RED is everywhere in my shop. RED gets everywhere. RED turns the dog pink. Why, you ask, is it that way, why everything is soooooooooooooo RED?
It is the sanding dust from the Paduak wood we are using for the latest and probably greatest guitar. It is such a pain in the ass to work with , due to the fact that it is so RED, so it must be worth the effort.
Actually, Paduak is considered to be one of the worlds greatest tome woods, as since we have already discovered that guitar backs need to be part of the sound, it stands to reason that these new guitar creations will be outstanding.

Not an alien being, but a clever bracing system which adds the necessary strength to the back but allows the back to properly vibrate. While the top wood produces the MOST sound, the back adds a lot to the entire mix.
A most famous guitar builder of the 1800's, Antonio Torres, reportedly built a guitar with the back and sides made from paper mache' to prove a point about the top wood producing the sound. It supposedly sounded good. However the guitars of that period were so QUIET they were hard to hear except being very close to the player.
Today, we expect more volume and indeed demand it, hence the back needs to contribute as well, hence the cool bracing.

Why Yes, this actually is the HMS Dreadnaught! Commissioned in 1906 It was the 6th British vessel to have the name. This vessel was the state of the art for its time and changed the course of history. Much the same as the Dreadnaught guitar pioneered by the Martin Company. The
dreadnaught guitar was large and powerful, able to leap tall buildings with a single bound and cut through the violin, banjo, and stand-up base to still be heard. The base was especially present in these inovative guitars.
In the new next series for guitars, a dreadnaught shape is emerging. Not a robotic carbon copy, of course, but a pleasant new shape that will be strong on the base response, but supprisingly full on the treble as well. More on this later.

Why do banks try to get rid of foreclosed houses so rapidly? Banks always are making long term investments, sometimes committed for many years. Keeping a foreclosed house for a relatively short period of time would let the house value rise through natural appreciation and the marketability improve. As always there is more to it than meets the eye.
On to something completely different, real estate brokers and agents are lazy, incompetent bastards[or bastardetts]. Perhaps none are worth anything at all, at least those I've personally had the displeasure to meet have not been worth anything at all. Work is opposite of a bad thing. Work should be enjoyed. Work is not something real estate sales people are involved in.

One would think with this very cool property being marketed sooooo cheaply, that any realtor would be able to sell it, after all, it practically sells itself. However the case is that realtors work hard at getting listings, and don't do anything else except wail for someone to show up with a buyer. Well, instead of being able to spend my time doing what I should be doing, that is making fine guitars, I'm having to market this property myself. It takes a lot of time. It takes a lot of energy. It is mind numbing work. I however chose NOT to be a realtor. Those folks who did choose to be that obviously did so to avoid having to work for a living. I know of only two realtors that worked at their trade, both sucessful and happy, one is dead, the other a multimillionare. The rich one actually united buyer with seller, or seller with buyer, regardless of the particular property being on the market. He would indentify the need, and then find the logical participants. That is now what I'm having to do, and I hate it. Someday, I shall again use my mind and hands for something I like to do, but not until this property is sold.Edwin

The latest guitar is all put together. The new, improved way of neck attachment and bridge attachment allows the guitar to be fully assembled and played and adjusted, making the guitar complete and finished in each and every way except the Finish. I'll say hear (Yes, I know the spelling is incorrect in this context) and now this guitar sounds and plays fabulously!!!! It is the easiest guitar for me to play ever. And the resonance seemingly goes on forever. All in all, its VERY COOL!!!! I will not be doing anything more on guitars, or anything else for that matter except for anything related to selling the church we are living in. After 3 real estate agents, all with empty, meaningless promises, the only way to get the job done is to do it myself. $30,000 commission is apparently not enough for an agent to put forth any effort at all. I hate being in sales. I am bored with the whole process. That of course is why I attempted to hire it done, but the blog from now on until sold will not be about cool guitars.

How often do you blow your nut? No, not that! Blowing ones nut is when after so carefully filing the grooves for the strings on the bone nut, that is filing each string groove with a special rounded file that fit the string exactly, that just before its done, at the almost there, but just a little more stage you stroke the file one two many times. One stroke (no, not that kind of stroke) is all it takes to go too far and now the string sits too low and buzzes when played. All that's left to do at that point is throw the damned nut away and start over. Blowing the nut is commonplace for me, and is frustrating. One would think I would eventually get competent at the seemingly simple job of filing a nut, but so far I get in much practice. Someone once said "He who works with his hands is a laborer, He who works with his hands and his mind is a craftsman, and He who works with his hands, his mind and his soul is an artist".

