distance above the soundboard. Tricky stuff. The golden rule is – MEASURE TWICE, CUT ONCE.

www.nkforsterguitars.com 27 2007 www.nkforsterguitars.com 28 Model ES – another new one! Jan 3, 2007

Happy New Year! Hope you are all in good health. Starting the year with a plantation Mahogany and European Spruce model ES, build in the same mold as the E and F. You can read more about her on the wbsite if you click on the link. Sound samples on Myspace coming soon!

www.nkforsterguitars.com 29 Indian/Rio mix Model A Mar 13, 2007

Here are a few shots of a little Indian/Rio mix Model A I’m building for a nice feller from Liverpool called Ken. He and his partner drove up to Newcastle on a dark rainy day a few weeks back, and we had a nice time sorting out which model and which timbers to go for. The pictures show the Indian/Rio back in rough sawn form, the Rio sides already bent and joined and the channels in the soundboard ready for the rosette. Next is the rosette in place and the soundhole cut. The way I work is to prepare as many components as early as possible to al- low them to take whatever shape they naturally wish to. When they have sat around for a few weeks the parts are glued together. This way stress in not built into the instrument where it is not required. It takes more time, but the results are worth it. We will follow this little guitar through the whole process, including the con- clusion of my special neck joint – the English heel.

www.nkforsterguitars.com 30 More Indian/Rio mix Model A Apr 2, 2007

The components have been sitting around in the warmth for a few weeks so it’s time for the next part of the build – the back is glued to the ribs, and the sides reinforced. The back and sides are sprayed to inhibit moisture. The soundboard is fitted and glued. The body is then routed to receive the bind- ings which I make from Rosewood and black and white veneer.

www.nkforsterguitars.com 31 More Model A Apr 16, 2007

First image – the bindings are shaped on the bending iron and are ready to be glued into the routed channel. Second and third – cutting the purfling miters in the body. The purfling re- flects in the highly polished chisel back to show the correct angle to cut. Tricky this, if you get it wrong, it’s wrong for good. This is what Professor David Pye called the workmanship of risk. Lastly, here is the body after the masking tape has been removed. The bind- ings are scraped and sealed with glue to prevent the finish sinking into the purfling. After the glue dries, the surfaces are scraped again.

www.nkforsterguitars.com 32 Model A continued Apr 19, 2007

The bindings are sealed and scraped, and the neck is attached. Check out the previous posts on the “English Heel” to see how I do this. The last part of this job is securing the neck with tapered birch dowels, altogether four are glued and hammered into place. Rock solid. After this the truss rod is fitted and the fretboard is glued in place. This is a very important stage, not only does the ebony have to be glued on in the cor- rect place and manner with the correct amount of pressure, the humidity and temperature also have to be right to avoid problems later on. When dry, the neck is carved, the fingerboard is compound radiused, fretted and polished. www.nkforsterguitars.com 33 Model A – Nearly there Apr 19, 2007

Here you can see the neck after it has been carved. The job is done by hand with rasps, files chisels, scrapers and sandpaper. One of the Jobs I like best is carving the heel – I try to do them all a little different from one another, a different profile or swell. My Grandfather Charlie Ferguson (who taught me how to play) told me you could always tell the quality of a guitar by how well the heel was carved, that it should be slender and elegant, and those words stuck with me. After this the body is scraped and sanded. The ebony bridge is made, the un- derneath shaped by hand to conform to the top of the guitar. The upper side is routed for the wide saddle, the pin holes drilled and the rest of the shaping is done by hand. The bridge’s position is marked on the soundboard and masked off with tape to be removed after the spayed finish has cured. This way the Ebony is glued directly to the Spruce. So the guitar is now off to Dave Wilson’s at Haltwistle. We shall see her again in about a month.

www.nkforsterguitars.com 34 Model G – adjustable neck Apr 22, 2007

Another experimental model – this is the prototype of my latest addition tho the range. The neck of this guitar is attached to the body on two pivot points and one bolt. The idea comes from Stauffer, the Austrian luthier who trained C.F. Matin, in the late 1800’s. It will bring several new possibilities: The own- er will be able to set his/her own action, great if you play slide and standard style. And if I can get an appropriate case made you will be able to take the instrument apart and carry it as hand luggage on flights. Great eh? The body and neck are made from plantation grown timbers – Mahogany and Rosewood. The struts are European Spruce. Rather than go through the who building process again, here are some of the highlights! The guitar is at the sprayers, and we’ll see how successful the experiment is in a few weeks.

www.nkforsterguitars.com 35 Sunburst Model C May 3, 2007

Here is a rather nice Sycamore Model C Sunburst. I was so pleased with the fantastic finishing job Dave Wilson did on this guitar, instead of tak- ing the pics myself, I got someone in who knows what they are doing. English Sycamore is similar to Maple, the timber is both stable and environ- mentally sound. As for the most important issue: the sound is really woody and warm, more so than any Rosewood guitar. Tonally it falls between the American Rock and Sugar Maples. There are some great clips of this guitar being played by a nice chap called Nick Pride on YouTube, and I’ve some footage of Tony McManus and Cklive Carrol both playing it too, which I’m still to upload. I have plenty of sets of this stuff for those who are interested. It really suits my work.

www.nkforsterguitars.com 36 Model A all done May 20, 2007

Well, that took a while! The Indian/Rio mix Model A is all done, and what a beauty. The sound is rich and smooth as I have come to expect from this combination of timbers. For a small guitar like this, I think this is probably better choice than going for full Rio. The Indian Rosewood adds a softness that might otherwise be missing. If there is time, I’ll get Ian Stephenson to record a sound sample for me. So, next step is for Ken to come up from Liverpool to collect her, or for me to pop her in the post. Pity to see such a nice guitar go.

www.nkforsterguitars.com 37 Indian/Rio mix 12 string Model F May 30, 2007

Well this should be great! The feller who owns the Sycamore Model B pictures in my website came to me to build him a new 12 string to replace his Koa Taylor. Now John was under the impression like many people that 12 strings should be big, but this is the last thing they should be. How many 12 stings have you played that were difficult to play or distorted or just plain bad gui- tars? Plenty I bet. Flat top steel string guitars struggle to cope with the pull of 6 strings without serious deformation, 12 strings even more so. The answer is in design – all the best 12 strings were smallish guitars -think of those pre war Stella’s. The po- sition of the bridge relative to the soundhole and tail block is very important as is the clinching of the waist, the arching and thicknessing of thew sound- board. So John is a trusting feller, he told me what he wanted, we settled on the Mod- el F mold (about the size of a Martin 0-18) and I’ve done my best to build him a guitar to last a lifetime and sound and play just how he likes. Like one of mine! The guitar comes back from Dave Wilson spray shop in about 3 weeks and I’ll post some more images then. www.nkforsterguitars.com 38 Model A goes to her new home Jun 28, 2007

The Model A featured in the last few posts on the blog was picked up today by her new owners. Ken and Caite came up from Liverpool and very pleased they seemed too. The little Model A sounds really great and I hope Ken spends many a happy hour picking away. Hopefully there will be plenty of sound samples of the guitar in the years to come as Ken is one of our best record producers, having engineered and pro- duced recordings by Coldplay, Gomez, Feeder, Badly Drawn Boy, and loads of others. He’s a nice feller too and puts up with me prattling on about what- ever comes into me head. What a gent. Both of them!

www.nkforsterguitars.com 39 Making a back. Part 1. Jun 29, 2007

When I began my apprenticeship this was the first job I was allowed to try (after being taught how to make a cup of tea the way the boss liked it.) I’ve changed the method from how I was taught – this way takes a little longer but there is less mess to clean up later on in the build and less moisture is intro- duced during the glue up. First the joined and thicknessed back is marked out for the struts. A Euro- pean Spruce cross grained strip is glued to reinforce the purfling joins. The strips are cut from over sized soundboards. The back struts are cut from blocks of seasoned quarter sawn Italian Spruce. They are shaped using a router and a jig. They are then thicknessed and sand- ed according to how stiff the wood is and which poistion on the back they take. Over the years I have learned how to find the correct balance between stiffness and flexibility. The back has to be stiff where I want it to be, and flex- ible where it needs to be. When dry the cross grained strips are sanded to a gentle curve using a shaped sanding block. Next: Gluing and shaping the struts. Taking humidity into account.

www.nkforsterguitars.com 40 Making a back part 2 Jun 30, 2007

The next stage is to notch the cross grained Spruce reinforcement to take the Spruce struts. The struts are glued in place using a Go -Bar deck and a former. The former is shaped to match the curve of the struts. I mask off the back to prevent glue from squeezing out onto the Rosewood. The glue is left for about 15 mins to go a little rubbery before removing the squeeze out with an old chisel. By allowing it to go off a little it is easier to clean up without having to introduce more moisture by cleaning up with a damp rag. It is my belief that the lower the relative humidity (RH) the better when glu- ing struts to a top or back. Wood can stand expansion far better than con- traction so I usually glue up around the 25%-35% mark. This is far lower than most makers. 45% is considered the industry norm, but not in my shop. The heating is on all the time as is the dehumidifier. Luckily my workshop is bone dry and this part of the world rarely has spells of high humidity. But, when the RH reaches 40% or more, work grinds to a halt. To glue up after this point is asking for trouble in the future. Once the glue has had time to dry the struts are shaped with a sharp chisel and sanded smooth. The back is then put to one side for several weeks to allow it to take on whatever shape it wishes. When it is glued to the ribs, the ribs are cut and shaped to conform to the shape of the back. The back is NOT pulled to meet the shape of the ribs. This is the exact opposite to how most steel string guitars are made, and one of the contributing factors to my sound. This all adds time and complication to the building process, but then I feel the results are worth the extra effort and care.

www.nkforsterguitars.com 41 Rio sets Jul 9, 2007

Here are are few Rio backs. First we have a couple of sets stamped Di Georgio – this company is one of the oldest guitar makers in Brazil and were major importers of the timber in the 1960’s. The quality of there timber varies, but these sets are some of the best I’ve ever seen. The one marked out for a dread- nought is fantastic in every way – looks, grain, and rings like a bell. It has wings to make up the width or a central dart could be used. Below these are a couple of slate Rio sets. The camera has bleached them out a little, but both sets are classic slate Rio – flat, straight, perfectly quarter sawn and sound like a sheet of metal when tapped. Last is one of my many orange Rio sets. This stuff comes from the north of the country and is spectacular stuff. The mass of this stuff is slightly less than that of the dark slate and will make an excellent guitar. I shall post some more pictures of some Rio sets later in the week.

www.nkforsterguitars.com 42 In Memoriam Keith Forster 1943 – 2006 Jul 9, 2007

It is a year tomorrow since my father passed away. He was a truly decent man and I miss him. Me dad looked after us and when me mam got ill he looked after her. We have much to thank him for. We were brought up in a house free from prejudice and me father never passed judgment on the things I did – he allowed me to make my own decisions, my own mistakes and my own way in life. He preferred to teach by example rather than give advice. Me dad drove a bus when I was little, but had to give up work to look after our mam when her multiple sclerosis became advanced. He was interested in all sorts of things – British Motorbikes, cars, and buses, and when we were at school he used to paint in his spare time. But his real love was music. He seemed to know pretty much everything about British and American music of the 50s and 60s. There were always records playing in our house. Always. Keith Forster died on 10th July 2006 from lung cancer. He was 62.

www.nkforsterguitars.com 43 More Rio sets Jul 11, 2007

The top set is a Rio scantling – this is some of the best timber I have, this stuff is remarkable in every way. Below is a set of excellent reclaimed Rio. It has a very clear strong tap tone. At the bottom is a set of Camatillo Rosewood – a Mexican Dalbergia, better than Cocobolo. Lovely wood, and is my favourite of all the Rio alternatives. www.nkforsterguitars.com 44 Bending and joining sides Jul 26, 2007

Many luthiers choose to bend sides in a machine nowadays, but I still prefer the traditional method – a bending iron. This is one of the most enjoyable jobs in guitar making and is one of the few skills particular to my trade. I love the smell of the wood and it is pleasant to watch the guitar take shape.My re- sults are equal to bending by machine, and I get a feel for what the timber is capable of whilst I’m working it – it lets me know what sort of guitar it wants to be. The iron I use is one made by an English violin maker called David Stoddard. This is the best of all the irons available – better shaped and more robust than the Ibex ones and less dangerous than the old Sydney Evans ones. You can see it is well coated with resin from working with good Rosewood. It’s always a good sign when on the first bend that dozens of bubbles of thick resin pop out of the timber and crystallize. This happens with only the best wood. One tip though – always sand the resin off the iron when working with paler woods like Sycamore or Mahogany. Next we see a Model B side which has been bent and placed in the mold. I’m planning a short video to post on YouTube to show how I bend sides. The sides are trimmed to length using a picture framers guillotine and then joined to the blocks. In this case the neck block is American Black Walnut and the tailblock is Spruce. After years of experimenting with different woods for these roles my conclusion is it don’t matter much! As long as the neckblock is rigid, stable and firm. Mahogany and Walnut are my favourites. For the tail- block – it should be light and stable – Basswood, Spruce and Mahogany are all suitable. The sides are glued to the blocks either in or out the mold. Some makes glue www.nkforsterguitars.com 45 them all together whilst in the mold – this is usually to ensure that the neck- block is glued in at 90’ to the center line. As long as your joints are cut accu- rately and the glue up correct, your blocks will point where they should. The next stage is cleaning up the sides, fitting the linings then the back.

www.nkforsterguitars.com 46 Rosettes Aug 3, 2007

Whilst admiring the work and skill of all the great inlay artists out there, when it comes to decoration,my motto is “less is more”. To me there is nothing more pleasing than good Spruce, Rosewood, Ebony and fine vintage Mahogany. These materials are sufficient luxury. Decoration only detracts from them. Whilst some would find this approach a little stifling, I enjoy working with such a limited palette. Rosettes of concentric black and white lines, a row or two of herringbone, crowsfoot or slant check purfling, with a splash of vibrant colour. The fun is introducing small variations from the instrument before. The customer receives a Rosette unique to their instrument and for a while, my artistic urges are satisfied. Here are a few recent rosettes. First up we have a small neat double rope and red rosette for a Model F. The white in the rope is Maple and really catches the light when the finish is applied. Stunning. I like to mix in dark colours as it reminds me of smart, dignified old Spanish rosettes of the 1920’s and 30’s. Next we have some crowsfoot. It has become hard to get reliable supplies of this stuff, and is now too brittle to be used on my cutaways. Very pretty though. And it looks nice here with the mix of blue, black and white. The last two are of a really nice delicate German purfling, it consists of the white lines and a gap. It goes really well with heavy black lines. On these two guitars I have bound the soundholes too. Rosettes are there to serve a purpose – to seal the end grain around the sound- hole. The decoration should be simple, yet beautiful. A guitar that is not pleasant on the eye fails in one of its duties. It is my role as a luthier to reward every sense of those who care to take a closer look. www.nkforsterguitars.com 47 Another new Model – no name yet though Sep 5, 2007

It has taken ages to get round to putting this little feller together. This is an ex- perimental guitar, the neck joint is based on the old Stauffer guitars of the late 1800’s – the neck is attached to the body with a bolt and rests on two pivots. The result is you can set your own action. Another useful feature is the access to the upper frets over the body is greatly improved. But the real bonus is the guitar is easy to take apart and put back together. I’m having a case made so the body goes in one half, the neck in the other. Small enough to carry onto most aircraft as hand luggage – this could prove to be a real help to many profession- al musicians. This is not a toy – it is a serious, hand made, well designed guitar. Working with such a limited amount of space brings up some interesting problems – because the guitar is normal 25.4” scale, the length of the head had to be reduced to fit in the box, this took me towards a Banjo shaped head, and Banjo tuners which also help get the guitar back in pitch quickly. Funny how things work out. A Rosewood and Spruce version is due back from Dave Wil- son soon, it’ll be sent off to the States to be recorded by Fishman for there Aura system. This guitar kitted out with a Fishman Aura could be what many of you regular air travelers are looking for! This guitar could do with a catchy name, so far it’s been Model G, but if any of you have any suggestions, drop me an email.

www.nkforsterguitars.com 48 Fun in Cheltenham! Sep 10, 2007

Here is me and the lads – On the left is Gareth Pearson, from Wales who came down to entertain the crowds at the first Cheltenham Acoustic Gui- tar Show. He was brilliant – infact he was so good even Ian Stephen- son who came down with me from Newcastle was awe struck! Ian’s the feller sitting down with his Rio Model B. Ian did a great job demon- strating for me on both days and he actually talks guitar even more flu- ently than me! Most people thought he was me and I was his friend! The organisers are talking about booking Ian to run a Celtic gui- tar masterclass at next years festival, and so they should- – he’s superb. The other picture is me playing(?) a nice lap steel made by A.J.Lucas – he’s a great feller who makes all kinds of wonderful instruments. Seem quite happy don’t I ?

www.nkforsterguitars.com 49 12 string goes home Sep 18, 2007

John came around yesterday to pickup his 12 string Model F. What a guitar! The guitars has an Italian Sporuce top and Indian/Rio mix back and sides. The sides and the central strip of the back are Rio, the outer wings are Indian – a great balance of warmth and depth. I really think this is the ideal size for a 12 string – the smaller body and larg- er bridge mean the guitar will not self destruct like most larger ones do. Another happy customer!

www.nkforsterguitars.com 50 Work in progress: Rio Model B Oct 19, 2007

Here is a lovely Indian Rosewood Model B which is nearly ready to go to her new home in New Jersey. I’m so pleased with the way my work is developing both visually and acoustically. If anyone asked me what is the best combina- tion of features on a guitar this is the one I would probably come up with – a 12 fret cutaway. The bridge is in the right spot – as far away from the sound- hole as I can get it, the neck is shorter and stiffer, and the cutaway gives access to the upper frets. What do you recon? Fancy one yourself?

www.nkforsterguitars.com 51 Work in progress:Rio Model F Oct 19, 2007

Here is the Rio/Italian Spruce adjustable neck guitar I told you about. What a guitar! This design really does work. The sound is as impressive as any of my conventional instruments. This feller is also fitted with a Fishman Aura Ellipse – the best pickup on the market. What you get is a blend of the under- saddle pickup and the digitally recorded sound of the guitar. The results are great. Still waiting for the case to arrive. The guitar comes apart so you can carry the instrument onto a plane as hand luggage. This is a serious instru- ment for the travelling musician.

www.nkforsterguitars.com 52 Experimental Model C Nov 2, 2007

Guitar construction is a fascinating puzzle which has continued to hold my interest for many years now. Instruments are required to sound wonderful, play beautifully, look stunning and survive many years under considerable strain under all manner of climatic conditions.

