2 WOODCRAFT MAGAZINE | 07.06 { meet Gerald Sheppard }

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Skilled luthiers coax full, rich musical notes from mere wood. Gerald Sheppard discovered his knack for doing so, left his day job behind and became an expert builder of high-end guitars.

omplex mathematical equations craftsmanship many lifelong builders that come together to C sometimes result in beautiful, still covet. do that.” Those factors naturally curved lines when drawn Professional fingerpicking guitarists include overall size on a graph. And sound waves mimic are his usual customers. For about of the guitar, spacing sine waves, revealing the numerical $7,000, each can expect a finished between strings and underpinnings of the ancient art of instrument that precisely fits the between frets, music. Given the close relationship musician physically and enhances and woods between music and mathematics, the his or her playing style. Whether chosen for the ideal architect of musical instruments a musician plays with a bluegrass instrument’s should be exacting with shapes and band or sings folk music, has long or top, sides, measurements but still possess the cre- short fingers, is particularly tall or bottom, neck ative soul of a musician. wide, prefers to sit or stand, bites his and internal Gerald Sheppard embodies both fingernails or not – all these details bracing. traits. A musician and luthier from affect measurements and wood choice Gerald Kingsport, Tenn., he crafts exquisite when Gerald builds a custom guitar. had earned guitars prized for their equally “If you look at a guitar as a tool of a degree in beautiful sound. His musical career the trade, your instrument is designed industrial began early in life, at age 15. But he to produce the type of music you play, technology took up building guitars just 14 years as effortlessly, as nicely, as possible,” he and spent 30

LEFT, JEFF GERALD STURGILL SHEPPARD LEFT, RIGHT, ago, and has already reached a level of says. “There is a combination of factors years overseeing

09.06 | WOODCRAFT MAGAZINE 41 { meet Gerald Sheppard}

TONE WOODS PROVIDE DISTINCTIVE SOUND and amazing beauty. These guitar backs feature flamboyant ziricote, figured koa and Brazilian rosewood. factory assembly lines. So how did I can see where I’ve been and how far produced by the guitar. Mahogany, for he learn the best way to bring all the I’ve come.” example, would not produce bass notes elements of lutherie together? as deep and rich as most rosewoods, “I had never done any woodworking Choosing tone woods but mahogany is more responsive; at all, other than make a bookshelf or a When a guitar is played, vibrations that is, the notes “pop” from the speaker cabinet or something like that created at different frequencies by sound hole more quickly. Dark, dense when I was in college,” he says. “But plucking or strumming the strings ebony provides a lot of bass, but is less back around 1990 or 1991 I kind of got resonate in the guitar’s body and resonant than many tone woods; its an idea that I would like to build an emerge from the sound hole. The notes fade more quickly. instrument.” That he had played guitar The top, or himself for 40 years and appreciated soundboard, of a fine instruments motivated him. He guitar is usually desired to build something he could formed from a species be proud to play. “So I did that. And of spruce, cedar or it was a tough job. It took months redwood. “It’s always and it about killed me. I would make a soft wood, and — mistakes and sweat about it and get all this is interesting — upset.” it’s almost always Although he had digested a number from the northern of books on building guitars, he hemisphere,” Gerald struggled through his first instrument says. “The backs by sheer force of will. and sides are almost “You know, out of adversity comes always from the challenge and out of challenge comes southern hemisphere.” growth and all those positive-talking Wood for things. But by the time I got done soundboards of most with that guitar I didn’t want anymore A FLORENTINE CUTAWAY is an available option on Sheppard musical instruments, challenges.” guitars. This model has a western red cedar top and flamed koa including pianos, As a musician, though, the finished binding. is taken from light- project made all his frustrating hours listener hears the response of the colored Alpine conifer trees which of effort seem a worthy investment. wooden guitar body to the vibrations. grow in places like Canada, Alaska “Being able to string it up and play it Tone woods, as they are called, exhibit and the Pacific Northwest. This was the real payoff. I’ve still got that qualities of density, hardness and part of the instrument affects the

guitar, and I can pick it up and play it; grain tightness that dictate the tone volume, response and brightness GERALD SHEPPARD