This is a multi-inovative music machine. The neck is adjustable in the plane necessary to change the string action(the playability if you will). That part works marvelously. The top is fashioned from Douglas Fir. Yes the stuff that grows everywhere around here. A really cool tone wood as I've just discovered(see the strings on the guitar). The top is cut away much like an electric guitar so the strings above the joint at the body are more reachable. And the top is braced with a fan system instead of the old, but still good "X" system. Due to the neck system, the guitar can and is put all together before finishing, and before any finishing touches such as the cool looking wood around the soundholes. This ability to assemble, and play and critique is way cool, because everything changes the sound, everything. The real question now remains. Do I cut out more of the top? I would cut out a comma, right where the arm rests across the guitar, and Iwould cut out the side a bit there as well, giving the arm a relaxed fit on the guitar while playing, and of course, looking cool. But the tone will be changed, probably a lot. So is the xperiment worth doing, or should it wait for another guitar? Perhaps tomorrow will tell, perhaps not.

The Top and the Back. Together they will make a Box. A very special box, certainly, but a Box non the less. This Box should be the most vibrating, music making, comfortable to hold, box around. However we shall have to wait and see{hear} to know for sure. With the top wood Douglas Fir, which is a very superior tonewood, the fan bracing, the Claro Walnut back and sides with its own special vibrating fool of bracing, the sound should be superior in many ways. It should have very even tonal range between bass and treble, it should be LOUD, for a box and it won't look bad either. Time will tell, as it always does.

Well, there it is in the final stages of brace carving. As one can see, it is a completely different bracing system than the normal "X" bracing system which has been in use for over 100 years. The "X" bracing is a very good thing, however, as it performs it's functions very well. That is it allows the bridge plate to vibrate and is strong enough to keep the top in place over the years. The "X" bracing system is also a bad thing. It is used all over the world, in literally millions of guitars. No innovations are forthcoming when the old standard is always used. One cannot blindly follow that what is done is the only Right way, as it is clearly not the case. We shall see how this experience is sound production works out. It will be a good guitar, but perhaps a great guitar.

The Fan. It's been around for centuries, its simple, its effective. Its Strong too. The thin wooden spokes support the fan material, whether it be silk, paper, wood. Wood! What a concept. A support system of thin wooden spokes strongly supporting a wooden ? A wooden guitar top? Of course that is the answer. Oh yeah, what was the question? How to support a guitar top in a manner which lets the top function as it is supposed too, that is to vibrate as freely as possible. What works for a fan will {or should} work for a guitar top, and if so, it should produce a unique and different sound. Not necessarily better, but different. With so many millions of guitars in the world built very much the same, its time to seek a different approach. More of this extremely exciting topic tomorrow.

At the art walk a few days ago in downtown Eugene, a fellow walk up to one of my guitars and exclaimed "LOOK< there's JESUS! All I know is that JESUS was not in my guitar when I made it, at lest not at first. When he showed up and why is beyond my mere mortal intellect. However, JESUS is for sale for only $20,000, and I will throw in a guitar as well. On a side bar, if one would look at the top-center of the picture I think I see Jimmy Hendricks. Jimmy living in the guitar would make some sense, and he is FREE, with the purchase of JESUS.

If James Bond, yes "THE" James Bond, thats Bond, James Bond, can nail an octopussy, I thought why not, and nailed my own octopussy. As one can see, its not likely to get uppity and leave. In fact, it may become a very responsive bracing system to the back of the newest and in some ways coolest guitar. Why do we care if the back is "responsive"? All it does it direct the sound forward, right? WRONG. The back woood also must vibrate right along with the top, just not quite so much. Thats why the backwood is important to the overall sound, it vibrates. Different woods vibrate differently, thereby the wood makes different sounds. Mostly all good sounds, but different. A any rate, its good to nail an octopussy once in a while. We will wait and see how the next guitars sounds. It will be good, but different.

