When I was younger, about 14, and had decided I wanted to be a guitar maker, I wrote to (bothered and harassed) as many luthiers as I could and sometimes visited them in their workshop. My favourite visit was actually not to a guitar maker but to Dave Rodgers, a tuning machine maker. His workshop was quite a small room through his kitchen, which had two large lathes on one side, and workbenches lining the other side under windows. From where he produced these masterful tuning machines, which ‘back in there day’ were sent off to master engravers, he said, in Italy to be engraved by hand, which is now usually done by CNC machines.
After I began making, I held off visiting more makers, focusing on just improving my own building. Recently, however, feeling like I was reaching a turning point in my business - feeling pleased with the standard of my guitars but feeling slightly lost regarding what direction to take things as a business - I decided it would be useful to seek out someone who had been in my shoes not so long ago: I wanted to visit a guitar maker I’d heard of and admired called Stephen Eden, if he would have me for an hour or so.
Stephen lives in Bexhill, a coastal own near Brighton. I was delighted to meet Stephen and his partner Sabrina, who I felt were both incredible forces of guitar nature, and kindred spirits. They were both kind enough to take a look at a couple of my guitars and talk about their experience in the business of making guitars. Stephen has the same fastidious and efficient approach to building that I associate with makers like Paul Fischer, Robert Ruck, Daniel Freidrich - makers who produced a large output of really high quality guitars. It’s an approach I would like to emulate. I left feeling extremely inspired by Stephen’s guitars and his process and attitude towards his craft; and with lots of new ideas regarding the business side of things.
Unfortunately I only had two steel strings available to show the esteemed classical/flamenco guitar maker. I’ll just have to go back at some point with a classical.