Unlike the violin, the guitar is not designed to last. The design and method of construction of the violin allows it to be taken apart many times in its long life, repaired and reassembled. This is much more difficult with a guitar, with its bound edges and relatively thin and fragile top and back. The guitar strings are anchored in the middle of the top and so the trouble begins. The strings are constantly trying to pull the bridge from the top. The only resistance is formed by a few wooden struts. At the other end of the top, the neck and fingerboard act as a lever attempting to cave the soundboard in at the upper bout. So what do we do to prevent this? We cut a large hole be- tween the fretboard and the bridge, directly in line with the pull of the strings! There are many ways to tackle this design flaw, one of them is to experiment with the placement of the soundhole, moving it away from under the end of the fretboard. Structurally this is the last place it should be, once moved, thought should then be given to the placement of the bridge in relation to the end of the fingerboard and tailblock. My view is the closer to half way between these two points the better. This has a beneficial effect on the sound and stability. The balance sought is between tone, aesthetics, access to the upper frets, and the stability brought about by distancing the bridge from the soundhole. www.nkforsterguitars.com 53 An unexpected and pleasant side effect of putting the soundhole to one side is the emphasised bass the player experiences. Rather like a soundport. This experiment has proved to be a big success, this option is available to any of my customers at no extra charge. This guitar is for sale at http://www.dreamguitars.com

www.nkforsterguitars.com 54 Richard selects some timber Dec 5, 2007

Model A owner Richard drove down from Fort William to select the timber for his next guitar – an Indian and Spruce Model D. It’s been ages since anyone or- dered a Model D which is a pity as the last one was superb. Anyway, Richard and I discussed the sound and feel he was after and then we picked out some backs and soundboards and went through them to find the ones we were happiest with. The soundboard is quite unusual – it is Italian Spruce, very stiff and light but with a strong pronounced reed and quite a bit of bearclaw fig- ure. The top really rang when tapped and will make a great guitar. Normally I make these choices my self after discussion with the customer but it was nice that Richard could come down and be involved in the process. The guitar won’t be ready until around the middle of Spring, when it is I’ll post some pictures. www.nkforsterguitars.com 55 Russ picks up his Model F Dec 17, 2007

Russ and and his partner Lynn who live in Scotland came by to pick up Russ’s new Indian Rio Model F. Seems quite chuffed with it eh? Russ plays in dropped tuning CGCGCE low to high so I had to get my think- ing cap on to come up with the right combination of specifications to fit in with this and his wish for a smaller bodied instrument. So we came up with this 650mm scale guitar, specially intonated for his tuning, and I braced the top to respond to the low tension from a standard set of 13’s. The guitar sings and we were both delighted with how she turned out. What a nice feller too.

www.nkforsterguitars.com 56 2008

www.nkforsterguitars.com 57 Different Dalbergias Feb 22, 2008

Here are a couple of “other” Rosewoods to show you. the paler of the two is Panamanian Rosewood, which looks similar to coarse Indian but has a su- perb tap and ring. This stuff is also quite light, much more so than Cocobo- lo or Blackwood. More like Honduras Rosewood. Interesting stuff, and well worth considering if you cannot pay for Rio. The other one was sold to me in amongst a batch of old stock Brazilian Rose- wood some years ago. I don’t know what it is – it is just too heavy to be Rio, and too dark for Cocobolo, but it is most certainly a Dalbergia of some sort. (Dalbergia is the Latin name for the Rosewood family) It rings like a bell and resembles good dark old Rio, but it aint. Any suggestions?

www.nkforsterguitars.com 58 Yellow Cows Mar 2, 2008

Here are a couple of me holiday snaps – I promise there won’t be any more. Woke up one morning to find every cow in the city of Mysore, in India was yellow. And in the evening they were all made to walk on hot coals. Appar- ently the dye is turmeric and is good for them and the hot coals sorts their hooves out. Bloody strange country…

www.nkforsterguitars.com 59 Indian Model C for Japan Mar 5, 2008

This is the first of (hopefully) many guitars to be sold for me in Japan by Dol- phin Music of Osaka. The good people there have ordered an Indian Model C and left the rest to me – what perfect customers! So here you all are – Ital- ian Spruce, Indian Rosewood, Sri Lankan Ebony and reclaimed 1908 vintage Cuban Mahogany. The guitar is a 12 fret Model C cutaway to give the best of both worlds – the bridge in the sweet spot of the soundboard and access to the upper frets. Should be perfect for someone. Some of you may have noticed – I have a new cover for my sofa!

www.nkforsterguitars.com 60 Goodbye Model J Mar 14, 2008

The new non cutaway Model J who has featured in my recent YouTube clips was picked up today by her new owner. Jonathan drove up from the south of England this morning. The two of them seem to be getting on just fine. He’s a really nice chap and plays very nice fingerstyle in a low C tuning, which the guitar was set up especially for. The Model J is by far the hardest guitar in the range to make – the 17 1/2” low- er bout is really wider than a flat top guitar should be so getting the balance of thicknessing and bracing right is more difficult. The guitar must sing, allow a soft feel and live a long life. The wider body makes these factors more difficult to control. But if I say so myself, the results were great. I just wish I’d had the guitar for a little longer to take some images for me website. Must paint over that hole in me wall too.

www.nkforsterguitars.com 61 Just for Damien Mar 20, 2008

Especially for a chap in Glasgow who has been waiting patiently for his Ca- matillo Model B. The guitar went off to Dave Wilson’s yesterday to be sprayed. This is a really fine looking guitar – Camatillo Rosewood with European Spruce, a bound soundport and some pretty fancy binding if I say so meself. The guitar also features my new bridge, which is larger but lighter than the old one, the idea being to spread the load without adding weight. Hope he likes it!

www.nkforsterguitars.com 62 Another Model J Mar 28, 2008

You wait for ages and two come along at the same time – this is another top of the range Rio Model J, a cutaway this time, destined for a chap who already owns a rather lovely Rio Model C. The guitar is about to have the bridge fitted and in a day or so will be strung up and left under tension for about 7 weeks. At that stage I will set the guitar up so it plays as good as it looks. The top is Caucasian Spruce from Eastern Europe – very stiff, and it needs to be for this wide guitar – the Model J is 17 1/2” across. She’s a big lass!

www.nkforsterguitars.com 63 Fitting a bridge Apr 15, 2008

This is how I do it – the bridge with the saddle slot routed but no holes is clamped in place on to the soundboard and on top of some plastic tape which is then cut lightly around the bridge with a sharp knife. The bridge at this point has been fitted to the curve of the soundboard. The reason for the tape is to mask the spruce so lacquer does not get in between the spruce/ebony join. When the guitar returns from the sprayers the bridge is clamped in place (two 1.5mm drills are used to locate the bridge, the holes being drilled at the ends of the saddle slot.) Then the lacquer is cut around the bridge using a new sharp blade. The bridge is taken away and the finish and tape is removed using chisels and thinners. The area is left to dry and then the fit of the bridge is checked once more. When it is ready the bridge is glued on with Titebond, clamped and left over night. Next I’ll show yo how I drill the holes for the strings.

www.nkforsterguitars.com 64 Another experiment Apr 25, 2008

About 10 years ago I tried a very unsuual and excellent guitar whilst in Lon- don, the guitar was an Howe-Orme, built in the 1890’s and was one of the first guitars made with steel strings in mind. So when I was recently reminded of the guitar in a conversation, I decided to build one to see what it was like. Now most of you will be familiar with the adjustable neck guitar I have de- veloped, well, it was sitting around the house, not doing much so this week I cut the top off, and attached a new one, in European Spruce, based on this Howe-Orme idea. The top photo is a Howe-Orme, the rest are the Forster, see just how arched the top is? The guitar goes to Dave Wilson’s to be sprayed next week and should be back in around a month. if theis experiment goes well I’ll build a full size Rosewood version, perhaps a Model C – I’ve been considering building a ladder braced guitar for some time – the idea is to make a guitar perfect for noisy sessions – something that will be loud and strong. Ladder braced guitars are often this – Selmer guitars for example. The plan is to exhibit at this years acoustic guitar show at the Barbican in Lon- don this September, and the guitar will hopefully be ready for then.

www.nkforsterguitars.com 65 Damian picks up his Camatillo Model B May 12, 2008

Damian had waited patiently for his Model B in Camatillo Rosewood and Eu- ropean Spruce, and seemed quite taken aback when he finally got his hands on’er. He’s been playing a Martin for so long I think he got quite a shock at how responsive his new guitar is. He has a very good technique – he plays in a rather classical style but now he is faced with a much broader palette of colour with which to paint. The pair of them are back in Glasgow now, and I would imagine Mrs Lynch wont have seen much of either of them! Anyway, here are some pictures so you can see the guitar for yourself. It has my new bridge which has a much larger footprint than my old one, yet the bridge is much shallower and lighter, apart from the area that supports the saddle which is normal height.

www.nkforsterguitars.com 66 Work in progress: Howe Orme and Rio D May 15, 2008

Two instruments have just come back from Dave Wilson’s: a handsome looking Indian/Italian Model D and the Howe-Orme inspired, re-topped Mahogany adjustable neck guitar. Wow, what a mouthful. The Howe-Orme one is not a direct copy, but it was certainly my inspiration (Think I’ll call it Howe-Ormish) The barrel domed top looks wonderful, I’ll get it strung up soon and record a sound sample or two. The pictures show me gluing the bridge – this took a long time to fit I can tell you. Once on the body I took a chisel to it and a little plane to get the weight down. If I had tried to fit a bridge this thin it would have never stayed still and the temptation to pull it down would have been there. No, my bridges fit perfectly, without stress and without pulling. I’ve just glued the bridge on the Model D too, the soundboard is a real stun- ner – there is a bit of light Bearclaw figure in the top, and the Indian is a won- derful dark set, and looks nice against the lighter Rosewood binding. This is the first Model D for some time and that’s a pity as my Dreadnaughts are so different from the traditional type, much more balanced and clear. Anyway, I’ll ask Ian Stephenson to record it for me in a few weeks so you can all hear it. Can’t wait to hear them both.

www.nkforsterguitars.com 67 Images for the new book May 19, 2008

Here are a few images taken by Dave Best of the Hexham Photographic so- ciety. Dave is taking the photographs for the book I’ve been putting together about guitar making. Now there are lots of “How to make a guitar” books out there already so this one is more in depth about the design, direction and motivation behind my work. There should be plenty in there for other makers to argue about (oh how they love to fall out!) And thanks to Mr Best, there will be some stunning images, and not just the usual shots we see time and time again. The book will be ready when it is ready – I was hoping for this year some time but who knows – we have a decent selection of images already but Dave and I want this book to be stunning – a bit like me guitars! Dave is also taking new photographs of the guitars for my website – the work has a different look from a couple of years ago so it’s time they were all updat- ed. Coming soon…. www.nkforsterguitars.com 68 How to order an instrument May 26, 2008

Here is how it all works, I send you a price list and you decide what you would like. We discuss options and you place an order… You send a non returnable deposit of £500, when it clears, you go in the order book and your price is fixed. When the instrument is ready I contact you, you send the balance and when it clears, I send you the instrument or you can come and pick it up if you like. Simple as that. You get a limited lifetime warranty from me, which covers my workmanship until I’m too old or frail to be able to cover it. And I’m 37, and in good nick! As I often say “The guarantee is for a lifetime – mine or yours, whoever goes first!” If you sell the guitar or give it away the warrant expires. If asked to carry out any repairs, under warranty or not, any transport costs to and from me are your responsibility. On occasion when the job is a minor one and the distances large, I will pay for your local repair man to do the work as long as we are both convinced of the standard of his work. That worker has to guarantee their own work. There you all are, terms and conditions, all quite standard really, my intention is to be fair to customers and I expect them to be fair with me.

www.nkforsterguitars.com 69 Work in progress Jul 14, 2008

Here are a couple of guitars that should be due back from the sprayers any day now. The cutaway is a trial run for my anniversary Model, an Indian and rio mix guitar, 14 frets to the body with an Italian Spruce top. The lower bout has rather large hips which I like, so I made a wider version, similar dimensions to my Model C. That one is in Indian and Italian. The first of the two is an order, the second will be for sale.

www.nkforsterguitars.com 70 Panamanian Rosewood Jul 24, 2008

Many timbers are touted as Brazilian Rosewood substitutes that simply are not. This stuff comes closer in sound than any other timber I have come across. It is a true Dalbergias sp, is very light, and rings like a bell. The one ad- vantage it has over Brazilian is it seems more stable. It is a very even and crisp wood to work with and I am a big fan. It can look rather unusual as much of the stocks are reclaimed and can feature all manner of odd marks as a quick glance will reveal, but there is nothing wrong with a bit of character is there? If you goto the news page of my website you will see how the colour is en- hanced when sprayed. www.nkforsterguitars.com www.nkforsterguitars.com 71 Buying Spruce in Germany Aug 10, 2008

Have just got back from spending all my money on yet more timber. This time I visited Germany, Austria and Slovakia in search of the perfect soundboard – and I found them! I ended up spending more than double the amount I set out to as the stuff I came across was too good to pass over. I ended up buying around 180 soundboards – enough to last me a good few years. Anyway, here I am at Gleissner’s yard at Erlangen, a couple of hours north of Munich where I bought many fantastic Bearclaw European Spruce tops. The picture of Stefan Gleissner tickles me – I think he was a little worried that he was being too generous! He runs the family business now that his father is in semi retirement. Mr Gleissner senior is in good health but at nearly 72 has decided finally to take things a little easier. This is a superb yard for Spruce and Maple – I also picked up some excellent sets of old Indian Rosewood there too, as well as wedges for arch top guitar and Cittern. Stefan tells me around 50% of the wood here is German, the rest is French, Austrian and Swiss – all of it Alpine. It’s good fun selecting tops – but you have to be quick about it – after a couple of hours it becomes like counting sheep and your judgment starts to go – ac- cording to Stefan, if there was an Olympic event of timber selection, I’d be in with a good chance of a medal!

www.nkforsterguitars.com 72 Bearclaw anyone? Aug 13, 2008

One of the boxes from my wood buying trip has just arrived and this was the first top in the pile. Not bad eh? Most of the tops have some figure, and quite a few are like this one. I have to say in 20 years of making guitars I’ve never come across stuff like it.

www.nkforsterguitars.com 73 Work in progress – trial run for the Anniversary Model Aug 18, 2008

This guitar is an Indian/Rio mix version of my Anniversary Model. The top is some very striking Italian Spruce with strong reed gathered in the centre. The guitar is based around my Model B, but shortened to make 14 frets to the body and the “hips” are rounder like the new version of the Model C I am working on. Anyway this guitar will be off to her new home soon. I’m sure the new owner will be very happy with the guitar. I am. www.nkforsterguitars.com 74 Panamanian Model C goes home Aug 19, 2008

I made this guitar with the intention of sticking it on the “Available now” page of the website, but it never got that far. John was the first person to play her and the sensible chap bought her! This is superb timber and combined with the Model C shape, the bass is su- perb, and the trebles are full – the guitar sounds like it is strung with heavy strings when it ain’t. Anyway, here is new owner, John with a look of concentration on his face as he plays Norwegian wood! So it is always worth getting in touch to see what instruments I have around. You might be lucky!

www.nkforsterguitars.com 75 Adjustable neck IndianModel C Sep 19, 2008

This is a rather smart Indian Rosewood/Italian Spruce Model C complete with side sound port and an adjustable neck. I wish more folk would order adjustable necks – I like the sparkle it adds to the sound as well as allowing the player to set their own action with the turn of an Allen key. Sound sam- ples of both these guitars coming soon.

www.nkforsterguitars.com 76 Panamanian Rosewood Model C Sep 19, 2008

Here is a long scale (660mm) Panamanian Rosewood Model C designed with a low C tuning in mind. The guitar will be tuned CGCGCD low to high. Pret- ty eh? And sounds great too. The guitar will be off to it’s new home in a few weeks.

www.nkforsterguitars.com 77 Rio Model D Sep 26, 2008

I first started this guitar some time in 2005, not long after I started up in busi- ness for myself – I didn’t have many orders and I thought a Brazilian Rose- wood Model D would be interesting. As it was, orders quickly came in and I just didn’t get round to putting it together. Anyway I found the parts a few months ago and decided to get it finished – I’d just completed a superb Indian Model D and was itching to try out a Rio one. Many of my ideas about soundboard construction had moved on since mak- ing the top so my first job was to remove the old struts, re-thickness it and start afresh. The rosette and purfling are herringbone and the body binding is solid Ebony. The back and ribs are very nice Rio which varies from dark to soft brown with almost black lines. As usual the slim neck is the best 1908 Cuban Mahogany. The soundboard is old German Spruce. The guitar is strung up and the sound is magnificent – my Model D is NOT a Martin copy – you can flatpick on it, but basically this is a Dreadnought shaped fingerstyle guitar – the dimensions are the same as my old Model B, just the waist is brought out and the result is a softer, fuller bass without com- promising the treble. I just love this guitar and I think anyone who tries her will feel the same. The guitar will be on display and up for sale at the Ullapool guitar Festival in mid October.

www.nkforsterguitars.com 78 New interview ! Oct 4, 2008

Terence Tan from http://www.guitarbench.com interviewed me recently, here is a copy of it.