Well, people in the Eugene, Springfield area were not left out of the musically talented. Many people are apparently gifted when it comes to playing music on a guitar. It is inspiring to hear and see so many folks drifting in from the Art Walk, picking up a guitar and playing what in many cases was jaw dropping virtuosity. That kind of Thing is a damn good way to showcase my guitars as these not so rare folks make the instruments sound really good. On an entirely different subject, its so easy to type on a word processing machine, as mistakes are made to disappear by the touch of a back button. Remember the typewriters of old that had a white ribbon as well as black, so when one made a mistake, you could backspace to the offending letter, type over it with the white ribbon, and then proceed as though nothing bad had happened at all? TECHNOLOGY is both good and bad. Some guitar manufacturers pride themselves in the fact that their instruments are hardly touched by human hands during the whole building process. Is that truly good? Not for me. I actually like working wood and pearl with my HAND tools. The touch and feel of turning a few pieces of material into a thing capable of producing cool tones and visual gorgeousness is for me the way.

Guitar show

These are a couple of pics from the Handmade Musical Instrument Show at Marylhurst College last weekend. The show a fun and inspiring place to be for a couple of days. Disturbingly good guitar players as well as mandolin players and violin players, obo players. chello players, standup base players, picalo players, flute players, and jews harp players. All in all a good time was had by all ears. The poor economy was in evidents however as nothing at all sold in the entire show, as good as the instruments were. Still a good experience and one which I shall repeat next year. Repeating this Friday night, thats TONIGHT, there is another ART WALK at which I shall be displaying some of my guitars. Many many other artists will displaying their wares as well, so come out and have a look, and a listen. Thats TONIGHT downtown Eugene centered on Willamette St.

These are the three guitars for the upcoming guitar show http://www.nwmusicalinstrumentshow.org The show is to be held at Marylhurst college in Lake Oswego which is just south of Portland. A map of the college can be had at www.marylhurst.edu/contact/campusmap.php.
It will be a very cool show indeed and well worth the drive up to see it. These three guitars are all made from Oregon wood and are all quite different, in looks, in tone, and in feel. Much fun to make. Much fun to play. Come see us at the show.

Well, here [or hear] it is. This is another Oregon series guitar with the back and sides of Oregon Black Walnut, and the top of Port Orford Cedar, and the neck of Curly Maple. The sound is so different than the others as the top wood, hereafter named POC vibrates differently than the other woods I use. Of course the vibrating top is what makes most of the sound, so a difference is expected. It is also a very long-lasting vibration, which translates into a long lasting sound for each pluck, struck, or thumped string. All and all, it is a very, very cool guitar.

Do you hear that? What is that sound? Oh yeah, its the E cord I strummed yesterday on the newest guitar, the "Douglas Fir". Its still resonating! Why, its just like the battery bunny, it just keeps going and going and going. Long lasting notes played on a guitar are a good thing. The sound can blend with those sounds played from before and after making a more homogeneous musical effort. Pictures tomorrow of "Douglas Fir"

Some of you out and about in cyberspace {used to called the hinterlands] may have inferred that a mistake, and error, a screw-up, or a misalignment of stars may have occurred on the latest almost done totally awesome guitar. Admit nothing they say. Don't cope to it, they say. Deny everything, they say. A white lie is ok, they say. Well, yes a screw-up did, in fact , occur. It was a very slight blemish on or actually in, or perhaps even under the many many coats of lacquer.. A trial and error approach to repairing the same led to even more mistakes, errors. screw-ups, and the dreaded misalignment of stars. So, whats a girl to do? Beats me, but my solution to the problem, which as I mentioned before took a while to get to, was to simply sand off the offending material, and reapply it with as much skill and dexterity as possible. It truly is amazing how much better I feel knowing the right and correct solution is being realized. Meanwhile, back at the ranch, work on the next, perhaps greatest yet guitar proceeds.

What the hell is that, you say? And then it comes to you, Why its the brand new, newly invented, totally cool and awesome adjustable guitar neck block. Why did you want to adjust the neck? Well many reasons actually. First, over time the whole top of the guitar distorts in an upward fashion[ just physics] causing havoc in the playability of said instrument. And who would want havoc in a guitar? Also different playing styles need different set ups for the guitar. With the adjustable neck a simple turn of a small allen screw adjusts the neck to allow the player any manner of necessary playablity. Pretty cool huh?

