A grand solution! Tim Jones brought his 1976 Sobell Mandolin to me to have a pick-up fitted. He has been playing using an LR Baggs system which was mounted to the top of the sound board. He wanted it inside with an end jack somewhere. The most parctical and safe way is for it to come out of the bridge plate however Tim plays with this on his leg, uncomfortable with the jack sticking out for day to day playing. So we sunk it flush with the plate. This Mandolin is a wondeful example of an early Sobell and you're right Stefan it is still in remarkable condition.    Some kind words from Martin Simpson I've had a guitar out on tour over the last year. It has been travelling between members of the Acoustic Guitars Forum as I'm always keen to hear people’s thoughts on my guitars. I asked Martin if would like to cast an experts opinion over the Tour Tirga Beag. To my delight he agreed and had the guitar for sometime as he enjoyed it and wanted to show some of his musical friends. Who was I to argue? Anyway he wrote a wee bit about it. "I think that Rory Dowling is an excellent luthier. He is obviously influenced by Stefan Sobell, and I can think of no more marvellous a builder to use as your model. His attention to detail is excellent, his woodworking and finishing is of the best. This guitar was a little narrow string wise for my taste, but it was crisp and responsive. It was extremely strong in the treble with very good separation. I know that Rory was aiming for a bass heavy instrument, and aficionados of Dreadnoughts might have missed the low mids. I'm sure that Rory is on track to be one of Britain's most creative and successful guitar makers. Martin Simpson Workshop Finished! Amazing! As alot of you know I moved to the East Neuk of Fife a few months ago to set up a new workshop. Here are some pictures of the new space. I will get a map up on the contacts page as soon as I can.   Archtop Bouzouki     Here is the finished Archtop Bouzouki with its brass tail piece and Ebony bridge. The back and sides are Indian Rosewood with rippled Mahogany Binding and a Swiss Spruce top.     Work Begins  In the country now so maybe something a wee bit more industrial then a ginder for this stone!!  Braw!!   So pleased to moving and so greatful for all the help that people are giving me! Taran Guitars moving to the East Neuk of Fife  Taran Guitars will be based in the East Neuk of Fife as from the beginning of September. I mentioned earlier in the year that I was going to be moving workshops however I didn't think that I would be moving out of Edinburgh. I've been offered a workshop and farm house that I couldn't pass up on. It will be sad to leave Edinburgh however the pull of the counrty side is very strong and I can't wait to be in a larger workshop! I will be based just outside Pittenweem not far from St Andrews. Archtop Bouzouki   I strung up Wills Bouzouki Last week and we are both very pleased with the results! He dropped by to have a shot, his smile says it all really. The volume of the Bouzouki is so powerful with massive amounts of headroom and its tone is rich and thick unlike the brash cutting tone of others I have played. She is in the spray booth now and has only had a few coats of lacquier but the rippled Mahogany bindings are coming up beautifully.   French Polishing I have always liked finishing the inside of my guitars. I did this by French Polishing the inside of my guitars and then Lacquer the outside. This approach was good but time consuming so I started spraying the inside with Lacquer which was quick but hard to get it to look good and perhaps added to much weight to the guitar. So I tried no finish at all! Unhappy with the lacquer option I started to think about which method sounded the best? The answer was the French Polished guitars, why? Perhaps this finish has a super natural ability to enhance tone, after all a violins finish is said to make all the difference! I don't think so however, it many have something to do with it but in my mind there is a much more plausible answer. By French Polishing the interior of my guitars I am spending infinitely more time with each component of the instrument and thus gaining a greater understanding of what that part is capable of. With this knowledge I can refine each part of the instrument so that the guitar as a whole is better sounding and is a more responsive instrument. I’m now happy to french polish the inside of a guitar as an opitional Extra.  Archtop Bouzouki   I was approached last year by Will Lamb who asked me to build him an Archtop Bouzouki. Will is an Edinburgh based Bouzouki Player who has played all over the world so for him to come to me with this brief was both flattering and a wonderful opportunity to build something new. We've been in discussion for about a year now deciding on the specs and design of the instrument. Now it is his turn in the order book and the Bouzouki is taking shape nicely. The Back and Sides are Indian Rosewood and the Soundboard is Swiss Alpine Spruce. The Bouzouki has a scale of 630mm slightly shorter than usual, this is an aspect that we look at carefully as well as the neck joint, this is around the 16th 17th fret giving him lots of access to the higher register.  On The Bench  The Brazilian Taran Mhor is coming alone nicely. Here she is with her Rippled Scottish Sycamore Linings and Rip Stops.  