Nigel Forster | 2008 | Luthier Interview |

Nigel Forster is best known for being Stefan Sobell’s apprentice from 1987- 1990 and from 1992-2003 but he’s recently gone solo and was been steadily building with his own distinct style and sensibilities. I’ve always known Nigel to focus on quality and sound and his candor is refreshing in today’s market! I was very lucky to catch up with Nigel recently to see how things were com- ing along. TT – Nigel, thanks for catching up…. apprenticing with Stefan must have been a wonderful experience, could you share with us what it was like? NF – Yes it was, I cannot think of any other maker I would have rather learnt from. When I started for Stefan in January 88, Stefan had a good reputation but his work did not command anything like the amount his work does today (a Model 1 guitar was £800!) and from the start the atmosphere was one of hard work. I started at 7.30 and finished at 5.30, five days a week. Stefan was often there before me and always there for a few hours after. And he was there on weekends too. He worked 14 hour days, seven days a week for years. My first duties were cleaning up, making tea and then I went on to sharpening tools and making backs. Next was bending sides and making necks. For the first couple of years most of my duties were based around making the bod- ies and doing the rough work for the necks and tops. And making the tea of course. As far as machines – we had an Inca bandsaw, an inaccurate planer thickness- er and a router we used for about 2 or three jobs and that was it. No table saw, no pillar drill, no extraction, nothing. It was a very primitive workshop by modern standards. Most of the work was done by hand. www.nkforsterguitars.com 79 This is before guitar making was the big amateur business it is now so we were pretty isolated as far as building methods went. Stefan was self taught and so developed many interesting and sometimes odd ways of making, and it was many years before I knew any different which was good. It was Stefan who developed the method of joining tops and backs on a sheet of chipboard using bent nails for pressure – I have a video of me doing this on my YouTube site and people seem to find it hilarious – but this is how I have done it for 20 years, and it works for me. As I said, the instruments were not expensive, and the work was done by hand, so the idea was “Get it ready, and get it out” Doing things right the first time was very important, as having to redo things could mean the difference between making money on an instrument or not, so it is a good way to learn. The current crop of luthiers and their apprentices do not work this way – so much of guitar making has been reduced to wood machining now, and my belief is that something of the human touch has been lost. A balance between working efficiently and quietly should be sought. But at the same time I un- derstand that most customers neither know nor care about this. As the years went by the instruments got better, the waiting list grew, prices rose and we got all modern – Stefan bought dust extraction, a belt linisher and eventually I bought my own table saw – my favourite machine for mak- ing. We made a Go-bar deck! By the time I left it was a pretty swish workshop. We had our own rooms with the machine shop in the middle, and in the last few years I had a pretty free hand to get on with things, to work on the design and develop my own ways of the building process. As long as the standard improved, Stefan was happy to let me experiment. T- Innovations like your 3 piece, mixed rosewood backs? NF – No, I can’t claim that, In 2003, Stefan and I built a guitar for a chap called Maurice Condie which was a mix of Cocobolo and Rio, and it came out sounding much more like Rio (another term for Brazilian Rosewood) than Cocobolo. A couple of years later I had a customer who didn’t have the money for Rio and was also concerned about its stability but still wanted a Rio sound, so I thought I would try mixing Rio with Indian, the results were great, and I have made many since – it is my commonest timber upgrade and rightly so. No, most of the experimentation I did was technical stuff, to make the instru- ments more consistent, to eliminate building mistakes that often occurred early in the build that had to be compensated for later. www.nkforsterguitars.com 80 I also spent a lot of time thinking and working on the neck/body joint and the neck/head joint, both of which I have covered in my blog. And then there was the most important part – the soundboard. Early Sobells were just too stiff, they were heavily arched, heavily braced and every intersection of braces was linked. Some came out sounding good, but they often lacked bass and felt too stiff. So we spent a lot of time experimenting and discussing the top, changing it to allow it to resist the pull of the strings and still sing. But it got to the point where it was time for me to leave, I had too many ideas I wanted to try, and Stefan and I had spent too much time together. We attempt- ed to set up a partnership where I would gradually take over the business but it didn’t work out. Time to go! Which actually was the best possible thing for both of us – Being in business for myself is great – I’m doing the best work of my life just now, the sound of my guitars and Bouzouki still has that clarity and separation, but with a much fuller and rounder bass, the work is going well and whilst the aesthetic is still very simple, my guitars have a certain look about them which sets them apart from much of what is being made. Some of the changes, like the binding and purfling are give the artist in me a chance to breathe, but others like the body shapes and the new bridge are plain old examples of form following function. Part of my nature is I get bored easily – making the same guitar over and over would drive me mad, experimentation is the thing which has held my inter- est in guitar making for all these years and continues to do so. You can think about design all you like but the only way to find out is to build. TT- When you say, great results with the rio and indian, do you mean mostly sounds like rio? With these do you have indian rosewood sides too? NF – Yes, sounds much more like Rio than Indian. The sides are Rio, the back is a narrow central strip of Rio (around 2-3”) and outer wings of Indian. I have no explanation why the sides should have such a profound effect, but they clearly do. TT- You mentioned that you’ve made a lot of discoveries since the first inter- view… NF – The short answer is – I’m not telling! It is common for makers, amateurs in particular to share what they know or at least what they think they know, but this can lead to lots of people making similar guitars. The reason why www.nkforsterguitars.com 81 people want my work and are prepared to pay the price I ask is that my work is not like that of most other makers. By ignoring what you may read or be told and thinking for yourself it is possi- ble to come up with new ideas and a different sound. – a better sound. Sound is a by product of design – one maker I know with an excellent scientific back- ground describes sound as an energy loss to the guitar. If you consider the architecture of the guitar and the nature and direction of the forces that act on it, and design accordingly you make a guitar that is un- conventional to many but that sounds clearer and fuller than much of what is on offer. This may sound all wrong – surely sound should come first – it still does, but I approach creating a wonderful sound from a different angle – one of creating a logical construction which will liberate the sound from the ma- terials. So the discoveries I have made in recent years about the soundboard – what it is I want and how I go about getting it shall remain secret. But basically it is about soundboard shape and thickness. TT – Most folks would like to know a little about the thought and the process behind your guitars… NF – Ok, I’ll tell you about a minor discovery and how it came about. When I worked for Sobell, we built very dry – the fire was always on and the dehumidifier was always running. One of the results of this was the backs used to deform when they left the workshop in an odd manner – the back would swell except at the waist where the short back strut was. You would get a sort of rollercoaster effect. Didn’t look nice. So to counter this I suggested slanting the waist bar to lengthen it and made it shallower, the idea being to make it more flexible, that way the back would swell uniformly. A little bit more work but it worked. I asked “What reason shall I tell customers”, and Stefan laughing said ” The sound, always the sound!” But we never really bothered to think any reason up – if anyone asked, I’d change the subject. I still do this on my guitar as I too have the fire on and the dehumidifier run- ning all the time, Then a year or two ago I decided to lighten the third back strut too, to make the whole thing more flexible. The result was one of the things I have been working towards for some time – more bass. So now if any- one asks about the slanted back strut I can honestly say ” The sound, always www.nkforsterguitars.com 82 the sound!! “ This is a good example of how I work – I follow my intuition, which is in- formed by the work I have done before, I try to honestly observe what I have done and I don’t waste too much time thinking about clever theories. Guitar making is a practical subject not just a theoretical one. To some extent the sound my guitars make is a by-product of the thought I give to the structure. So I work on the architecture and see what comes out. TT – Apart from the usual construction discoveries, what new models are you working on Nigel? NF – Well, I’ve just finished the trial run for my Anniversary model (pictures on the blog) And I am very pleased with it. The guitar is roughly OM sized- a 14 fret cutaway version of the Model B. It is a new shape with rather fuller hips and a higher waist than my Model B and has my new larger, lighter bridge. The top is Italian Spruce and back and sides are Indian/Rio mix. The sides are best dark Rio and the back has a central panel of Rio and outer wings of Indi- an. The colour of the sound is much closer to Rio than Indian so it just shows you what a contribution the sides make. Many of the current theoretical models of how guitars work rely on the sides not being part of the equation – the theories go into great detail about how the top and back work, but introducing the sides into the equation compli- cates things beyond most folks understanding. So if you follow this line of thinking it makes sense to laminate sides or stiffen them with large linings like the walls of a snare drum. -it physically takes the sides out of the reckoning. However just because an idea makes sense, it does not mean it is right. You can produce a decent guitar this way but it is not the only way. I cannot give you any reason why the sides should contribute so much but I have made many of these Indian/Rio mix guitars now and it happens every time – the guitar sounds much more like Rio than Indian. The next step is to build the Anniversary Model, and other than upgrade the timbers to Rio back and sides and my 1930’s German Spruce, I’ll pretty much do everything the same. Only problem is it looks unlikely I’ll be able to get the guitar done this year as I’m pretty booked up, so it will have to be my 21st Anniversary Model rather than my 20th. www.nkforsterguitars.com 83 TT – I heard you were building from Panamanian Rosewood – it’s pretty new on the scene- how does that compare to Braz or indian? NF – Apparently Panamanian Rosewood is the same as Cocobolo, but believe me this wood is not like Cocobolo. Visually it is nice but fairly broad grained and the colour varies from yellow to pink. When sprayed it goes a deeper, richer shade of whatever it started off as. The main difference from all the other Rio substitutes is it is light – very light and compares with the best Rio. It rings like Rio when tapped but works a little like Cocobolo but not as crumbly. When you chisel Cocobolo, it behaves in a rather odd manner and lumps can fall of even with the sharpest tools. Panamanian does not do this but it is more awkward than Indian. Basically in a blind test, if you handed me a good set of Rio and a good set of Panamanian, the only way I would be able to tell them apart is the smell – it smells more like Camatillo – the weight, tap ring and stiffness are very similar. When you build with it the sound is very rich and full, and adds a fullness to the bass, more so than the other Rio substitutes but still, not a s much a s Rio. As far as I am concerned there is a pecking order for back and sides tone- woods, with Rio at the top, Rio/Indian mix next, then Panamanian, Camatil- lo, and then Honduras and Cocobolo together. But it is always worth remem- bering that there is nothing wrong with a good set of Indian, and it is more stable than all the others – a significant advantage if ever there was one. TT- How about your pick of the topwoods? I know Stefan usually only uses Euro, maybe adirondack…? NF – I have become rather obsessed with getting good Spruce in the last few years and I have LOTS! For most of my guitars I use Italian Spruce, For Mandolins and Citterns I have a huge stock of very nice light Czech Spruce. though I have recently bought a lot of Swiss and German stuff for Citterns too. For my more expensive guitars there is some very fine grained German and Swiss, no better sounding than the Italian but it really looks the part, and I recently bought a lot of good Bearclaw Spruce too from a German dealer, but my “special” stuff is German Spruce which was felled in the 1930’s. Rather good as you can imagine. I do have some Adirondack Spruce for guitars and Mandolin but have never had time to use it yet. Though I have made a couple of guitars with very fine www.nkforsterguitars.com 84 grained Caucasian Spruce (Picea Orientalis) which is very interesting stuff. It cuts like cheese yet is really rather stiff, and very light. TT – Could you give us a run down of your current line up and wait times?? NF – Waiting time is around 8 months. Sometimes less, sometimes more. Apart from the orders which are all guitars I’m working on a new model of arch top mandolin, and a new design for my Citterns and Bouzouki. I hope to have them ready by Christmas. So just now I am building 4 bodies – I make four at a time up to the binding stage then separate them and do one at a time until they are finished. On my bench just now is a Panamanian Rosewood Model J, a cutaway Panamanian Rosewood Model C and two Indian Rosewood Model C’s. The Model C is by far my most popular Model.

www.nkforsterguitars.com 85 Latest images for the book Oct 6, 2008

Here are a few shots of a recent Model C for you all, taken by Dave Best of the Hexham Photographic Society. We have amassed about a hundred shots so far for the book so it shouldn’t be too long now!

www.nkforsterguitars.com 86 Ullapool guitar festival Oct 14, 2008

Well, what a lovely part of the world! I’d never been that far north in Scot- land before – what a stunning place. The festival was really great – the music in the after hours club especially. I’ve recorded a bit of stuff for the YouTube site but my camera seems to not want to transfer things to my com- puter just now, so it may be a while before I get to share them with you. Anyway, here are a few pics to give you an idea of what you missed!

www.nkforsterguitars.com 87 Work in progress – new mandolin Oct 16, 2008

I’ve been working on this design for some time – a mandolin designed with Celtic music in mind. This model should have the woodiness of a good Amer- ican mandolin with the sparkle and clarity of a British one. Anyway, here is the first one before it goes off to the sprayers. The top is Czech Spruce and the back and sides are American Rock Maple. As usual the neck is 1908 Cuban Mahogany. Pretty eh?

www.nkforsterguitars.com 88 Model C in Panamanian Rosewood Dec 8, 2008

I am glad folk are ordering this stuff, I love it. Here is a recently finished Mod- el C in European Spruce and Panamanian Rosewood. The guitar is a 12 fret cutaway with a soundport – what a sensible chap the new owner is. I’d be hard pressed to spec a better guitar myself…

www.nkforsterguitars.com 89 Panamanian Rosewood Model J Dec 8, 2008

This fine looking specimen will be for sale very soon. Panamanian Rosewood, Italian Spruce, !908 Cuban Mahogany and Sri Lankan Ebony. The scale is 660mm and the guitar is intonated especially for DADGAD. Comes with a rather smart white Calton case. Wonderful, if I say so myself.

www.nkforsterguitars.com 90 Work in progress – Model S Dec 16, 2008

This is the prototype for my new “no frills” model – the Model S. My answer to the credit crunch. Basically it is a stripped down Anniversary model, to keep the price down without compromising the quality of materials, the con- struction, the sound or the playability. The final version should be available in the new year. Quite handsome eh?

www.nkforsterguitars.com 91 work in progress – guitar bouzouki Dec 17, 2008

This is a 16 fret Camatillo Rosewood 8 string guitar bouzouki. The body is based on the Model S and has the shoulders brought in to make a 16 fret neck/body join. The guitar is ready for the sprayers – you see how I mask the top off where the bridge goes? The top has been made in a similar style to a Howe-Orme guitar except it is X braced – notice the barrel shaped curve down the middle of the top? This de- sign lends itself to making very loud instruments – perfect for a noisy session. The zouk should be ready in the new year.

www.nkforsterguitars.com 92 2009

www.nkforsterguitars.com 93 India trip 2009 Feb 2, 2009

One of the benefits of being self employed is I get on very well with the boss. And this year I let my self start off with a holiday. I did go and see some timber dealers but I was not very impressed with the quality of the Rosewood being offered so bought nothing. In India, the forests are not being managed well and they are competing to cut down younger and younger trees. Then to get the width they are cutting off the quarter, so the quality drops even further. A poor state of affairs. Luckily for you lot I have good stocks of old Indian, which should last for quite a few years to come. Anyway, I spent most of the time practicing Yoga in Mysore, south India, I met some great people and had a very nice time indeed. India is a truly fasci- nating place and one you get over the shock of the sheer level of chaos of the place you can begin to enjoy it. I love it. And if you like old British cars and motorbikes, you will too. Many people still drive modern Indian versions of the old Morris Oxford (it’s called an Ambassador over there) and Royal En- field Bullets are still made there also, as well as the Hillman Minx. Great. I’ll see if I can get one of my pals over there to email me a picture of them.

www.nkforsterguitars.com 94 Model S pictures Feb 10, 2009

Dave Best – the chap who is taking the pictures for my book has just sent me this image of the new Model S prototype I featured at the back and of last year. I’ll be adding the guitar to the range soon and will be happy to take orders. I’ve decided also to build my Citterns and Bouzouki in a “Model S” style from now on. Then if you want to upgrade the spec you can. The Model S is a stripped down version of the Anniversary Model. The new Model S is perhaps one of the highest spec’ed “no frills” guitars around. The brief I set myself was to “Create a more affordable instrument that does not compromise sound or playability. “ The Model S boasts Indian Rosewood back and ribs, an Italian Spruce top, vintage 1908 Cuban Mahogany neck and Ebony fretboard and bridge. Stripping away the decoration allows me to lighten the interior linings which makes for a much lighter and responsive instrument, the bracing has been modified a little but basically this is the racing version of my standard work… my only fear is that some may no longer order my more expensive models! Price of the standard Model S is £2200. www.nkforsterguitars.com 95 Guitar Bouzouki Mar 30, 2009

Here is a brand spanking new Camatillo Rosewood and Italian Spruce 8 string Bouzar. The instrument has a 16 fret to the body join and is made in the simple Model S style – to keep the price down. The fancy Camatillo really adds some depth to the bottom end. Also the X braced top is formed with a pronounced arch down the centre, inspired by last years Howe-Orme model. Ian Stephenson says he’ll do a sound sample soon, so I shall let you all know when I have posted it on the MySpace site.

www.nkforsterguitars.com 96 Maple Mandolin! May 27, 2009

Well I’ve been promising to make another mandolin for ages and here it is. American Rock Maple and Czech Spruce with a 1908 Cuban Mahogany neck. The idea was to create an instrument with the woodiness in the bass of an American Mandolin but with the sparkling treble of an English one, and I must say it has all worked out rather well. This little feller is also rather pleas- ing to the eye as well as to the ear. The edge of this mandolin is like that of a violin which looks very smart, as does the oval soundhole. Better pictures and a sound sample coming soonish….

www.nkforsterguitars.com 97 Just for Duncan Jun 3, 2009

I’ve been promising Duncan some pictures so here they are. This is the top and back of a Rio Model C. This is pretty much as good as Rio gets – a superb old DiGeorgio set of 1960’s Rio to compliment the super fine grained Euro- pean Spruce top I’ve picked out for him. Duncan’s top and back have been sitting round for a good few weeks now and it is their turn next to be put together. I’ll take a few more pics as the project moves along.

www.nkforsterguitars.com 98 FAQ Jun 28, 2009

I can’t find your price list, where is it? I usually publish my prices once a year, in January on my blog. The prices can go up in the meantime, so if you wish to know current prices, email me via the website and I’ll send you it.