42 WOODCRAFT MAGAZINE | 09.06 (concentration of sound energy toward and they’ve got a lot of money and want to do more than that. His backlog the temporal center) of notes played. they want something pretty. A lot of of orders runs through 2009. The wood for the back and sides of [guitar makers] like to work for people an instrument should always be taken like that — although sometimes their Building a business from the same tree, and many different expectations are almost too great. Or For all the grief his first guitar had they don’t know what they got when caused, Gerald knew he had built a they get it.” pretty good instrument. “I showed it to Gerald’s wife, Melanie, says his an experienced instrument maker who perfectionism and artist’s sensibilities told me yes, it’s really nice, and it’s even serve him well. “He’s excellent at sellable. Well, I hadn’t even thought of organizing his time. He’s one of those that.” He kept that first guitar, but has people, if you’ve got five minutes, sold every one he’s made since then. you can get something done.” It’s He insists building was the original true Gerald has mapped out his goal; selling was an afterthought and a building procedures in flow charts. necessity. “You can’t invest four or five But the structure doesn’t sap his hundred dollars in materials and just creativity. “He’s got an eye for seeing leave it sitting in a corner somewhere.” the details in art, the things people So he made the rounds of local don’t ordinarily see. If there’s a picture guitar shops. “When I first started PERFECTIONISM is a Gerald Sheppard hanging on the wall, he notices if building instruments, I was hallmark. Here, he checks for the proper bow it’s crooked. He notices nobody. Music stores in a guitar top. the composition of a didn’t even want photograph.” to talk to me. tone woods are used. One species of Professional They have real choice is rosewood, found mainly in musician Al estate on South America and Africa. Building Petteway the walls, with dense and waxy rosewood results said that where in a full, resounding low end. “It’s like because the turning up the bass on your stereo Gerald is guitars system,” Gerald says. Costly because of a guitar hang, and its rarity, rosewood frequently brings player each the added advantages of beautiful himself, he “really knows grain and color. Even more expensive, what to listen African blackwood is so dense and for. A lot tight-pored it looks “almost like glass” of luthiers and carries a remarkably deep low end. are more Gerald assists his clients in craftsmen, and choosing the right tone woods, in they can make addition to the guitar’s body shape some beautiful and measurements. “I can help them instruments, but they design a guitar in the shape and the might not know how they size to get the tone, the feel and the should sound. I’ve played a lot playability that they want. A lot of that of guitars, and comes from my experience of playing his are some of for so long and trying to understand the best ones the instrument in general.” He prefers out there. He customers with high expectations just builds an and extensive musical experience, incredibly focused, since they challenge him and often beautiful-sounding teach him something new. “The easy instrument.” customers are the guys who don’t Gerald can build 12 guitars a year at

LEFT, JEFF GERALD STURGILL SHEPPARD LEFT, RIGHT, really know anything about guitars his standard of quality, and he doesn’t