Setbacks. We all have them from time to time. I may have more than others, at least is seems so at times. Its a part of life to have them, and it should be something accepted. However what amazes me is not the fact that I have setbacks, but how long I fight the concept that I actually do have one [or several]. Instead of admitting on a timely basis that there is a problem and a viable solution needs to be found, I tend to flounder about for quite a while ignoring the obvious. Not efficient I admit. Finally I do come to terms with the condition and move on, which, I guess, is something.

How, as people go, are we identified. Some of us are mostly identified by our looks. Some for beauty, and some for height. some for weight, some for ugly. Looks is not the whole of these people so identified, but the part most easily and conveniently identifiable. Some of us are identified by our deeds. Murder, robbery, philanthropy, volunterism are some such examples. Some of us are identified by our work. Some of us work to become wealthy. Some us work to make a living, and some of us work because we like to. For those of us that do work because we like to, its very difficult indeed when we have no work. We loose our identities. We can not be identified any more others, and we start to loose ourselves. We hover in cyberspace or real space or lost in the exploits of novels, but what makes us what we are to ourselves starts to diminish. That is the real result of our worlds economy right now, our lose of self.

So I promised pictures and here they are. The wood of the fretboard is African Blackwood. This particular very cool piece is a combination on heartwood[black] and the sapwood[white]. African Blackwood is also one of the worlds best tonewoods. The rest of the guitar, the body, is all fashioned from Port Orford Cedar. This is a wood usually used in Flamenco guitars. It is also a very cool wood for a steel string guitar, and its sounds resonate pretty much forever which is a good thing for a guitar to do. Port Orford Cedar, or POC is not a cedar at all, but is from the cypress family. So why is it called Cedar? Why indeed.

So the new guitar is still being finished, however IT SOUNDS GREAT!!! It will be finished by Sunday. Only a few things left to do. The very cool piece of wood which is the truss rod cover needs to be fit and screwed in place. This access lets one adjust the up and down plan of the fretboard. The two strap buttons need to be installed. Different strings need to be put on and played for a while to determine which strings sound the best for this particular guitar. Strings pretty much look the same, but are built differently which changes the sound they produce A LOT. Strings also go dead in a very short time frame. 8-10 hours of playing usually is enough to kill the strings. Anyhow, a small and very beautiful guitar is almost complete. Pictures next time of that like totally, like finished, like guitar.

Lets review class. Once the bridge is on, and the neck is on, all thats left to do is put on the strings. RIGHT? Yes, except for leveling, shaping, and polishing the frets. And sanding and polishing the fretboard. And the final polishing of the whole guitar on the buffing wheel. And the careful tapering of the bridge pin holes. And installing the tuning machines. And fitting the bone nut. And slotting the bone nut. And fitting the bone saddle. And shaping the saddle for proper intonation. And least we forget to make and sign and install the label. And clean the inside of the guitar. And install the end peg for the strap and of course the neck peg too. So yes all one must do after the neck is on and the bridge is on is to put on strings.

Why yes indeed, the neck of the next guitar is glued on. But so is the well crafted and handsome bridge. So what to do. Finish one and hear it sing, or create yet another well crafted totally cool and uniquely different bridge for the other. So many choices, so little time.

Well no, the other neck for the other guitar is not glued on yet. Today for sure... However, from what appears to be a piece of crap piece of wood comes out a beautiful, well crafted, properly constructed bridge. So life is still good in the medium-slow lane which is guitar building.

Another neck being glued on the body. This very simple, small, and very light guitar is yet another experiment of tone and playability. I'm really all a twitter [twitter?] waiting to hear this one. A few days more. Meanwhile, yet another neck on yet another guitar shall be glued up probably today. It too is hard to wait for as it is an unusual combination of woods and bracing. We shall soon see and hear. Edwin

What does breaking concrete have to do with making guitars? Not a damn thing. Except taking time. Time spent making a guitar is the most valuable, the most necessary part part of making a decent instrument. Time spent on design is probably the most important of all, cause if you start with a bad design, no matter how much time spent on building is will still be a bad guitar. Factories simply can not spend the time to create as can custom builders. Custom builders make guitars for a purpose other than making a lot of money. All of which has lead us to yet another day on chipping away concrete, not guitar building. This too shall pass.