What happens if I don’t like the instrument? Well, it hasn’t happened yet. I make sure I am happy before I sent it out and that has been good enough for everyone so far. But if you really find you can- not get along with your new instrument I will offer to build you another. Where can I play one? My work is sold in the US by Dream Guitars near Asheville NC, and by Dol- phin Music in Osaka, Japan. Other than that you are welcome to come and see me, or if you let me know where you are I may be able to put you in touch with a customer nearby. My work can be found all over the world! I can’t find your address on the site either. What’s going on? I don’t have my address on ‘cos I’ve got work to do and I don’t want to be dis- turbed! I am based in Newcastle upon Tyne in the north east of England. The workshop is pretty easy to get to, not far from the A1 motorway, or the train station, and we have an airport too. Can I call in then? Yes, but I do ask that you email or call first. I am always happy to talk if you are seriously considering buying my work, but please understand that when you call by, work stops, so if you could come early afternoon it would be great – then I can eat my lunch whilst you play. How long is your waiting list, I’ve heard it is a couple of years? No, it seems to vary between 6-12 months. Do you do repairs? Not if I can help it. I don’t enjoy doing them. How many instruments do you make in a year? www.nkforsterguitars.com 99 I make around fifteen instruments a year. Sometimes less, sometimes more. The new Model S style instruments are a little quicker to make so depending on orders the number may go up a little. Do you have stock instruments? I always try to build an instrument for stock in between every few orders so those who wish to buy and cannot wait can get something, though I never build what someone is already waiting for. The stock work is either sent to Dream Guitars, Dolphin Music or appears on my Available now page. Though it is always worth calling as sometimes instruments get sold before they get to my website or my dealers, it’s just a question of calling at the right time. Would you like an apprentice? No, sorry, though I do hope to bring out a DVD in the future showing my way of working which apparently is a little unconventional. Anyway, I’m far too grumpy.

www.nkforsterguitars.com 100 New style Bouzouki Aug 30, 2009

I’ve restyled the range of Bouzouki family instruments in a similar manner to my Model S guitars. The back and sides are un bound, and the top is bound with black wood and has simple red black and white purfling. The head ve- neer is plain black. This all makes for a very smart and slightly cheaper instru- ment. It also means that you can upgrade to suit your taste and budget. This is one of a pair of recent instruments I’ve made in this style. This feller is for Dream guitars in North Carolina. It has a few simple upgrades – Rose- wood head veneers front and back and delicate slant check purfling. www.nkforsterguitars.com 101 Work in progress – a C and a S Oct 10, 2009

Here are a pair I am on with at the moment – the one getting it’s fretboard glued on is a 660mm long scale Model S which is being built especially for C tunings. The other is a Model C, made in the simplified Model S style and with a Howe Orme arched top – a style that I’ve been working on for a couple of years now. Both guitars are in Indian Rosewood and have Italian Spruce tops. Should be off to the sprayers in a week or so. And yes, that is a pair of Ukes hanging up on the wall, and yes, they will be for sale when I get round to stringing them up, and no, I don’t want to make any more!

www.nkforsterguitars.com 102 Mandolinetto Nov 20, 2009

I made this little feller for the Healdsburg show in August. I was unable to go for family reasons and the instrument has been on my living room wall ever since. The top is one piece Italian Spruce made with a pronounced arch and X braced. The back is one piece Indian Rosewood. The neck is my usual superb 1908 vintage Cuban Mahogany. I’ve been experimenting a lot with bridges of late, and initially this Mando- linetto had a Ebony bridge with a bone saddle but it sounded a little harsh to me. I changed to solid Ebony and the sound leaped out as if released from a cage! The treble thickened and the volume increased. I’ve been experiment- ing with Bouzouki bridges too and am beginning to reach some conclusions about what works best. I’ll write it all up some time. I’ll record or video the little chap soon so you can hear for yourself the result of the experiment. In the meantime enjoy the pictures.

www.nkforsterguitars.com 103 Stripped down Model C Dec 17, 2009

This is a new one – a stripped down Model C, made in the Model S style but with a few upgrades – Model C head with Rosewood veneers front and back, Gotoh 510 tuners and a thick Ebony heel cap. All sensible stuff. But the main difference is the top – some of you will be familiar with my experiments over the last few years with the old Howe Orme design, well this is the first time I’ve used it on a Model C and IT WORKS A TREAT! This is not just a rehash of that old design – it is combined with my ideas about bracing and construction, so it still sounds like one of mine, just a little different. This new design also seems to make for a loud instrument. Any way here are the pictures, if you go to my website and follow the links you can see Ian Stephenson playing this beauty on YouTube. Enjoy!

www.nkforsterguitars.com 104 Work in progress: redwood and cocobolo bouzouki Dec 18, 2009

Here is a bouzouki I’ve been on with lately, it’s Cocobolo and flame figured Redwood. It should be off to the sprayers in the new year and ready for sale early summer. Its one of a few instruments intended for this coming years Montreal Guitar show, I’m not sure if everything is going to be ready in time. I’ll know at the start of January.

www.nkforsterguitars.com 105 Not all guitars are equal! Dec 30, 2009

Just to prove you get what you pay for, here is a picture of one of my top of the range guitars, it has the best of everything, the best Spruce and the best Rio, the best Mahogany and the best Ebony. The customer asked for my old style bridge, and so that is what he got. One of these will set you back around £7500. Stunning. If I say so myself!

www.nkforsterguitars.com 106 Work in progress: guitar bouzouki Dec 30, 2009

Here is a very nice guitar bouzouki which is due to go to her new home in the US. The spec is similar to the last one I made with a few notable changes – a soundport has been added to the side and the neck is adjustable to allow the new owner to set his own action or even remove the neck for travel. Camatillo Rosewood and Italian Spruce.

www.nkforsterguitars.com 107 2010

www.nkforsterguitars.com 108 Thailand 2010 Mar 9, 2010

After spending time in India Ive moved onto Thailand. Im currently in the south, at Phang Gna Bay. Anyway, enough chit chat, have a look at me pic- tures.

www.nkforsterguitars.com 109 Japan 2010 May 6, 2010

Japan 2010. Well, I’m back in the UK now and back to work. Japan was amazing, although the weather seemed rather British. My tan got washed off. Bah. It is a truly oustanding place to visit if you enjoy woodwork and other crafts. I will do a post soon about the Bamboo crafts if Bep- pu, a place I visited just to see some of this amazing work. But in general the standard of workmanship in Japan puts me to shame. It is a super clean, super safe country with amazing food and is actually far better value than most would have you believe. And the food is fantastic. Anyway, enough chit chat, have a look at me holiday snaps. Not bad for a £60 camera!

www.nkforsterguitars.com 110 intonation May 13, 2010

I’ve been working on temperaments quite a bit whilst I’ve been away, looking at Just intonation, Meantone and Equal temperaments. The long and short of it is I’ve changed how I intonate the guitars and am very pleased with the re- sults. It is a lenghty process involving measuring the value of every note fret- ted and then calculating the correct position of both the saddle and the zero fret according to the string gauges used and tuning employed. Complicated. But going by smile on Ian Stephenson’s face (my local intonation fusspot) the work seems to be worth the effort. Ian now wanted the guitar to be as close to Equal temperament as possible as in the current crop of bands he is playing with he has to play in a lot of differ- ent and sometimes just plain odd keys. So here are a few pics of the saddle, and of a happy Ian with his much battered Model B guitar and of the nut of a Jazz archtop I’ve just completed (more about this feller soon) to show you what the end results look like.

www.nkforsterguitars.com 111 Japanese Bamboo Art May 13, 2010

It was in Bangkok that I went to an exhibition of work by bamboo craftsmen from Beppu in the south of Japan. I go to quite a few exhibitions and some- times I get a little jaded. So I went in with little expectation. It turned out to be the most beautiful and moving collection of work I have ever seen. I stayed all afternoon, read every word, watched every video and stared at every piece until my eyes hurt! These makers have it all – incredible imagination coupled with astounding technique. They seem to be limited by neither. Until a few years ago these makers only made one or two sculptural pieces a year for local competitions and scraped a living by making simple wares to be sold locally. Luckily a cou- ple of wealthy US collectors saw the work and began promoting it. Now there a couple of galleries in the US and in Italy selling the work which goes for as much as any high end guitar. These pictures have been taken from the Tai gallery in Santa Fe. If you look up Japanese Bamboo, Beppu, you will find there are a few recently published books on the subject. They are stunning. The exhibition inspired me to take the overnight ferry from Osaka down to Beppu to visit the Beppu Bamboo Crafts centre. It is a funny old town famous for its hot springs, but it is where I bought myself a rather nice little bamboo vase which now has pride of place on my sideboard. Not as spectacular as the pieces here but still a breathtaking display of taste and skill. My hope is that somehow this wonderful work somehow infiltrates it’s way into mine. Time will tell.

www.nkforsterguitars.com 112 Redwood Zouk with new design tail- piece May 22, 2010

This is the Redwood/Cocobolo bouzouki I made at the end of last year with the intention of showing her off at this years Montreal Guitar show. I’m not able to go (no other instruments ready!) But here she is in all her glory! I have to admit to being rather pleased with both the sound and the appear- ance. This is the first time I’ve ever worked with Redwood and it really is the bees knees as far as archtops go. The sound is fabulous – loud, full and thick without being coarse. I hope a few of you have the good sense to order one. Consider this to be the top of the range from now on. Also, here is my new design of tailpiece which compliments the oval sound- hole. Made from sturdy 3mm thick brass, and rather smart if I say so myself. In the next week I’ll try to get Ian to make a video with her and see if Dave best can take some good photos for the website. This instrument will be on show at this years Cheltenham Guitar show.

www.nkforsterguitars.com 113 Influences 1 – Selmer guitar May 28, 2010

This is the first of a few posts about the things (most of which are instru- ments) which have influenced my work. This fine old guitar was the property of my late Grandfather, Charlie Fergu- son. Charlie was a well respected player in the Tyne Valley and played in bands for sixty years. For gigs he played electric guitars – he was always buying and selling, but this was the guitar he loved the most and the one he used to take down to the Accordion Club which was held once a month at the Ex-Service Mens Club in Hexham, Northumberland. He played what he called “Dance band style” guitar, which is the lovely bass note and chord style of players like Eddie Lang. The closest player I have heard to Charlie was the late Perrie Wil- lie Johnson, the wonderful folk/jazz player from Shetland. The guitar seems to be a mixture of parts which is not uncommon. When Selmer decided to get out of the guitar business, many instruments were made up from parts which were around. The body is narrow suggesting it is from a tenor guitar- I believe Selmer made these quite early on, whilst the soundboard has a rare round hole, which may date from their “middle” peri- od – after Selmer and Maccaferri parted company. The Label says 647 which is a little later but bears the name of Maccaferri on it. Also it seems the cutaway has been put in afterwards, and very skillfully. You can see the staggered joins in the purfling if you look carefully and the “nose” of the cutaway is a vertical Ebony fillet. My guess is the side was actually cut and re bent to fit the cutaway shape. Skilled work indeed. According to the excellent book on these guitars by F. Charle, a chap in London (Rocca?) was known for doing this sort of work. I used to have a copy of the book but I loaned it out and never saw it again so my knowledge is a little sketchy. If any www.nkforsterguitars.com 114 of you know better please let me know and I’ll correct this post. The way in which this guitar has been a reference point to me over the years are many. Aesthetics is a personal thing but I believe some makers just have a good eye, whilst others do not. Maccaferri had a good eye. Whilst I do like other cutaway shapes, to me this is the most dignified, and is undeniably Eu- ropean. I believe his teacher used a similar one. The decoration is so delicate and understated, with shallow binding and simple purflings – something I try to do also. The neck/head joint is a cracking piece of wood machining, and something I used to emulate when I started as the timber stock I had was too short to joint the heads in the conventional manner. But the most impressive thing about this little guitar is the sound. Instant Django! I have tried many modern copies but nothing comes close. The gui- tar is extremely loud, and lends itself to percussive playing. The tone is what one would expect – the tone is thick with not so much sustain but with con- siderable resonance. Perfect for the style of music it was used for. It is a wonderful piece of craftsmanship, made by men who were skilled cab- inetmakers, not trained luthiers, yet despite this it was decades before there were any steel string guitars being made in Europe that could come close.

www.nkforsterguitars.com 115 Influences II – Hermann Hauser I Jun 6, 2010

I’ve never played a Hauser but the sound of his work can be heard on many of Andrea Segovia’s recordings. This was my introduction to the man and his work. German luthier Hermann Hauser I (1882-1952) is best remembered for the remarkable instruments he built in the Spanish tradition after 1924. Segovia encouraged Hauser to copy his 1912 Manuel Ramirez guitar (an instrument generally believed to have been built by Santos Hernandez the foreman of the Ramirez shop). Hauser also had access to an 1859 Antonio de Torres which influenced him also. Although Hauser began building in the Spanish tradition in 1925, he contin- ued building Vienna models well into the 30’s – work in what is often referred to as the Stauffer school. It is this work that interests me the most as it has more in common with steel string guitar design than the Torres/Ramirez tra- dition – Stauffer trained a certain C.F. Martin who decided to leave Austria for America and the rest is guitar history. The influence of Hauser on my work is both aesthetic and structural. Hauser is another maker who I believe “had a good eye”. It was one of his 1930’s gui- tars in a museum in Rome that made me want to experiment with an even more limited visual palette than I was already. Many of my rosettes in the last few years have featured heavy black lines balanced with delicate purflings, and Hauser is the main inspiration behind this. Over the years I have tried a few of these ideas in my work – rosettes, bindings, the banjo headstocks and more recently the round ended bridge, sometimes used by Hauser, and later by Martin on their Classical guitars. As well as looking rather nice this way of building has the structural benefit of not creating a pressure point at the end of the bridge which can cause splitting and deformation. www.nkforsterguitars.com 116 Influences III – Shaker furniture Jun 19, 2010

I first came across the Shakers and their work whilst doing my degree in Three Dimensional Design at the University of Northumbria in the 90’s. Shaker furniture is widely admired for its simplicity, superb joinery, quality, and functionality. Shaker designs were inspired by the ascetic religious beliefs of the Society. It is the physical embodiment of their faith. Shaker craftsfolk were rather a pragmatic bunch, form followed function, and beauty was seen as a function. A mixture of hand and machine work was employed to produce decorative arts, and objects of everyday life – stoves, woodworking tools and machinery, oval boxes, wooden carriers, buckets, poplar ware, seed boxes, textile equipment, baskets, brooms, clocks, transportation artifacts, and agri- cultural and medical equipment. The form and proportion is similar to classical British and American furni- ture of the same period but is stripped down to just the essence of what is required. An approach I am rather keen on myself. www.nkforsterguitars.com 117 Influences IV – Howe Orme Guitars Jul 8, 2010