07.06 | WOODCRAFT MAGAZINE 53 { meet Gerald Sheppard} space can be worth several thousand “At the same time, the Internet was Building a guitar dollars a year if the right guitar’s coming in, and everyone kept saying, Working from home did not hanging there.” Selling locally, with ‘You need to get a Web site.’” He built mean working less. Gerald puts in local advertising, just wasn’t working one himself (sheppardguitars.com) and considerably more hours, 60-80 a week out. He tried placing an ad in a mass- bought a good camera, periodically instead of the usual 40-50 at his former market guitar magazine, the kind “for converting his shop into a photo studio. job. Building a guitar is time- and kids who think they’re going to be Gerald had a comfortable job in labor-intensive. rock stars.” They clearly represented Kingsport with Eastman Chemical “The first part should go relatively the wrong market for Gerald’s hand- (formerly Eastman Kodak). He fast, like building a house,” Gerald crafted instruments. designed manufacturing facilities and says. The guitar body can be “framed “I started looking at high-end guitar was charged with improving the overall up” quickly. First thickness the top, shops that had these $1,500 to $2,000 quality of items produced on industrial back and sides to less than 1/8" with a Martins. They were good, but they assembly lines. In the 1980s, when drum sander. Cut the sides to shape were mass-produced. I realized I was Japanese companies were outpacing on a bandsaw and start them through going to have to build a guitar that was American companies by producing the bender. Gerald actually built his as nice as those if I was going to sell higher-quality products at lower prices, own “universal side bending machine,” them for anything near that price. So I Gerald was part of a movement toward a wood and metal contraption with kept refining my techniques until I got raising standards for American products three 250-watt lightbulbs and a timer. better and better, and eventually my and keeping pace with foreign markets. Water-soaked wood is slowly cranked guitars were even better than those.” “I had 30 years with the company through it and molded to a wooden Finally catching on, he found where I worked. But I got so hooked on form, then allowed to dry over a couple similar luthiers advertising in making instruments and studying about of days. Meanwhile two bookmatched magazines like Acoustic Guitar, and it, I found myself thinking about it at pieces of quartersawn wood are glued followed suit. “I figured out how work. It was almost out of my control. together in the exact center to form the other makers were marketing; they I was meeting more and more people top, and another two to form the back. were selling to affluent men over 40. and getting much more reinforcement Quartersawn wood has vertical grain I realized I was going to have to start in this world than in my day job. It was and a high strength-to-weight ratio. making all-wood guitars, use exotic an honor to have my job, but after 30 “What you’re trying to do is build woods, refine my craftsmanship and years, it was not doing it for me, and it as light as possible without it flying make them all the same. That took instrument making was.” In 1993, he left apart,” he says. “If it’s lighter, it will some years to figure out. Eastman for good. respond to the strings better. If it’s too

THE BRACING INSIDE A GUITAR must be light but strong, and curved to allow the free flow of sound waves. AN INLAID ROSETTE adds a

craftsman’s touch. GERALD BEVELS THE EDGE of a headstock which he’s inlaid with the Sheppard logo and signature rose. LEFT & CENTER, JEFF GERALD STURGILL SHEPPARD RIGHT,

44 WOODCRAFT MAGAZINE | 09.06 heavy, you lose tone.” Gerald on his finishing technique: That’s where the bracing comes “My finishing process is a little bit unique in that I use a waterborne lacquer. Water-based in: the unseen art on the inside of the guitar body. Wooden braces must finishes are something a lot of woodworkers avoid. It’s one of those things where you add strength without interfering ask someone if they like anchovies and they say no. And you say, ‘Have you ever tried with sound waves; that’s why they are them?’ And they say, ‘Well, no.’ curved in places. With the addition of head and tail blocks and a lining, “Waterborne finishes are getting better and better. Once you learn how to use them the body can be glued together in a they're fantastic. The problem is, water-based finishes don’t bring out the color and the mold. The inside of the guitar requires warmth of the wood nearly as nicely as solvent-based finishes.

“There’s a brand of epoxy called System 3. One version of it is hardener & resin that you mix up. It's pretty thin stuff. You put it on with a squeegee and rub almost every bit of it back off. Then you let it dry and do it again. It acts as a pore filler and makes the wood pop out beautifully. It’s a very thin coating, because you rub most of it back off. It might be a half a thousandth of an inch … not like it’s been finished at all, but you still have that beautiful color in your wood.

“Another problem with a water-based finish is certain woods, like rosewood, it doesn’t stick to very well. Rosewood is really oily and full of wax. When you put this expoxy on, it not only warms the finish up and allows you to fill the pores, but it makes the water- based finish adhere to the guitar much better. It actually provides a little shield that sticks to the wood on one side, and sticks to the finish on the other.