I've started a new Tirga Beag in Cocobolo however to top on this one is going to be very different! Watch this space. New Meilein Bridge     I've just finished an Indian Rosewood and Italian Spruce Meilein Parlour for a Client in Edinburgh. Here are some pictures of the bridge going on. There are a few subtle change that I've been making to my bridges over the last few years, the first notable change is the weight of the wings of the bridge and the increase in break angle over the saddle. I've found that I get better responce from these new bridges. After years of asking the Wonderful Dave Wilson to finish my guitars, I have now gone back to finishing them myself. There were some areas of the finish that I wanted to develop and I also wanted to bring everything in house again. Dave has always done a wonderful job of finishing my guitars and the finish is still a High Gloss Melamine Lacquer. Matheu Watson's New Fan Fret Dana      Here are some pictures of Matheu's Dana Fan Fret. He was in town yesterday and I managed to prize it out of his hands to get a few photos. I'm building a page on the website specifically for this Model it will include information about Matheu and his playing and also the work that we have done together. Watch this space. The First Course I had the first repair course last weekend and it was a great success. We went over the details of guitars and repairs then the techniques involve and then got on with the job. Mark left with a re-fretted taylor with a new nut and saddle that played brilliantly, and he did it all himself. Mark wrote a wee review on the Acoustic forum Click Here if you would like to read about the day. If you are interested in the course and would like further details about the price and dates please feel free to get in touch via the phone or e-mail. Acoustic Guitar Show London September 2011 I will be exhibiting at this years Acoustic Guitar Show in London. The Show is being run by the Acoustic Magazine and they are planning great things. I'm going to have a number of instruments on dislay including this Reclaimed Brazilian Rosewood Taran Mhor. I'll update as shes developing. The Show is on the weekend of the 10th and 11th of September and I'm looking forward to seeing some old friends and new faces there.  Learn how to repair / Set-up Your own Guitar Have you ever wanted to learn how to repair your own Guitar? I get alot of questions about set-ups and repairs which I'm always happy to answer but I thought there might be few people out there who might like to learn the basics for themselves. I'm going to run a 1 day course once maybe twice a month on the weekend for people to come and fix an old instrument of theirs. All the necessary tools and sundries will be provided along with bench space. If you are interested in the course and would like further details please get in touch via the phone or e-mail. Matheu Watson's New Fan Fret Dana Matheu and I have been working closely on the development of his Signature Model. While Matheu and I where please with the last guitar we felt that there where a few things that we wanted to change. The main features are a NOVAX inspired Fan Fret system, Wenge Neck and African Blackwood Back and Sides. Matheu plays in dropped D and while we wanted a long scale for this string we didn't want to have the trebles at high tension because of the affect it would have on Matheus Flat Picking work. So the answer, a Fan Fret. The Fan Fret system was first developed by Novax Guitars and I was lucky enough to get advice from Micheal Greenfields 'The Fan Fret Master' about the best scales and design to get the most out of this new system. The other features include a 3 piece African Blackwood back and sides. The most amazing tonewood that I have ever had the pleasure of working with. And a Wenge neck to increase response and kill dead spots. The guitar will be fitted with a Headway HE2 FEQ and a Shure omni Mic.     My self and Matheu are very excited about this guitar and hope that it will match Matheu's talent.   The second guitar in the pictures is an Indian and Italian Tirga Beag with a Wenge and Purple Heart Neck. This Tirga Beag is going to be fitted with an RMC saddle pick-up and a K&K pure mini pick-up. Midi and standard line, best of both worlds! Happy New Year 2011! Happy New Year to everyone and I hope that 2011 is a wonderful year for us all. 2010 was a great year for Taran Guitars, lots of interesting work both in repairs and builds. I finished the year by sending two guitars off the the Gloss Boss (Dave Wilson). The first was a Tirga Beag in Indian and Italian with a Wenge and Purple Heart Neck. I've been working with Seth (the owner) and we have decided to use a RMC bridge pick-up along with a K&K Pure Mini. Looking forward to hearing this one! The Second guitar is the new Dana model for Matheu Watson. Matheu and I have been working very hard on the development of this his signature model. This is the third that we have built and we are happy enough to have added some new features. This new version includes African Blackwood Back & Side, Wenge neck and a Fan Fret System. Needless to say, we are both very excited! More to follow. And so, onto 2011! Well, were to start. The first thing is that I'm moving workshops, but don't worry it's only next door. I will still be working out of the Albion Business Center in Edinburgh. I've been looking for a Larger studio for a wee while now and have been offered a perfect space. It still needs alot of work but I hope to be in by March time. The order list is full of exciting builds and includes an Archtop Bouzouki, Tirga Beags, Taran Mhors and Meileins some of which are in African Blackwood, the most beautiful wood that I have ever worked with. I'm planning to finally build some Mandolins this year, I've been so busy that I haven't had time in the past but hopefully this year it will happen. Best get on. |