I first came across one of these odd guitars in Andy’s guitar shop in Denmark St, London around 1998. I thought it was both peculiar and superb all at the same time. I am very interested in the origins of the steel string guitar and es- pecially in what else was being done around the time the CF Martin Co took off. These guitars (along with the work of the Larson bros) were made with steel stings in mind. The top has a longitudinal arch to add considerable strength and the neck is adjustable to cope with the seasonal changes and the sinking or tipping of the top over time. Being ladder braced I would imagine the ad- justable neck coming in rather handy. I the last couple of years I’ve been experimenting and developing the design into something new. Elias Howe seemed to start producing very fine guitars in the 1890’s in Boston, and possibly in Ottowa and branded under the Orme label. Several patents were made covering aspects such as the arching of the plates and adjustment of the neck. Not much is known about the company, how many instruments were made or even how long it lasted, but one thing for sure is that this really is a very logical and sensible way to build for steel strings.

www.nkforsterguitars.com 118 Work in progress – Cocobolo Model B Jul 10, 2010

This is one of the guitars I’ll be showing off at the Luthiers BBQ, at 16 Ever- leigh St, Finsbury Park, London on Sunday 25th July. It is hard to say what Model it is to be honest – I made it in the Model S shape, but added a cutaway, than added all the fancy binding and gave it a Howe-Orme X braced hump top. But a Cocobolo Model S/B HO is rather a mouthful. I think I need to come up with something a little more poetic. The top is a lovely bearclaw Italian Spruce number, the back and sides are the finest grade quarter sawn Cocobolo, the neck is vintage 1908 Cuban Ma- hogany. Indian Ebony Bridge and fretboard. The bridge is still in semi rough state, I doesn’t get a final shaping for a couple of weeks – I have to decide how much “meat” to leave. But I have to say I am quite taken with how she sounds already. I’m getting more into short scale guitars just now and this one is 24.9” scale and is a smooth as silk to play. The shorter scale softens the sound a little too. Its a lovely guitar and should make someone very happy.

www.nkforsterguitars.com 119 Influences V – Stefan Sobell Jul 12, 2010

It would be pretty odd for me to write a series about influences on my work and not mention Stefan Sobell. I worked for Stefan from leaving school,1988-1990 and 1992 -2003. I had no idea who Stefan was when I went to work for him and on reflection I’d be hard pushed to think of who I’d rather have been trained by. Stefan has a reputation for being the “Guitar makers guitar maker” and justly so. He is a non conformist and his work reflects this. Self taught, he learned by making and did so at a time when there were not online forums or piles of books available telling him how to do so. As a result his work is differ- ent from that of anyone else in construction and design and sound. It tickles me greatly that folk still have no idea of how Stefan gets the sound he does form the materials he uses (he has no interest in telling folk – why would he?), mainly because people approach understanding his work from the point of view of their own accumulated or learned knowledge rather than trying to imagine how Stefan approaches it. I have on occasion found folk spouting rubbish on the web about his design and construction methods, and when I have offered to point them in the right direction, have been told I am wrong! An opportunity missed. As I have said in the past, some makers have a good eye and others not. Stefan has a good eye. He has a decent pair of ears too! It has been difficult for me to develop my own sound since leaving his work- shop, some of the structural changes I wanted to introduce had less audible effect than I imagined, some more so, but I’m glad to say that 7 years on, neither of us have ceased to improve and develop our work. If anything was instilled in me from my many years in his employment it was to continue to experiment, otherwise, what is the point? Add to this his way of dealing with folk – to be straight and fair, to pay folk properly and promptly and to expect the same treatment in return. It’s how he runs his business and it’s how I run mine. www.nkforsterguitars.com 120 Luthiers BBQ 25th July Jul 16, 2010

In light of the Cheltenham guitar show being cancelled, a few of us have got together and organised our own. It’s on Sunday 25th July, it’s an informal af- fair and should be great – come along!

The makers present will be: www.btinternet.com/~steve.sedgwick/ www.instrumentdatabase.com/goodacoustics/ www.petebeerguitars.com/ www.darluthier.com/ www.lucasguitars.co.uk/ www.nkforsterguitars.com

A few of us will entertain you with demos of various apects of lutherie, and it’ll be a great chance to get your hands on some first class instruments. Come and play some tunes. The address is 16 Everleigh st, Finsbury Park, London N4 3AE There is free parking in the area on a Sunday and the nearest tube is Finsbury Park, Wells terrace exit (5 mins) www.nkforsterguitars.com 121 Entry is £4 or bring some grub for the BBQ. Doors open at 11, finishes around 6. If it goes well we shall do them more often with a changing roster of makers. The pictures are of a Mandolin I will be bringing along with the Cocobolo Model B and the Redwood Bouzouki from earlier posts. Spread the word! Nigel www.nkforsterguitars.com

www.nkforsterguitars.com 122 On the bench – new Celtic Mandolin Sep 8, 2010

Oh I do like making Mandolins, I’ve made quite a few in the last year or so and this is the latest edition to the range. It seems some Celtic players just can’t settle for a Mandolin if it isn’t shaped like an onion. So this is for them. The top is Sitka Spruce, the back and sides are fine Quilted American Sugar Maple, the neck is my 1908 vintage Cuban Mahogany and the fretboard and Bridge are Sri Lankan Ebony. I tried several bridges before I settled on this one – the hollowed design of Ebony brings out the best both treble and bass. The treble is bright without being thin, and the bass is full without being muddy. It should cope well in any session. Despite the instrument being loud and full,I have to say it does not sound as different from my “A” Model (the one shaped like a Shallot) as I thought it might. But this may be down to the fact that whilst the materials and shape may be different, the arching, thicknessing and bracing are very similar. This little feller will be for sale soon.

www.nkforsterguitars.com 123 Work in progress: cocobolo 10 string bouzouki Oct 1, 2010

Here are two of the three instruments I started this month. One is a Cocobolo and figured Redwood 10 string Cittern, the other is a Cocobolo and Europe- an Spruce Celtic Mandolin. Along with the guitar I made eariler this year they will be the last Cocobolo instruments I make. It is a fine timber but it has not been managed and stocks are very much depleted. I shall not add to the problem by buying any more. Add to this the dust from Cocobolo is foul and I’ve inhaled enough sawdust. So, here we are, two of the last three Cocobolo Forster instruments. www.nkforsterguitars.com 124 In memoriam: Jennifer Forster 1947-2009 Oct 23, 2010

It is a year tomorrow that my mother died. Our mam was strong, hard work- ing, decent, energetic little woman. My brother and I never did without, thanks to the many sacrifices made by her and my father. She loved having fun and dancing and was very outgoing. We were fortunate to have such a good mother. When younger my mam had something of a fiery temper – I often clashed with her, we were very similar so I guess this was inevitable, but when she was told in her early 40s that she had Multiple Sclerosis, the fire subsided. The disease took many years to claim her life, and it amazed all of us, her doctor included, that she could still keep going, still be so cheerful when the illness had took away her mobility, her speech, her independence, everything. The more the illness progressed the more her compassion for others grew. But she was also very fortunate to be blessed with such a sunny disposition. Something my father said about her was true – “Son, your mother is no trou- ble, she’s easy pleased” It seems the easiest way to be happy is to be happy with things as they are, and this is very much how she lived. It was easy to make her smile and laugh, right up to the end, but if we spent too much time reminiscing she would stop me, smile warmly and say “yes pet, but that was then, and this is now.” In the 20 years it took for MS to end my mothers life, I never heard her complain once, about anything. When I would see her, her first questions would be about my welfare, that of the rest of the family and that of my friends. She was quite free from anger and ill will. How many of us can claim the same? www.nkforsterguitars.com 125 My mothers stoicism greatly affected those of us who spent time with her – my brother, myself and the many carers who allowed her to stay in her own home when my father passed away. We have all been truly fortunate to have known her. I miss her a great deal. Jennifer Carol Forster died October 24 2009. She was 61

www.nkforsterguitars.com 126 New A model Mandolin Nov 3, 2010

Here is me latest offering – a maple and Czech spruce A model mandolin. I’ve been experimenting with bracing a little and I’m really pleased with the results. I felt my two mandolin models whilst looking different didn’t sound so different, but now I think they do. This A model has a little more of the American woodiness without compromising that European sparkle. It’s not my wish to go down the path of trying to make a Gibson copy, but of course the design is not without merit, and I’m happy to have a little of that thick bottom end. So, this well will be for soon sale, as soon as I’ve finished experimenting with different bridges. As a “control” I always fit this traditional traditional two piece bridge, then move onto different combinations of spruce, maple and ebony bridges. It’s a time consuming way to do things but it means each in- strument is performing as well as possible. www.nkforsterguitars.com 127 THE BOOK! Dec 5, 2010

How exciting! This first edition should be ready for Christmas! The chap de- signing the book, Ben Tibbs and I have been working flat out to get this ready in time for you all. Ben has done a smashing job of designing the layout of the excellent photos which have been taken over the last three years or so by Dave Best. The book has lots of pictures of the building process, a series of essays presenting my thoughts on topics such as sound, construction, longevity and aesthetics, and is rounded off by some very nice images of the finished goods. It looks so smart! The plan is to print an initial short run of 100 numbered and signed copies of my book about guitar making “Between the ideal and the possible” It will ini- tially only be available direct from this website. If you are interested in getting a copy please get in touch and I shall make a little list. Once a Paypal link is made I shall let you know so you can get your copy first!

www.nkforsterguitars.com 128 2011

www.nkforsterguitars.com 129 2006 Model C cutaway Jan 27, 2011

It’s not often one of my guitars comes up in the used market, but this one just has. A fine 2006 Indian rosewood and Italian spruce Model C. The guitar is is good solid condition – it’s clearly been well played but there are no issues with her. A transparent scratch plate has been fitted, but there is some pick marks under the strings. But nothing too serious. When she arrived here at N K Forster HQ last week I noticed the frets had been rather harshly levelled, too much so for my liking so she has had a com- plete refret and set up by yours truly. I also lightened the bridge a little to be more in line with how I do them now. The sound is great, if i compare the sound to my current guitars I would say it is a lot more “Sobell”than Forster – which is no bad thing and some may even prefer this. The guitar was made in late 2005 and was just a couple of years after I left the Sobell workshop. Many of the ideas I had to make a difference to the sound didn’t make as much difference as I had anticipated, so what we have here is a very clear, loud, powerful sounding guitar that will make you heard in any noisy session and comes with a pickup so it’s great for the stage too.I have to say I only hope the person selling her doesn’t decide to come round and try her out again. He may well change his mind! The guitar comes with a LR Baggs pickup and a fitted Calton case. A new guitar with this spec would be £4900, and you’d be lucky to get one before mid 2012, this fine specimen is available now for £3500.

www.nkforsterguitars.com 130 Saddles! Jan 28, 2011

For a few years now I’ve used extra wide bone saddles. They allow for fine tuning the intonation to get as close as possible to equal temperament. A traditional 1 piece thin saddle can NEVER give you enough for correct com- pensation. They also allow the saddle to be adjusted for “cold creep”. Over the years, soundboards deform, sink and belly and usually the saddle creeps for- ward. My guitars are stronger than most and so deform less but some move- ment has to occur. The wide saddle allows for corrections to be made without it involving major surgery. Another benefit is it allows for the saddle to be taken out and swapped for another which can be compensated for a sweetened tuning or a dropped tun- ing like DADGAD. They can also be swapped for lefties without resorting to surgery. Clever eh?

www.nkforsterguitars.com 131 The journey of an idea I Jan 28, 2011

I’d always wanted to make a guitar with a totally flat top. We all know that a flat plate vibrates better than a curved one, but a flat plate has no strength and the steel string guitar is an instrument that suffers greatly if the soundboard cannot resist the pull of the strings. This is the basic problem we makers face: to make in instrument that can both sing and resist the pull of the strings. It was in India in 2007 that I had a new idea to tackle this little puzzle. I was in the Jagan Mohan palace in Mysore where they have a collection of stringed instruments on the top floor. One of the sitar type instruments had a large gourd attached to the head to amplify the vibrations of the neck. I walked back to my lodgings, thinking about this instrument. What if you attached a gourd to either end? Just a neck with an amplifier? In most conventional fixed bridge instruments the amplifier is under considerable tension. As a lu- thier I spend my working life trying to balance the opposing demands – that an instrument should withstand the pull of the strings yet still “sing.” Would it be possible to have all the strain taken by the neck, and little taken by the amplifier? This planted the seed in my mind about a guitar where the body was not un- der tension but instead sympathetically amplified the vibrations of a neck. I made a few doodles in my notebook, and here they are: the neck takes all the strain of the strings which are attached to the neck at the bridge end rather like a ukelele. The bridge is then attached (Bolted? Glued?) to the flat sound- board which sympathetically amplifies the vibrations of the neck. All the strain would be taken by the neck which would be easily strong enough to take it, so the soundboard could be made much much lighter, as it’s only job would be to amplify, not resist. Nice idea, but would it work? Only one thing to do, and I’d have to wait until my return to England to find out… www.nkforsterguitars.com 132 An ideas journey II:a modern flat top guitar Jan 28, 2011

A flat top guitar with a totally flat top? What I love about guitar making is that it’s a practical subject, not a theoret- ical one. You can fantasise all day long about what an idea might sound like but the only way you can find out is to make it. I made the first prototype in late 2007, from a fine looking set of Mexican Cocobolo and a fine old German spruce soundboard. The neck was a rather complicated affair made of mahogany and reinforced left right and centre with carbon fibre and graphite bars. My old boss Stefan always drummed into me – “if you are doing an experi- mental guitar, make sure it’s pretty!” and this certainly was. The shape I used was my new Model S shape and Dave Wilson rang up in the middle of the spray job just to tell me how amazing the guitar looked and everyone who had walked into his workshop had wanted to know more about it. The guitar looked utterly modern yet with a nod to the past. Well, things seemed to be going well, but there was just one small question to be answered… The moment of truth came when she came back from Dave’s and was ready to be strung up. How would she sound? Well the answer was……quiet and soft. There was so much bass! and not much else. A friend of mine Niall Cain, a fine violin maker, suggested a change in the transmission. There was a fine bolt pulling the neck and soundboard together, and Niall suggested taking the bolt out and wedging a little bridge between the two. So I gave it a try. The guitar got louder but still no great shakes, and I knew as the soundboard was thin and flat (and therefore weak) it would slowly sink under the bridge pressure and get quieter still. Back to the drawing board. But where to go next?

www.nkforsterguitars.com 133 An idea’s journey:a fine archtop is born Jan 28, 2011

An old friend of mine, and an amazing picker, Jose Guillen, had seen the experimental flat top guitar and said ” This would make a fine archtop!” I dismissed the idea as this was all about making a guitar with a perfectly flat top – Jose clearly missed the point. Some months later another chap came round to talk about me building an archtop guitar for him – not what I normally do but I do love jazz guitar and this feller loved my set ups and just liked my work. We talked about what we could do but I knew I had little interest in building a conventional jazz archtop. It’s all been done before and there are many good makers out there experimenting with with arching and thicknessing, with soundhole place- ment and that’s what I’ve been doing for years with steel stingers…no, mak- ing another traditional jazzer didn’t really do it for me, so the commission didn’t happen. But then for some reason I got the failed experimental flat top guitar out of the cupboard. If you ask many jazz players about the sound they would like they often men- tion that they want more sustain and less feedback. I got thinking about how to achieve this by applying this “long neck” idea to an archtop guitar. The arched soundboard is self supporting so Nial Cain’s suggestion about having a floating bridge could now work. The full length neck would give us the sus- tain and the lightly made acoustic body would add some broader tonal qual- ities. Seemed my old pal Jose had been right after all! So…back to the workshop. The experimental archtop guitar was built in 2009/2010, it looked amazing, payed effortlessly and sounded great. But then I’m a little biased. Would any- one else feel the same? www.nkforsterguitars.com 134 I took the guitar to amazing jazz musician Frank Vignola for an opinion, and he was very helpful. Wow! It was great to hear the guitar played by such an amazing player, and it was good to listen to it compared to his own fine guitar, I have to say I was not disappointed with how my instrument performed. Not too shabby at all… I took in what Frank had to say and got thinking about how to make a few changes. This led to my current version…

www.nkforsterguitars.com 135 A guitar bouzouki for Lisa Feb 8, 2011

Here is a recent creation, another of my guitar bouzouki’s. This one is a 10 string in Hondurasrosewood and Italian spruce. The “owner to be” has been very patient, but I think she’ll be very happy when she arrives at her new home soon.

www.nkforsterguitars.com 136 An ideas’ journey V – new archtop guitar – CHARLIE Mar 11, 2011

A new archtop guitar is born!