The time spent in the finishing process, which is mostly waiting for stuff to dry or cure, would be mostly boring if it weren't for the start of the next guitar. I'm always very curious how the last guitar will sound, and play and feel, but by now I have a fairly good idea how it will look. But we will just have to wait. However, its always exciting to start a new guitar. It will be different from anything I've done.{they all are different}. It will be visually stimulating. It will sound different from the rest because of many many things done or not done during construction. The best guitars, for whatever reason, get picked up and played more than the lesser guitars. Whether the tone is inspirational, or the silky feel makes one grab it for a while, the best guitars are picked up and played. As always, that is my hope for every one of my guitars, that they are picked up and played...often.

So, you wonder, what does sailing and visiting the tropics have to do with building guitars? Everywhere we went on our boat "Just Imagine" we found people making musical instruments . In any small, perhaps backward town, one can find people playing music. Where music is played, the are people making the instruments. Be seeing how guitar making is done elsewhere in the world, and how the results sound, and feel and play, we can better flavor our own guitars. Seeing how guitars are made all over the world also has influenced our visual perceptions of how a guitar should look. For me every guitar should look different than the last on. Factories all over the world produce the same thing over and over and over. BORING!!! Every guitar we make, or will ever make will be unique, will have superior sound and feel, and will be very cool.

Last night the came down so hard that I was reminded of sailing and living in the tropics. Living in Western Oregon gives a person the impression that we know what hard rain is. That, however, is a misconception. A place called Portobelo Panama, is the rainiest spot in North America. It is warm and sunny all day long. Every day. Every day until 3 PM that is. Then, the clouds gather and the rain falls in torrents. It rains so hard that one can not see 10 feet distant. It rains so hard that a 5 gal. bucket is filled in about 30 seconds.. The weather carries on this way for an hour or so then the clouds go away, the sun comes back out, and things are warm and sunny once again. Until the next day. Remembering this weather in Panama makes me realize that a vacation remembered is almost as good, and in some cases better, as the original vacation. And in todays economy a lot cheaper.

Well its yet another lash-up that is unlikely to escape anytime soon. This time it is a carbon fiber strip being glued into a routed channel in the neck. The carbon fiber acts as a stabilizer in the maple wood. While regular maple is quite stable, figured maple, sometimes called "curly", is not so stable. Since we don't want no stinking plain old boring wood in our guitars, we like to use the curly or the quilted or the spalted or anything but boring wood, therefore the carbon fiber. Its expensive as hell, not fun to work with, very light and very, very strong... A good thing for a guitar neck.

I once worked at a boatyard in San Diego. A friend came to visit, and I showed him all around the yard. We saw many yachts being worked on for many reasons. Later that night over drinks he commented that almost every worker in that yard was sanding something. The same can be said for sculpting a guitar neck. Hours of sanding. Sanding to actually do the shaping. Sanding to smooth out the scratches from sanding. Sanding, sanding, sanding. When asked how I know its smooth enough, when its done I must reply "its never done, they just come and take it away".

Well, its unlikely that the fretboard being glued up will escape anytime soon. There's an old saying that states "you can't have enough clamps", and that is correct. The more clamps, the more even the pressure which results in nice tight glue seams. Since glue holds together the guitars almost exclusively, its important to do a proper job of it. Another thing that many, many clamps do is it keeps the parts from escaping into the unknown, at least until we remove them.

Actually, creating the neck of the guitar is a fun exercise and a different task than the rest of the guitar building in that it a sculpted work instead of a construction project. Chisels, rasps,files and sandpaper are used to coax out a pleasant feeling shape. It is mostly done by eye and feel. Many builders use a machine of one sort or another to rough out the neck shape, and merely sand it smooth. I, however enjoy the carving experience. Also every one of my guitars are different, requiring a different shape to the neck. How boring it would be to make the same thing over and over again. Plenty of factories in this world do business like that, so no need for me to follow that path.

Just a rough shape cut from a large block of wood. I can turn into so many things. Again possibilities. In this case the wood is Maple, with a very nice tiger-striped grain pattern. It will be on a guitar made from all Oregon woods as well. The neck is a most important part to a guitar in that it is the part always touched by the musician. Touch and feel play such an important role is wringing out those illusive musical notes. The shape can be comfortable for large hands, or small hands but probably not both. Playing styles vary, and some players prefer a thick neck to keep ones thumb positioned on the back of the neck... Some players wrap their thumb completely over the neck and actually use it to fret strings...they require a thinner neck. Feel is also important. If the finish is too glossy, it will feel sticky when ones hands get sweaty. Violins, for example have no finish at all on the necks. Guitar players, however, also seem to like the visual beauty of a well finished neck, so what to do?