“Applying the finish is similar to the way a car is painted. Most furniture that you see in a store has a satin finish, maybe sprayed on. Guitar finishing is quite different. It’s sprayed on in a series of four or five coats over half a day. Then you wait maybe a week and sand it almost all back off. THE HEEL CAP and binding on this gui- tar are of African blackwood. The body is Brazilian rosewood, one of the finest tone “You might do that four or five times until you build the finish up above the pores. Once woods available. you have the finish on, and leveled down with 400-grit sandpaper, move up to 800, 1000, no finishing, which would add extra 1500, then use a liquid rubbing compound and a buffing machine And you spend hours weight but little aesthetic or protective buffing out all the scratches until you can actually look at the lightbulb on the ceiling in value. However, Gerald says the the back of your guitar and read ‘60 watts.’” neatness of the inside of the body is a good indicator of craftsmanship; no self-respecting luthier would leave rough edges or splinters, even in the are strung, demands ebony on finer anybody in the room with you.” dark. instruments. Frets are pressed into it Gerald highly recommends that Now comes a tricky part: cutting with an arbor press. At the top of the beginners use a kit from a reputable binding and rosette channels just .05" fingerboard is the headstock, which supplier. “They take care of a lot of deep. “That’s a tough, delicate job. could be ebony or another wood. Here, decisions for you. They pre-bend and One of the scariest parts of guitar holes are drilled for tuners, to be fitted thickness the sides. Although, the building,” he says. Binding is a strip of after the guitar’s parts are finished. parts of a kit are still very much like wood around the edges of the top and “As you get closer to the end, you lumber; it’s not just assembly. There’s bottom for protection and decoration; start seeing how it’s going to look. You a lot you’ll have to learn.” Guitar kits rosettes are ornamental rings around can see if your risks paid off.” But it’s cost about $500, and Gerald estimates the sound hole that might be inlaid also the most nerve-racking part, when most first-timers will have to spend with abalone, wood or both. one slip can undo a month’s worth an additional $150 in tools, such as The fingerboard, the long portion of hard work. “Doing the final details a number of cam clamps. The good

GERALD SHEPPARD of the neck over which the strings of the guitar is when you don’t want news is this: “That same guitar would

09.06 | WOODCRAFT MAGAZINE 45 probably be $2,000 as finished, if it Before him, one luthier had been came from a factory with a brand name admonished for a bad neck joint. The on it.” next had problems with his finishes. Gerald waited tensely for the criticism Becoming an expert to flow . . . but none came. “I’m tired of In 1997, a series of events propelled new guys like you threatening to steal Gerald’s career forward, starting my client base,” one panelist joked. with a phone call from the owner Members of the panel told the other of a Nashville guitar shop who was builders to see Gerald about their neck interested in seeing one of his guitars. joint and finishing problems. “Here I The shop dealt only in fine hand- was, a new guy, and people lined up to made instruments, not Martins and talk to me. I was giddy.” other mass-produced guitars. Gerald In many ways, that show marked had been selling his instruments for the beginning of Gerald’s professional no more than $1,200. “She called guitar-making career. Since then, he has me up and said, ‘This is a really nice been refining his lutherie techniques instrument. I think we could charge and attends guitar shows yearly. He “As you get about $3,500 for it.’ I just about hit the has even earned a spot as the staff closer to floor.” The guitar sold within a month. instrument builder for Guitar Week the end, Encouraged, Gerald took one of his at the world-renowned Swannanoa instruments to a national guitar show. Gathering. He has clients throughout you start He braved a public critique in front of America and in Japan, Indonesia, Hong seeing how a panel of expert instrument makers. Kong and Australia. it’s going to “They were celebrities to me,” he says. And he has never looked back to his office-bound life. “It’s a no-brainer that look. You I’m at home, watching my son grow up, can see if enjoying family life. I also get to work with people who are some of the finest your risks musicians in the world,” he says. paid off.” “All in all, he’s a lot happier,” Melanie says. “He likes not being in that box that industry puts you in.” Even though he now works longer hours at a more physically demanding profession, the satisfaction of his craftsmanship and ongoing education more than compensates. “When you build a musical instrument, especially a guitar, you embrace it when you play it,” he says. “You hold it very closely; you’re almost intimate with it. It gives back to you and responds to your touch. And you know you’ve done something to help other people really enjoy life.”

Sarah Brady

Sarah Brady is a full-time student at Ohio University and a contributing editor to Woodcraft Magazine. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, cooking and reading. She lives in Athens, Ohio, with her fiancé, Matthew, and their dog and two cats. JEFF STURGILL

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