It had seemed like a long time since discovering that Sitar in Mysore! Work started on the latest (and quite possibly final) version of my archtop guitar on New Years eve, 2010, and continued pretty much around the clock until the guitar was done – I had tickets to go travelling again in mid February so there was no time to waste. I’d thought a great deal about the advice I was given and how to make these ideas happen. The new version is slimmer, a little heavier, the neck joint is a little different, and instead of traditional f holes I went for an oval hole, placed where the bass f hole would be. The neck, instead of super light Honduras ce- dar, is fine old reclaimed mahogany. The electrics are all mounted under the pickguard instead of the soundboard. Wow! Despite being shallower and heavier the acoustic sound is much fuller and louder. More sustain, more balance. This guitar has little in common with my original idea – to make a flat top guitar that does not collapse, but this is what happens when you allow your imagination to roam. One of the things I love about my trade is that an idea can go off on a journey of it’s own. It can take months or years for ideas to per- colate, but once they have, they results can seem very obvious! But I had no inkling walking back from a dusty old Indian museum that a few years later, this instrument would be the result. It’s been my wish for some time to somehow honour the memory of my late Grandfather, Charles Ferguson. He was a lovely old feller and a fine guitarist who played jazz and dance band music. He was very proud that I became a luthier, and I think he would have loved this guitar. So, I think it appropriate to name this new model after him…so, may I introduce to you all … CHARLIE. www.nkforsterguitars.com 137 An ideas’ journey IV:great jazz guitar playing Mar 11, 2011

Great jazz guitar! http://goo.gl/3FNN2I

http://goo.gl/uTKB1e

Here is one of my favourite players, Bryan Younger, owner of The Guitar Shop, Old george Yard, Newcastle upon Tyne. You can speak to Bryan on 0044 (0) 1912614056. Good man. The guitar is my “ideas’ journey” archtop, the amp is my Grandfathers old Polytone MiniBrute 12”. Fitted with a linen mounted speaker from Maughan Amps of Wallsend. A fine combination. The guitar is now fitted with a pair of pickups, wired out of phase, and in the middle position the sound is really rather special.

www.nkforsterguitars.com 138 View from the hammock, Thailand 2011 Mar 12, 2011

Thailand is a great country: it’s so laid back, the food is good and the people are friendly. The sun shines and I get to lay in a hammock for most of the day. Actually we’ve had intermittent heavy rain for a few days now so I’ve been al- most totally hammock bound, which has been no bad thing. I’ve had time to read a book (last time was me last holiday) and I’ve been practicing with me little cheapo Canon camera (A490) So this is the view from the hammock. Hope you like it.

www.nkforsterguitars.com 139 A fine archtop guitar – “Oscar” Oct 18, 2011

So, if you’ve followed the little series “The journey of an idea” this should seem like a fairly logical next step – to apply the idea to a “traditional” archtop de- sign – here is the result – I’ve called him Oscar, after my favourite Jazz guitar player, Oscar Moore (who played with Nat Cole in the late 30’s and early 40’s.) The guitar has a top notch, aged bearclaw German spruce soundboard, fig- ured rock maple body and a carbon fibre reinforced Monterey cypress neck. Fretboard and finger rest are Sri Lankan ebony. The guitar has my new “long neck” design which gives more sustain and superior access to the upper frets, as well as having a compensated zero fret to ensure spot on equal tempera- ment all over the neck. This really is a classy guitar…

www.nkforsterguitars.com 140 2012

www.nkforsterguitars.com 141 A day at the Newark College guitar making course Apr 5, 2012

Last week I spent a day as a visiting lecturer at Newark College where Adrian and Mal run a guitar making course. It’s a two year course where the students learn about making acoustic guitars by hand. I came and and gave the stu- dents a talk in the morning, we covered guitar design. Every year the students have a “guitar race” – they work in small teams and build a guitar in 24 hours flat. A great idea! So it seemed a good idea to talk about how I came up with the Model S design. One thing I noticed about the previous “guitar race” guitars was that they were very traditional guitars and non of the students in the past had given much consideration to simplifying the design. I love the notion of stripping a design down to the bare essentials, so who knows, maybe this years race will have a few new ideas and when faced with a limited time to build, may concentrate on that which really matters. Then I talked to the students about the whole business side of things – dealing with people, prices, advertising – all the things that non of us want to think about! But these are things which can’t be ignored if we hope to make our living as luthiers. I hope some of me words struck a chord. After lunch my time was spent working with the students on their projects, it was really interesting to dive in, some of the students are very good and it was fun to introduce them to some of my design ideas which really were new to them. Quite a few of them bough me book which was nice too. Towards the end of the day I bent a pair of sides for one of the chaps who was about to start on a maple guitar. The sides looked like they may be trou- ble – with run out and a flaw or two, but they went well and my reputation remained intact!! Yes, it was a really nice day, Adrian (AJ Lucas) and Mal do a fine job. Long may it all last! www.nkforsterguitars.com 142 Images for a new guitar making book? Apr 27, 2012

Toying with the idea of doing another book – the last one has been received well but I am being asked by some of you to do another which is more of a “how to make a guitar book” Now I thought there was enough of those about already but it seems not to be the case. What do you think? I found a little program to turn my photos into sketches which should reproduce nicely in b&w. Mmmm…this could be a lot of work but I really enjoyed putting the last one together, and I think a book about the cylinder top design that I use a lot these days could prove to be really interesting to the many amateur makers out there,and one or two professionals too perhaps. Suggestions and requests welcome – email me. [email protected]

www.nkforsterguitars.com 143 The guitar bouzouki that turned into a Les Paul Junior… Sep 5, 2012

Quite some time ago I received a commission from a chap in the USA. He wanted a narrow (12”) wide guitar bouzouki, short scale. I don’t always take on every “experiment” folk suggest, but this design certainly interested me so we discussed options and possibilities. I had a few attempts to come up with a shape that I really liked, and eventually we settled on a lovely nipped waist “Parlour” sort of shape with a large top bout. Add to this the Howe Orme “cylinder top” design an X brace, and the sleek Modern styling – and between us I think we’ve come up with a lovely variation on myGuitarBou- zouki design to suit his “high strung” tuning. The instrument is nearly ready to go out and it’s a real little gem, I hope he’ll be as happy with it as I am.

But one thing leads to another…this year I’ve been sharing a workshop with another guitar maker – the very talented John Gill of JXG guitars. John re- pairs and makes electric guitars, and is a real expert in “relic” replicas – he has quite a reputation for his Les Paul Junior guitars which command pretty hefty price tags and are to be found all over the world. Anyway, I’ve never made an electric guitar (after twenty odd years of building acoustics). It would be crazy to share a workshop with someone like John and not try and learn from the feller. His depth of knowledge about what makes a good electric guitar is phe- www.nkforsterguitars.com 144 nomenal, and he advised me every step of the way about timbers, hardware, finishing, set ups and pickups. But what should I make? That was the ques- tion. It dawned on me – I really loved the shape of the little guitarbouzouki and as it turned out it was pretty similar in size to a Les Paul Junior. A new (old!) guitar was born – “The OddBall Junior!!!” What fun it was to build, the “relecing” especially – and it’s GREAT!!!! The pickup is just superb and the neck position really suits the warm sound I love. This WILL NOT be added to the range of instruments I make. It’s a one off…. for me…so there! Think of it as the greatest guitar Gibson never made! I’ll leave making electrics to John….

www.nkforsterguitars.com 145 Selmer Maccaferri inspired archtop: new “Samois” video Sep 26, 2012 http://goo.gl/VIFtUS

Best watched in HD! And play through your hi-fi or listen with headphones to do it justice. I’ve known Giles for years, and he’s always been a great player. I was really glad he came over to demonstrate my latest archtop guitar – Samois. The gui- tar is a new variation on my “Charlie” jazz guitar design. This is my “tip of the hat” to the wonderful work of Mario Maccaferri and Selmer. It features a lovely Bearclaw European spruce soundboard married to a co- cobolo body. The neck and fretboard are 1 piece solid Indian rosewood. The pickup is a handmade AlNiCo III Kent Armstrong humbucker and the strings are D’Addario jazz light nickel. Oh – the amp is my grandfathers old Polytone Mini-Brute. Now I know these have gone out of fashion and we did try one of the popular modern “Jazz amps” but there was simply no competition. The Polytone was a little noisy in comparison to the modern amp but tonally so much warmer. It was good enough forJoe Pass, and it’s good enough for us! Ian Stephenson kindly came by to lend his expertise and engineered the ses- sion. He’s done a great job – as ever. Thanks also to Chris at Blank studios, Newcastle for doing such a great job and being so patient. Find out more at: http://www.nkforsterguitars.com http://www.gilesstrong.co.uk http://blank-studios.com www.nkforsterguitars.com 146 2013 www.nkforsterguitars.com 147 India 2013 Jan 19, 2013

In my usual bid to avoid the British winter I’ve ended up in Bodh Gaya, Bi- har, north east India. A fascinating place where around 2500 years ago the Buddha got enlightened. The town, and the food are very international with pilgrims coming from all over the world. The main focal point is the Bodhi tree. This magnificent old tree is the “grand- son” of the original, and is almost as popular with squirrels as it is people. It was under the original tree that the Buddha’s “awakening” happened. In the town there are many temples covering almost every facet of Buddhism today- Thai, Burmese, Tibetan, Chinese, Japanese, Korean and more.

Those of you who have been to India will be very aware of how utterly hectic it is, but Bodh Gaya isa little calmer. www.nkforsterguitars.com 148 Winter 2013, Thailand Feb 11, 2013

After leaving India (via Calcutta which is a truly magnificent and crazy place) I arrived in Thailand, to spend a week at Wat Rampoeng, a medita- tion centre just outside northern city Chiang Mai.

In 2011 I spent a month at Wat Rampoeng where they teach their take on Vipassana or insight meditation. One of the fascinating things about Thai- land is the state religion – Theravada Buddhism. You turn up at a meditation centre, they give you a room, feed you every day and teach you – first how to calm the mind and then how to understand it. That’s it. It’s a truly fascinating process and a very worthwhile way for people to spend their time. These places run entirely on donations. They exists because of the generosity of others. Everything at Wat Rampoeng was paid for by someone who wanted others to share the benefits they enjoyed from time spent there. That’s a lot of www.nkforsterguitars.com 149 generosity! One thing made me chuckle/gasp: next to the western dorms they were build- ing another new meditation hall, a magnificent teak structure. The workers were superb, using modern tools but building with traditional joinery. It seems despite Thailand being a modern country health and safety laws are a little different from those in Britain. The chap in the picture was trimming timber with a hand held circular saw whilst balancing on a steeply pitched polished tile roof. But don’t worry – he was wearing flip flops and had a nylon rope tied around his waist for safety! Back to the centre: the senior monks (and a senior nun – a very rare thing in Thailand) work 7 days a week most of the year round, teaching, listening and helping. Nuns work all hours, 7 days a week, cooking, cleaning, and generally keeping the place going. Apart from a few of the kitchen staff, no-one gets paid, and it’s open to the public all year around. It’s a big place – like a village, and during busy periods is home to around 100 monks and nuns, up to 30 western lay people and maybe a couple of hundred Thai lay people. Pretty amazing really. A few decades ago meditation was considered something only a few select monks might dedicate themselves too, but now many ordinary Thais medi- tate as well as observing traditional rituals and rites. Meditation centres exist all over Thailand. Burma too has many so I’m told. If all is good I hope to return again to Wat Rampoeng to spend some more time. It’s an amazing place.

www.nkforsterguitars.com 150 STOLEN – GUITAR BOUZOUKI Feb 25, 2013

One of my customers Adam Rhodes had some of his gear stolen a couple of nights ago in a little town called Escrick, near York. Amongst the gear was his guitar bouzouki. Please keep an eye out for this instrument, it was made in around 2010 or 11 and the label reads “for Alan Jones” the chap whom I made it for originally. The soundhole is a small ellipse, it’s quite a distinctive instrument. If you see it, please contact the owner Adam on 07885405227 or adam@rh- odesyman.com Adam has a page up describing the other gear stolen: http://www.barruletrio.com/stolen/

www.nkforsterguitars.com 151 Another Howe Orme inspired guitar: Tom picks up his Model C Modern Apr 14, 2013

Another Howe Orme inspired guitar heads home… Whilst rearranging the blog to be a bit more useful I came across this post from 2011 that I forgot to publish! Tom was back in touch recently for his “after sales set up” and wrote to tell me how over the moon with the guitar he is. Nice guitar, and a nice feller. So, here it is…. Tom, was that keen he was at his Model C Modern before he even got his jacket off! Tom is a good player and has played for years, and it seems now his search for a guitar that can perform how he wants is over – Tom plays in both standard and DADGAD tunings and this guitar does that in spades. We had lots of discussions about what he wanted, and going by the smile on his face he seems pretty happy!

www.nkforsterguitars.com 152 What’s the best value handmade acous- tic guitars? Apr 14, 2013

Let me put this as plainly as I can: the best value handmade acoustic guitars are the simplest ones. You might feel that getting a far east guitar that features all the “bells and whistle” is the best way to go. Well…it depends on what your priorities are, but if you think yours are sound, playability and looks, read on. As I said: the best handmade acoustic guitars are the simple ones. The chap who ordered this Model C, Tom, had priorities that very much were in alignment with how I think – and they’re pretty simple enough – sound, playability, looks and budget were his guides. He wanted plenty of bass (Model C) with a richness you can only get from Rio (the back is Indian rosewood, the sides are Rio rosewood) On top of this he wanted to be loud so to be heard in noisy sessions (Howe Orme inspired X braced soundboard with laminated struts) Next we have a 644mm scale to allow dropped tunings without being too stiff, and some smart black Gotoh 510 tuners and simple, plain but modern styling. We end up with a guitar I wouldn’t mind keeping for myself. Well done Tom. This is the beauty of getting an instrument made for you – we begin with what you want and between us we come up with the best combination of features that is within your budget. This was the main motivation behind coming up www.nkforsterguitars.com 153 with the “modern” style of guitar building. Originally, this style was called “the Model S style” but I ended up with so many variations on the basic de- sign it’s been renamed. “Modern?” Yes, I think so , although many old fashioned instruments have stripped down decoration too. Look at the old cheaper acoustic guitars from decent companies – like the oldmahogany Martin guitars - they’re lovely sounding and great looking guitars. By sticking with the “modern” style of decoration you can redirect your funds towards upgrading the timbers – a really sensible use of your money if sound is your no. 1 priority. As I said…well done Tom!

www.nkforsterguitars.com 154 Exclusive! Richard Dawson, and his new album, The Glass Trunk Apr 24, 2013

For a number of years, Richard Dawson has been one of Newcastle’s best kept musical secrets, but in the last couple of years, the secret has started to get out! With featured performances on BBC, and glowing reviews in Wire mag- azine, the rest of the country and now further afield are starting to wake up to the amazing talent of Tynesider Richard Dawson. If you’re not familiar with Richard, here he is performing Wooden Bag, from hits last album, The Magic Bridge which is available for download at Band- camp. With three albums already under his belt Richard became involved in a New- castle Libraries project, spending hours pouring over old newspapers, and finding inspiration for latest recording – The Glass Trunk.

We caught up in a fine Byker establishment – JJ’s cafe, on Heaton rd. NKF – Richard thanks for taking the time to answer these questions. You’ve been on tour the last few weeks promoting you new album, The glass tank. It’s a truly wonderful record, you must be very proud of it! RD – Ta! NKF – This project was suggested by Newcastle libraries – can you tell us www.nkforsterguitars.com 155 more about it? How did this collection of songs come to be? RD – I’d already been thinking about doing a solo vocal album but was well underway on another guitar and voice album when I was invited to take part in the “half memory project”. It was very much a feeling that it was the right thing to put the album I was working on the back burner to do this album….. My instinct told me that this album already existed, that everything was in the right place, it was meant to be. I’d hit a brick wall with that other album – I think maybe my mind was already on the glass trunk. So you could say it was a very happy confluence which brought about this album. NKF – The recordings were made in Blank studios, Newcastle, tell me about the sessions? RD – The album was recorded over three days and mixed on the fourth. The first day was spent recording the group singing, and the track I sing with sar- ah, the ghost of a tree. It was a very celebratory day, we had about sixteen to eighteen people in the studio singing their lungs out, a very happy day. Ev- eryone really went for it, were so very open, lending their personalities and hearts to the feel of the piece. And it was special to feel it all grow quiet when everyone had gone home then me and Sarah recorded our song. The second day I recorded the other five songs. This was definitely the most challenging day….a lot hung on it. My voice was in good fettle and I felt very focused, in the main it went well, but there were some dark moments! The third day was a different kettle of fish altogether, recording the guitar and harp duets with Rhodri. It was intense in its own way, we recorded about sixty five to seventy separate one minute segments, moving from very full on and intense over the course of the day thru to really spacious, like debris flying out after an explosion and gradually settling down. It was also an intense day for the level of piss taking….. We set a high bench mark that day. Throughout the weekend sam, the producer, oversaw things and kept every- thing nice and calm, felt very much like a duel effort, he lent a real feel to the proceedings, as opposed to simply capturing the performances. NKF – So the songwriting process – is it something you have to be disciplined about? What qualities help a song to come alive? RD – Yes, patience is crucial in songwriting. The melodic and harmonic ele- ments tend to come very quickly, but writing the words is really difficult. For this album I had a deadline, a first for me. But I found it most helpful. I ap- www.nkforsterguitars.com 156 proached the whole thing as you would any job, getting up first thing, work- ing solidly until lunch, an hours break, then a full afternoon. Some days that days work would yield perhaps one or two lines, sometimes nothing at all. Others I might get a whole verse done. All of it was good time though, really painful right in my brain, I’m not too smart, slow brain, but always a little bit of progress. I didn’t feel worried about getting it all done in time, I didn’t know exactly what needed to be done when I begun after all…. But like I say, I felt the album already existed and it was just a case of following everything where it would lead. I had the same feeling with the album before, I could feel its aliveness, and just needed to honestly search and uncover it, reveal its shape. I think it’s important to be thorough when writing. Every word, every sound carries a meaning or character or some piece if aliveness, information…. how those sounds and shapes interact with each other, how they sit in the struc- ture of a song, the structure of an album, and how they combine with the melody, and with the performance, provides the colours, contours and spirit of the overall painting. NKF – There is a lot less guitar than in your previous albums. What made you take this direction? RD – The guitar and harp appear twice between each song. I almost see them as the landscape on which the stories unfold. But there was a definite choice to just have the voice out on its own, to separate it from the guitar. I hope to draw attention to the space between the two, on this recording, on the one before, and on the one after. NKF – So your relationship with guitars has changed over the years? RD – I really started taking the guitar more seriously, as a voice in its own right, maybe seven years ago….. Before I had been accompanying myself, but really there was no depth to my playing. Now every note counts. There are an infinite number of ways to strike a string, and each way carries with it it’s own value. So now I practice very hard, it’s crucial to get the songs – the notes, the words, the chords, what have you – really ingrained so you can make those really quick choices when you play out live….. All of these tiny variables, plus the room, plus the audience, plus the spirit of the day, plus my mental health, plus luck, plus whatever can conjure up a unique experience. So I see the gui- tar as another means of singing, a different side of myself, and a voice for the characters of the songs also.

