Design theory: the Philosophy of Hand-did

Hand-made things rebel against the tyranny of the shiny, plastic sameness that defines much of our machine made, modern world.

I grew up in the country and in my family’s furniture store. I have been in the woods and around wood all my life. I am drawn to the rustic and hand-hewn. I don’t care so much for things that look too “modern” or “plastic.” In almost every field, our culture is loosing skilled artisans who know how to make things with their hands and tools without the aid of computers and robots.

The first time I played a hand-made guitar, there was a spark, a life in that instrument that did not exist in the factory or robot made instruments I owned. Don’t get me wrong; the factories are producing some fine instruments for what they are, maybe the best ever produced by that industry. They get relatively cheap instruments in the hands of people and get them started playing. That is a good thing in and of itself.

Hand-made instruments take things to another level. Even with some modest skill, a builder is able to shape and form each individual piece with a view toward the goal of convincing those disparate pieces to be a balanced instrument. This takes touch and intuition. I believe that when things have been made by the constant touch of human hands, there is life imparted to that thing. I believe this is especially true of instruments.

But hand-made things tend to be expensive. It takes far more time to make something by hand. The cost of materials and tools adds up quickly. We also want to compensate the artisan for their skill - a value that is often not given serious enough consideration. These factors often put hand-made instruments far out of the reach of most people.

My goal is to be able to produce excellent hand-did instruments and make them available at a cost that is within reach of serious players. I want others to be able to enjoy the WOW that is present in a hand-did instrument.

Tradition / Innovation

I have been playing guitar for over 35 years. I grew up loving rock, got some classical training in college, and then discovered jazz. As a player first, I know what I am looking for in a guitar. I build guitars that I would love and trust that others will love them too.

I am an anarchist at heart: I don’t inherently trust the “powers that be” to dictate what is the best. Just because something has been done doesn’t mean it should continue to be done, or that it is the best way of doing things. I do believe that tradition is important as it sets some of the boundaries that keep us from “reinventing the wheel.” Yet, we keep a tradition alive by retaining the best answers from the past while moving toward the best solutions for things not yet perfected. Because nobody has made the perfect guitar yet, we still keep aiming for that target.

We are living in a marvelous time in which tools and materials allow us to make instruments at the leading edge of form and function. The availability of new tone-woods and man-made materials can be unified in instruments of unprecedented strength, beauty, and clarity. It is a great time to be a builder.

As I design and build, I enjoying finding ideas from the past, maybe forgotten, that spark new life. But I am also always thinking about how to do things better, for the players sake, to make the guitar more useable and “perfect” as an instrument.

“A Thing of Beauty is a Joy Forever” (John Keats)

Life is too short to not enjoy what we are doing, if we are able. Humor and sillyness are a big part of our family culture and I bring a lot of that into my mindset of building, especially talking about building. Word’s like “hand-crafted” and “bespoke” seem too fancy for me (those who know me agree). “Hand-did” seems to be the right phrase that describes my rustic approach to building.

Luthiery is a difficult craft and art form because we must balance two core concepts: visual beauty and aural beauty. My favorite part of the build process is when someone sees their new guitar for the first time. I don’t want them to open the case and say, “Yeah, that is cool….” - I am looking to give them the “WOW!” moment. No matter how beautiful an instrument is, it must also be able to produce glorious music.

Music creates connection between people and between ideas. A well crafted instrument becomes a voice of the performer connecting them with their audience. A well crafted instrument should be a joy for both the player and the listener.

I want to make guitars that I want to play and never put down.

Hopefully, if that happens for me, it will happen for you too.