www.nkforsterguitars.com 157 NKF – Your last album The Magic Bridge is one of my favorite albums – beau- tiful songs and I just get really drawn in by your guitar playing – it’s so differ- ent from anything else I’ve heard. How did you evolve this really intricate but really brutal style? RD – I’m not really heavy into any guitarists, although I like Atahualpa Yupan- qui, Joseph Spence, Henry Makobi, and a lot of other players too. I don’t really know how to explain or even think too much about how my style came about, or whether its really that distinctive or not. I can say that I’m interested in expressing myself as honestly and clearly as possible, whether on a guitar, or through singing, or just chatting in the pub or the street. Still trip up plenty, of course! I do think perhaps it would be easy for a musician to admire and draw their inspiration from just one or two sources, I hear that sometimes. I guess people do that in daily life too, per- haps fall under the thrall of one person and maybe suffer a narrowing of their world view…. Not necessarily an unhappy thing. I think focus is a very fine thing, but so is variety. Getting back to music, it can be frustrating to hear musicians, particularly songwriters, who seem to have a very narrow field of experience, listening, I mean. How can you write interesting songs if all you listen to is songs? Bull- shit! Let me get back to Henry Makobi…. If there was some album I could say was a turning point it would be his collection on harlequin music, a pretty ob- scure thing, with the shittiest looking cover, recorded in one sitting in a hotel room….. He’s a postman from Kenya…… I tried fingerpicking for the first time, so early twenties maybe, in the same week I got that album. So there is the starting point. NKF – So it’s been a busy year for you Richard and you’re pretty prolific – col- lage, drawing, radio shows, gigs, recording…what’s next? You going to get the chance to take some time off? RD – Things aren’t too busy, I’ve had a strange foggy start to the year, a bit of personal upset which has slowed me down, haven’t been writing, but practis- ing plenty. But had some really good gigs, and the tour was amazing. Playing out, playing to new people, meeting folk, getting to travel and sing, is my dream! So it’s been eye opening…. I hadn’t been out of the country as an adult until a month ago! So I’m just gearing up to getting back to proper work from may onwards, I’m working on a play about the life of gertrude bell, with www.nkforsterguitars.com 158 my good friend kate, which will be playing at the Edinburgh festival in Au- gust, and then I’ll be writing the words for the next album, which I’m excited about! Also have some good looking gigs coming up and maybe some more singing abroad….. Just going to take it as it comes, try be a bit more healthy, and stay focused on making interesting work. Richard Dawson’s new recording “The Glass Trunk” is released on 28th April. For a CD, go to Richard’s own site: www.richarddawson.net To download: www.richard-dawson.bandcamp.com/music

www.nkforsterguitars.com 159 Irish bouzouki? What about Isle of Man bouzouki? Interview with Adam Rhodes, Barrule. Jun 9, 2013

Irish bouzouki? Well, we’ve all heard of that, but how about a bit of Manx bouzouki? Who’s waving the flag for music from the Isle of Man? Barrule! Barrule are a musical trio who are doing their bit to place the Isle of man on the musical map. I recently spoke to Barrule’s Adam Rhodes (and proud own- er of two NK Forster instruments) about their new album which came out at the end of last month.

NKF: Adam, thanks for taking the time to talk. You’ve recently been on tour promoting you new eponymous album, Barrule. How long has this project been in the making? AR: That’s right, well it all started as an idea that Jamie had a few years ago for getting the word out about Manx music in general. There are some crack- ing tunes and musicians over there, something which isn’t necessarily known about across the water and further afield. So we decided to create an album of purely Manx music, using the trio format, but with guest musicians here and there. We wanted the album to be all about the music, and to showcase it in the way it deserves. I think/hope we’ve accomplished that! NKF: Tell me about the sessions? www.nkforsterguitars.com 160 AR: Well we recorded the album in a fantastic ‘eco studio’ in Abergavenny, Wales, run by an extremely talented guitarist called Dylan Fowler. It was set in a lovely peaceful location surrounded by trees etc, and was a great place to clear your mind and get creative. Most of the tracks were recorded ‘live’, with the three main instruments playing at the same time, and we then added various instruments to that, where needed, as we went along. As we’re a new band, some tracks were pretty much written whilst in the studio. Although we obviously had some ideas beforehand, we were lucky to be able to spend some time working through the ideas and being creative.

NKF: How did this collection of tunes come to be? AR: We spent quite a lot of time sourcing and arranging the material for the album in early 2012. As we wanted it to consist purely of music from the Isle of Man, we spent time looking through the various Manx music books that are available, and coming up with ideas as to how we could work best with the melodies, making them interesting and exciting to new ears. Although the majority of the album consists of traditional Manx material, there are a few sets comprising of new tunes written by musicians still with us today too! So there’s a great mix of old and new in there. NKF: So the writing process – is it always a collaboration? And how much of collaboration is about negotiation? AR: I’d say for this album, pretty much everything was written in a collabora- tive way, yes. We obviously all had different ideas to start with, but we’d bring www.nkforsterguitars.com 161 the ideas to rehearsals and all chip in with thoughts, positive or negative! There is a bit of negotiation sometimes, I think this is normal when working with different ideas from different people, but the end result has to be some- thing that we’re all keen on – that’s very important.

NKF: So it must involve a lot of trust and mutual respect? AR: Absolutely, I think we’re very lucky in that we all get on with each other very well, and having played together in different forms over the years, we have a mutual respect for each other’s playing. I think it also helps that we’ve come from different backgrounds, bringing different ideas and angles to the set writing… Jamie grew up in Wales and has developed his playing through- out the years with his band Mabon, I grew up from a Manx dancing back- ground, playing with my Manx band ‘King Chiaullee’ and later found myself living in Edinburgh whist at University – so a wee bit of Scottish influence there, Tom also comes to some extent from the Manx dancing scene, but also has a strong connection with Irish music, and being 10 years younger than us other two, brings a fresh outlook to the whole thing I suppose! NKF: One of the things I love about your playing, is how “unflashy” it is – it’s clear to me that the tunes, the music comes first. But this does mean that some may overlook your role. They don’t “get it”. Does this ever bug you? AR: Not really no, I don’t really do the whole ego thing! With Barrule it’s ALL about the tunes, and although we do sometimes have some interesting arrangement ideas, if they get in the way of the tune in anyway, then we won’t use them. I think my role as the accompanist is to provide a strong and re- liable backing to the tunes, marrying up with Jamie’s accordion left hand to www.nkforsterguitars.com 162 provide a full and complete sound. I’m a big fan of the ‘less is more’ style, you don’t have to change chord every bar for example, sometimes holding one full open-sounding chord throughout a tune passage, or even a whole tune, sounds great! I could overcomplicate things in order to try and prove I can do more as a player, but that’s not what it’s about in my opinion – the tune is king! NKF: So it’s been a busy year for you Adam, what’s next? You going to get the chance to take some time off? AR: It has indeed! I’m very lucky to be involved with two exciting and hard-working projects, Mabon and Barrule… so it’s rare that I have a week to myself. I’ve recently moved to Glasgow, so it’d be nice to spend some more time up here in-between gigs. For now though I’m piling most of my energy into the Barrule album launch, once that’s done then it’s festival season! Not sure I’ll be having any time off in the foreseeable future… Barrule can be found here: http://www.barruletrio.com/ https://www.facebook.com/barruletrio You can buy the album here: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/barrule/id658111035?uo=4

www.nkforsterguitars.com 163 The flat top guitar that isn’t a flat top Jul 31, 2013

When is a flat top guitar not a flat top?

When it’s a cylinder top.

Really though, Do any guitars have a totally flat top? The name “flat top guitar” is a little misleading. It’s a misnomer. It implies that a guitar soundboard is flat. This usually isn’t the case. Most if not all guitars are made with a domed soundboard. The doming is to help the thin sound- board resist deformation under string tension. As most of us who are “into” guitars know, this approach can best be described as partially successful. My flat top guitars have anything but a flat top. My standard soundboards have a heavily curved shape, which is similar to (but by no means identical) to those of my old boss and teacher – Stefan Sobell. His approach, and mine too is to make the guitar top stiff where it needs to be, and flexible where it doesn’t. This is in total contrast to how steel string guitars are traditionally made.

www.nkforsterguitars.com 164

But this year nearly all the instruments I’m making this year are what I call cyl- inder tops. They could still loosely be called “flat top” guitars as the music and the people they’re intended for is the same. How you play a cylinder top is the same as a flat top. It’s just a slightly different approach to making. Most makers are constantly playing around with soundboard materials, thick- nessing and bracing to try and reduce the mass to a minimum, so the top can sing yet be strong enough to last. It amazes me how few really experiment with the actual physical shape the soundboard is placed in. Yet I feel this – the three dimensional shape of the guitar top is the single greatest factor in shap- ing tone, longevity and projection. That’s why I spend so much time experimenting with it. As you probably know (if you’ve read much of my blog) my cylinder top design is based on those wonderful old Howe Orme guitars from the 1890’s. Last year, after years of searching, I managed to get not one, but two Howe Ormes. I’ll write a little more about them in the coming weeks. And I’ll see if www.nkforsterguitars.com 165 I can get one of the fellers to make a video of one of them. In the meantime, here is me and an 1890’s Howe Orme enjoying a bit of qual- ity time together in the workshop. Flat top guitars? Mmm, well…kind of…

www.nkforsterguitars.com 166 New interview with Guitar Connoisseur magazine Oct 21, 2013

www.nkforsterguitars.com 167 Luthier speaks out!

Well, not really. Kelcey Alonzo of www.guitarconnoisseur.com featured me in the latest on- line edition of the new, excellent and rather fancy magazine. It’s the “Innova- tors” edition which is nice. So, read the article, it’s good, as are the images, supplied by myself, Dave Best and Seth Tinsley, and as a bonus I’ve included the original q&a between the writer and I in this post.

NK Forster Guitars speaks with guitarconnoisseur.com

GC: Can you talk us through the process from initial spark of inspiration to cre- ate a new model; to the design process; the development of a prototype and the final completed guitar? Its great fun coming up with new models and new designs, its quite possibly my favourite part of the job. Ideas come wether I like it or not, regardless of the timing being appropriate or not. Some ideas come about because of circumstances, or ideas arise yet I’ve no clue of what use they may be at the time, and yet other times, solutions come due to concerted effort, by directing my attention to an issue and exam- ining it from different angles. The trick is to know when to work with thoughts and ideas and when to put them to one side for later. I’m sure this is a situation familiar to many people, not just musicians and artists. An example of circumstances providing inspiration was the economic melt down of 2007 – from it, the Model S was born, which became the basis of my simple undecorated “modern” style of building:pragmatism was the driving force behind it. Around that time I had someone cancel an order just a few weeks after placing it – his financial situation had changed for the worse and he could no longer commit to the instrument he’d ordered. Poor feller. This www.nkforsterguitars.com 168 had never happened to me before and it came to me rather quickly to make a less expensive instrument. The challenge was simple:how could I strip down the design to just the bare bones without detracting from the sound or play- ability? So, I had to direct my attention to the whole design to see where the “fat” could be cut. It became a really enjoyable challenge like a kind of puzzle…guitar Jenga! What could be taken away without it the whole thing collapsing, physically or aesthetically? Quite a lot as it turned out. This is an approach I’d encourage all makers to experiment with – it’s easy to get lost in all the latest ideas, all the fancy design features which can become a little gimmicky. Sometimes we get lost in the complicated stuff without having given due attention to the basics. We assume we understand them yet sometimes this isn’t the case. Much of what we consider a guitar to be, isn’t. It’s just “fluff” – superfluous. Other times you just have to put ideas to one side and wait for the right time – my arch top design was an example of an idea that I kept coming back to – it took a few years to get to the current point where the design is pretty settled. If you check out my blog you can trace the idea from it’s conception – the design was initially for a guitar with a totally flat top! It took several incarna- tions before I came up with “Charlie and Oscar” and all the other variations. A friend had suggested the design would suit archtop guitars better than flat top, but at the time I wasn’t listening, it took months before I “had the archtop idea myself!” So the project that began with “what would a guitar with a totally flat sound- board sound like?” ended up answering a very different question – “How do you make an archtop with sustain and broad tonal colour?” It’s proving a pretty popular design, yet some really struggle with it as the cantilevered long neck and wedged floating bridge seems to defy their un- derstanding of engineering. Of course the best thing is for folk to try one out, then the “aaah!!” moment comes, and all the doubts go! Despite this idea being “new” it’s not without pre-cursors:one feller noted that I’d re-invented Les Paul’s “the log” and just the other week I saw a picture of a guitar by a 1960’s Italian maker, Wandre, that had a cantilevered neck similar to my archtops, so I’m in good company it seems. The freedom to experiment:it’s one of the many benefits to running a one man shop. With employees it wouldn’t be possible, I’d be too concerned about keeping them busy and paying the bills. www.nkforsterguitars.com 169 GC: You trained under the guidance of luthier Stefan Sobell from the age of seventeen – how valuable was this process in terms of building your own confi- dence and ‘voice’ – and how much did this working relationship influence your own work; belief in yourself and ability to take instruction – so much so it still influences you today? Working for Stefan was a very challenging and worthwhile experience, and one that continues to influence my present. Considering what a basic workshop (by todays standards) it was, we made a lot of fine instruments. Not only did he make good instruments he also knows how to run a business, and run it well. When Stefan started he was supporting his young family, and he was the bread winner. He had to get things done, get them right and get them out the door. And in those days his work wasn’t commanding the sort of money it is now. When I started with him in 1988 I think a Model 1 guitar was £820 or £880! As for belief in myself – When I opened my own workshop it wasn’t as if I was trying to learn how to make guitars whilst trying to make a living at the same time – I already knew how to make fine guitars, I’d been making some of the most highly regarded instruments in the world. For years. Just no-one knew. Some folk who used to visit Stefan’s workshop though I just made the tea! So it was more more of an issue of letting people know that I was in busi- ness, that the quality was the same, just the design and approach was differ- ent. It didn’t take so long, word got around pretty quick and it didn’t take long for a waiting list to build up. Taking instruction is an interesting topic – there are many ways to learn: a great bit of advice I heard years ago from a martial arts instructor was “If you have a question…ask yourself first before asking me” It’s very very good ad- vice. And a very effective way to gain a little insight. Much of what I learned from Stefan I learned through observation and ask- ing questions of myself. He’s a guitar maker, not a guitar making teacher and whilst he’s extremely articulate, much of what he does can’t be articulated, it has to be learned through observation and repetition until it becomes expe- riential. That said, it’s certainly important to ask questions of teachers, the right ques- tions, but that “ask yourself first” rule should still apply. Sometimes we ask questions more out of wanting to appear intelligent or interested rather than out of a genuine curiosity. That’s the wrong motivation for asking question… www.nkforsterguitars.com 170 more about how we want to be perceived rather than our wish to learn. Some- times we ask questions because we want to understand everything straight away, but it simply isn’t possible. That’s where repetition comes in handy, it’s the repetition that makes certain things become clear in the mind, but then I suppose that’s not an option available to many. Back to receiving instruction – as a young man I didn’t like being told what to do, and this caused a lot of problems between Stefan and I, looking back, he had a lot on his plate dealing with me. Still, I learned a great deal working for him but the learning hasn’t stopped, that’s for sure. Listening and observ- ing really helps. Actually, in recent years I’ve earned to listen more, especially when I hear or read something that I actually don’t agree with or like. One of the difficulties I’ve had in talking to other luthiers, amateur in partic- ular, is that many current makers share a vocabulary – they share ideas and many seem to be reaching a sort of consensus about how instruments work. In my training and in the time I spent with Sobell, we never spoke of nodes and modes, it wasn’t something we concerned ourselves with, instead we spoke of structure and building in order to resist soundboard deformation. This is still pretty much how I tend to think about design which can be a challenge for those who want to learn about how I make. I talk in terms they may struggle to understand (and I don’t just mean my accent!), and of course, my work has never been “data driven” which is so popular amongst amateur makers. The desire for data (amongst amateur makers) is perfectly understandable but data alone won’t make a good guitar or a good guitar maker. It certainly means very little to customers and players. Looking back at the first few years of my solo work the Sobell influence is very clear – I’d made a number of structural design changes that (at the time) I considered important but the guitars from the first few years still sound and look very “Sobell” to me, which is no bad thing of course, but it took a while to build on that sound which I found a little harsh at times – especially in the hands of players who weren’t so quick to adapt their right hand playing style to a different style of building. My intention was to soften things up without loosing any of that famous Sobell clarity, and seems to be how things have worked out. GC: It sounds as though your devotion to yoga, meditation and in the past, Jap- anese martial arts – as well as voluntary work in Asia – has become significant to you outside of your guitar-building work. How much has this enabled you to develop focus and crucially, how much do you need to retain this clarity for your luthier work? www.nkforsterguitars.com 171 It’s been a gradual progression – much of that excess energy in my 20’s got channelled into both music and Aikido, but the more skilled you become at Aikido, the more terrifying it becomes! In the end the fear and of injury grew larger than my wish to keep practising…it’s a truly beautiful, elegant and sub- tle martial art, and very challenging. Then in my early 30’s I found myself in a yoga class. Partly just to get out of the workshop (this was when I first began building under my own name and was putting in a lot of hours at the bench) and partly to sort out my aching back. I still practice, but not so diligently. I practice enough to allow me to sit in meditation without having to experience too much physical pain. I’d rather spend the time meditating. Meditation has been part of my life since my mid 20’s but it wasn’t until 2010 that in Thailand I stumbled upon a type of reflective analytical meditation that really challenged my patterns of thought, intention and behaviour. Amongst other things, I began the slow process of looking at my motivation for work- ing. I was shocked at how little thought I’d given it…. My work had brought a little bit of pleasure and contentment into the world for sure, but I decided it was time to do something which was more directly beneficial to people – to give my time and my skills as a volunteer. It’s the perfect time to do it – I’ve a nice job, no boss, no debt, money in the bank, and for the first time in years I’m pretty free of major responsibility – my daughter is grown up and flown the nest, no employees, nothing… a perfect situation to spend a bit of time helping others. So for the last couple of years I’ve spent the winter time donating my woodwork skills mainly, but other stuff too. It’s nice, working and living in a team, in a different part of the world, doing something where these skills of mine can make a difference. What it also means is I get to “step back from the canvas” which is so valuable. The internet allows me to still communicate with customers and deal with inquiries and I’ve a great network of friends in the trade who look after the occasional warranty set up or little repair that might arise. The first time I headed east for winter I got a little worried that I’d loose inter- est in lutherie, that when I’d get back to the workshop I’d not want to be there, but the opposite was the case – ideas were pouring out! The main issue was keeping them in check and not getting too carried away. It’s a way of working that really suits me – to miss the wet, cold, dark British winter, to spend a few weeks practicing yoga and doing voluntary work, trav- www.nkforsterguitars.com 172 eling a bit and writing. Once back, the ideas pour out, and I limit the work to the stuff I actually want to do rather than the stuff I have to do. For now, it really works. It’s a nice position to be in for sure, and one that comes from a feeling that (on one hand) each instrument could be my last, (and on the other) a certain confidence that I know how to do this work – that the woodwork is so con- ditioned in me, many aspects are automatic, yet still with the freedom to not necessarily know what direction the work will take next… GC: Do you have any plans to bring your teaching skills to other parts of the world? Also, how much has travel and cross-cultural links had a direct impact upon your work? Do you prefer to work in isolation so as to retain your own authentic style; or do you like to achieve a multi-faceted style, incorporating el- ements from other cultures and influences? In 2012 I got in touch with a project in a north west Thailand town. They were looking for artists to set up businesses training Burmese refugees – oh I was so excited! I went over to check out the situation but it just wasn’t workable – there was some wonderful timber (mainly mahogany) but when I investi- gated a into the timber’s origin, most of it was illegal – from Burma itself. As it turns out timber is one of the biggest financial props of the military regime there, so that, combined with many other practical and legal issues squashed that particular dream. But yes, the idea of making great instruments and actually making a real dif- ference to the lives of the workers, was (and is) one that really appeals to me. That said, I also enjoy and appreciate working alone. Silence is good. I do get many requests from folk wanting to work as an apprentice but it’s unlikely to happen. That said, in the future I may offer “internships” like some makers do. Who knows? Influences? They can take some time to filter through to my work. When I visited Japan in 2010 I was bowled over by the craftsmanship and design there – for me it simply is the most inspiring place in the world (aesthetically) but I can’t say that influence has made an appearance in my work yet. But it might, I love the work of modern Japanese luthiers – but developing decoration just seems to be the wrong direction for me….we’ll see… GC: You have mentioned Italian luthier and classically trained musician, Mario Maccaferri, as an inspiration to your own work. He has clearly had many set- backs along the way, including an injury which caused him to cease his playing www.nkforsterguitars.com 173 for some time. He found ways to continue on with his work, despite these set- backs – and became someone who developed innovative new techniques that future luthiers now model themselves on. How much can you relate to these hardships and what kind of highs and lows have you been faced with – and how has this contributed to your own sense of style and unique design? I’d never thought about Maccaferri like that before, but you’re right. We all suffer some sort of hardship or other. This is simply one of life’s rules, wether you like it or not, wether you even acknowledge it or not…things will from time to time go wrong. It’s how we react to these issues that matter. The trick is not to add suffering to the suffering that is already present! Seems Mr Mac- caferri had a decent grasp of that one. It’s hard to say how hardships manifest in our work. Often its how we react to hardship. In my case it’s by taking a step back and trying to see things as they actually are rather than how I would prefer them to be. Trying to work out what is really going on. Accepting things, trying to understand them and working with where things are now, not getting lost in how I’d prefer them to be. The greatest challenge in recent years I’ve had to face has been grief, with both parents passing away, both within a few years of one another and both still relatively young. But it’s a very valuable process to go through, to reflect and value the good qualities of those you’ve lost and to actually direct your ener- gies to developing the same qualities yourself, that’s the best way to honour someone’s memory eh? My parents were very kind, generous, simple people. No pretensions, just very straightforward, decent working class folk. My brother and I were very fortunate, and I know many others are not so lucky. Back to the work:visually there is no “distractions”, no affectations, no shout- ing, no demanding, no attention seeking in my instruments. What you see is what you get. Tools to make music with. You could say that if I have a “style”, this is it. Style can seem a very personal thing. Design can seem a very personal thing. But its always conditioned by the past and by external things – by what we’ve seen or experienced before, by the things we like, by the things we don’t, even by the things to which we’re indifferent. Whilst my style of making feels very personal to me, if you take a broader view its actually very “British” design: compare my work to that of my peers, www.nkforsterguitars.com 174 it’s really plain and functional. Then compare a 40’s or 50’s British motorbike to an American one – a 70’s British hi-fi amp to a Japanese one. Compare old British woodworking machines to modern European ones…it’s the same thing over and over – the British version is just the bare bones of what needs to be there – not “under engineered”, far from it… just very very simple, very well designed, very well made products, stripped down to the essentials and nothing else. Just pure functional design. Form following function. So in that respect you could say my work is actually quite traditional! GC: Your book is a photo-essay project which allows people to join you on the guitar-building journey. How long did this book take to compile and do you have plans for anything similar – perhaps a film documentary – in the future? Dave Best (who did the fantastic photography) came over every few weeks to the workshop for about two years. During that time I put the essays together. Then it all went to old school pal Ben Tibbs who designed the layout. The whole process took about three years but it was worth it! Hopefully the next one will be a little quicker. I wrote the text this year whilst in India. Every morning I’d write for a couple of hours prior to lunch. It was a very enjoyable process, trying to remember everything I do every day. With a bit of luck I’ll get the photos taken soon and get the book out before too long – I really enjoy writing and plan to do more this year on my winter break. GC: Do you aim to use tried-and-tested woods for certain elements of your gui- tars; or do you prefer to break the mould and go for timbers that aren’t necessar- ily ‘known’ to be particularly successful for certain features – yet, do you believe in innovation and pushing boundaries? I’m pretty conservative when it comes to materials, I really understand spruce, redwood, maple, mahogany and rosewood, what there are capable of and what their limitations are, and I have really good timber stocks, so there sim- ply isn’t really any need for me to go looking for more alternatives. The innovation that interests me is design innovation. Playing with the inter- nal architecture of instruments. My main interest is in experimenting with the soundboard’s physical shape itself – this subject is virtually ignored by the majority of makers. For most it’s a choice between one spherical former or an- other when deciding on a soundboard shape, and then playing around with bracing, thicknessing and materials to colour the sound, but this approach ignores what I feel is the most important factor – the actual physical shape www.nkforsterguitars.com 175 you put the guitar top into. That’s what makes my work so different I guess. It means my work isn’t so conventional, and that limits my “mass-appeal”, but that’s ok – I’m not running a factory! GC: Where do you source your timber from? Currently – nowhere. I more or less stopped buying timber a few years ago – I have more than enough. More than I’ll ever use that’s for sure, but that’s never stopped me buying timber in the past! That said I’m certainly not averse to the idea of alternative materials but am yet to try any serious experimentation. GC: What is it about the Howe-Orme design of the Bouzouki that appeals to you? I use it for guitars as well as guitar bouzouki’s. It’s such a logical, sensible and pragmatic design. Perhaps the most logical, sensible and pragmatic guitar de- sign there has ever been. And they sound amazing! As I mentioned before – the actual three dimensional shape of the top is a crucially important factor that is really overlooked by todays makers. The folk who came up with the Howe-Orme design thought about it seriously in the 1890’s! Look at how the steel string guitar evolved you realise that the popular re- sponses to all the structural issues that guitars struggle with have only been partially successful. Guitars still need neck resets because of weak sound- boards and non adjustable necks. The Howe Orme design tackles the struc- tural issues in a totally logical and successful manner. My own Howe Orme guitar is over 100 years old, yet the guitar plays and sound superb. It’s one of the best guitars I’ve ever played. One interesting thing is that despite looking very unusual, the principles be- hind the Howe Orme design are very similar to the principles behind Sobell guitars – they share a lot of common ground. Blending the two and add- ing one or two ingredients of my own makes for what I feel to be the best possible design. One tricky thing about my version of the design is that it requires a certain degree of sensitivity and high degree of concentration during the soundboard thicknessing stage. A regular guitar soundboard is around 3mm thick. My cylinder top soundboards can be down to 2mm. That’s thin for a steel string. But because of the shape structure they’re as strong if not stronger than a con- www.nkforsterguitars.com 176 ventional soundboard. When you’re working with tops this thin a small change in thickness makes a huge change in strength. Much more so than the difference between say 3mm and 2.8mm. So you have to be switched on – your attention undivided during this time. It helps to build a few at a time to compare. To thickness and flex, thickness and flex, to keep switching between tops to compare, flex and listen. It’s a fascinating process. You could go down the route of measuring, but I think I do fairly well by paying attention and feeling what’s going on.

GC: In today’s world of conflicting lifestyles and especially in the economic cli- mate – what advice might you offer to anyone who is passionate about a career in guitar lutherie (or anything less than ‘conventional’ in fact) – and is strug- gling to keep true to their own intuition? How much have your family influences as well as other role-models been a positive guidance for you? The best advice I could offer to someone who wants to make a living in Luthe- rie is to learn how to repair. There is no shortage of makers out there. Good makers at that. But there is a chronic shortage of good, reliable repairers. There is a good living to be made by those who are prepared to put the time and effort in. Learn to repair, repair well, charge accordingly then start putting time aside for building – the public love repairers who build. I recently complied a list of well known luthiers who also used to repair – the list was enormous! Plus it’s a good way to get known, to get people through your door. I’ll say it again….learn to repair!!! The other thing is to be mindful of the position you put yourself in or find yourself in. I consider myself fortunate not to have debt at a time when it’s rampant, when it’s the norm, but that was also a decision. I’ve been fairly cau- tious financially, I’ve always lived modestly. I prefer it. More advice? To quote Somoygi “It helps to marry well!” …so that’s where I went wrong…

GC: You offer a wide range of guitar models – and the chance to tailor make your own design. How important to you, is it to get to know your clients and their preferences? Do you have many loyal customers who come back to you www.nkforsterguitars.com 177 time after time? This year about 2/3 of my work is “repeat” business – instruments for people who own an NK Forster or two already – that’s nice, and yes I always listen to what they might want. They are usually pretty interested in what I have to say or suggest too. A few years ago many of my customers came to me because they couldn’t afford a Sobell or didn’t want to wait in his list, but this just isn’t the case so much these days. People come to me because they like my work, not just because of how it sounds or pays but because of how I think about the work – maybe it accords with how they think and feel about things. This is an im- portant dimension for customers – finding a maker with whom you “fit”. For most makers, our work often is the physical embodiment of the things we consider important, so the relationship between the maker and the customer goes beyond just “liking” the guitars. GC: The Paper in Oil capacitor features on many of your archtop semi acoustic models – why does this work best for you and your clients? Last year I worked pretty closely with John Gill of JXG guitars in Newcas- tle – John’s a very good guitar repairer and electric builder – he specialises in “relics” – amazing looking and sounding guitars. John was looking over one of my archtops which was already wired up – and he suggested we try an PiO capacitor. I’m pretty sceptical about that sort of thing but I’ve a lot of respect for John and I love John’s work, so asked him to “see what he could do” to improve it. We A/B’d from ceramic to PiO caps and the difference was astounding. So I quickly bought as many as I could find! It would be hard to describe the difference, as it’s like trying to describe a feeling. But the feeling was undeniable!

GC: Have you been inspired whilst meeting with other luthiers; or on your trav- els – to incorporate new features into your work? Are you constantly trying to find new ways of improving upon your work? Or are you more of the thinking that the traditional approaches are more dependable – rather than constantly seeking to get ahead of time and reject the older techniques? Do you believe, as in all hands-on trades such as the traditional building techniques (lime plas- tering etc); that with luthery, there are certain techniques that really should be retained and preserved?

www.nkforsterguitars.com 178 I’ve met a number of makers on my last trip – we had a great time! I paid a visit to Steve Gilchrist, who is quite possibly the best mandolin maker around today, a very down to earth, articulate and amiable chap. He and I talked shop all afternoon – and a number of things he mentioned really got me thinking. Likewise Trevor Gore and Gerard Gillet – two fantastic gentlemen both of whom make world class guitars. Trevor and Gerard put together an extremely thorough book a couple of years back which is fast becoming something of a “bible” for amateur makers. Trevor has come up with some of the most con- vincing “lutherie science” I’ve ever come across, and whilst my brain tends not to work in that manner, he really got me thinking about things from a different point of view which is always refreshing….time will tell what effect our meeting had. Gerard is heaps of fun, he and I got on like a house on fire, he’s a great maker with an excellent team around him and is a wealth of knowledge and experi- ence, and a very good man to talk to about the history of the Australian Lu- therie scene which really is quite fascinating. Superb guitar makers all. If I have to sum my approach up, these days it’s a lot more relaxed. There is a lot more openness in my approach than before. It comes from getting older perhaps. Yes, I’m always playing around with technique and method to try and produce work in a way which is more consistent or in ways that are less stressful, but woodwork is woodwork. It’s design, playability and most of all sound, that interest me and my customers the most. Being taught woodwork by a man who was self taught (Stefan), kind of encour- aged me learn traditional woodwork from books and from the “old school” technicians when I went to study design at university. As a result I’ve have a pretty good understanding of many different ways of cutting up and sticking together of bits of wood. I tend not to get too caught up in thinking one way is any better than another any more. No methods are sacred. Whatever route you take there are always obstacles to overcome, challenges to engage and compromises to be made. This year for instance I’ve started joint tops the traditional way with rope and wedges. It’s really fun! And terribly elegant. This was after twenty odd years of using a sheet of chipboard and a bag of nails (check out my YouTube video if you don’t know what I mean) at the same time I’m really determined to keep on top of the sawdust situation, to make more shavings than sawdust, to tidy up after every single process, to avoid accumulated mess. This may sound trivial and irrelevant to a client but to me it’s all about staying “present`”. www.nkforsterguitars.com 179 Keeping the day steady – not getting lost in the ups and downs of the day. Ending each day in the workshop knowing I’ve done my best, that the place is tidy and ready for me to return the next day to do it all again. So, I’m trying to cultivate a way of working that is generally more methodical and not so hectic. That’s how I worked for years, but as I said, I’m getting a bit older…

www.nkforsterguitars.com 180 Two new celtic bouzouki videos! Nov 28, 2013 Irish jigs on bouzouki and box

http://goo.gl/Aih6Wd

Ian Stephenson and Andy May put together a nice little set of tunes to show off the redwood bouzouki that came up for sale recently. The tunes are called O’Deas and Hawthorn hedge. I’ll ask Andy if he can write the chords down shall I?

Guitar Bouzouki TV action with Adam Rhodes! http://goo.gl/JXgHhf

Jamie Smith’s Mabon recently appeared on Welsh TV programme “Heno” That’s Adam Rhodes playing the “once stolen, now returned” guitar bouzou- ki. Adam is getting a new instrument made by me so that one will be up for sale soon. Get in touch if you’re interested!

Enjoy! www.nkforsterguitars.com 181