It takes a lot of work to just put on strings. In this case two days. But its just right and it sounds FANTASTIC!!!!It may be the coolest guitar yet on several levels. Edwin

When I said that all this guitar needed was strings, I was mistaken a bit. It also needs a nut {yes guitars do have nuts} and a bridge {no, not that kind of bridge] and especially time to fit said units in place. Finding the time is always the issue. Time is so elusive. Time is aways at a premium. Time does run out quickly though. Soon I will find the time to "string" this beautiful guitar. Edwin

What is a guitar without strings? In this case it is excitement, anticipation, a journey to the unknown, as this is a new guitar waiting for strings for the first time. Will the sound be all that was imagined, more, alot more? Will it sound just ok, but not be as special as I hope? We will soon see. Strings represent a potential in other ways as well. It represents a potential of making music. It represents hours spent lost in song and harmony. A guitar with no strings may be pretty. But it does need completion. So many boats are sunk in a driveway, so to speak. This guitar only needs strings. Edwin

What is that yellow sphere lurking behind the clouds? Is it, could it be.... the sun? Why yes, yes it is the sun. It looks as though its trying to find a way out behind the clouds. Will it actually make it out, if so when? When indeed. Maybe next week. Maybe next month. Maybe tomorrow. Meanwhile guitars continue to evolve. Edwin

A storm on the horizon? Certainly the media would have you believe it. So what can we do? We can work hard, we can enjoy life, we can create. After a while we will notice the storm has passed. Edwin

I no longer dream of huge projects requiring years to complete.I no longer lust for the extremely large canvas of possibilities...I find now endless possibilities within the smaller canvas. Using less resources, both of mine and of the worlds I find rewards aplenty in the well designed and the well executed. Edwin

I got a birthday card once which said "50 years isn't old if you are a tree". 50 hrs to make a tree isn't so bad either, I suppose. Next will be to shape the ends of this fret board and install the frets. Where do the other end of the go sticks go? A picture really is worth a few words at least, Edwin

Well, these sticks, called "go" sticks, should keep those abalone shells from escaping anytime soon. The purpose of "go" sticks is to keep things from going. One must make hideous messes while creating art, at least I do. Creating a stylized tree seems to take about as much time as growing one. Two days to complete a few inches. Edwin

Natures art. Its hard to improve on the color schemes thought up by old mother nature. Move the light a little, and the colors change again. From the sea bottom comes abalone, great to eat with shells beautiful to look at. Rainbow colors from a rainbow-less environment. These shells shall join with others to become a Douglas Fir tree on the fingerboard on my next guitar. More to come, Edwin

Is this art? Certainly not, but it will be, in fact starting to become art now. In reality this is little more than a drawing on a napkin at a cafe. It is the rough draft for the inlay of the fretboard on the latest guitar. More to come, Edwin

Exciting times in the old shop. I just put a coat of grain filler on the latest [greatist?] guitar. The filler brings out the true color of the woods, in this case Claro Walnut and Port Orford Ceder. The color contrast between these woods is extrordinary. Its going to be gorgeous. The sound is going to be a treat as well. It should have a Flamingo flavoring. Starting today on the fingerboard inlays as well, just wait to see that, Edwin

Arts and Crafts. We see it listed that way all the time, as though they are nearly the same. But are they the same? A well crafted table isn't art, or is it. Craftsmen that work their whole lives perfecting there skills rarely call themselves artists. Artist who cover themselves with paint and roll naked over canvas rarely call themselves craftsmen.

Color. Contrast or complimentary? Light on dark, dark on light? smooth on texture? Plain or figured? All of these choices, and many more, make up an artistic piece. Make a mistake. Does it get left or redone? Choices are a part of life, and a part of art. The choice to start or not is also a choice, and for many the most important one. Just Imagine and start. Edwin

The top is now on the guitar body. It is simply glued on, clamped until dry. The next step will be to install the binding, which is a strip of wood that covers the joint of top to the sides. This guitar features a Walnut back and sides which should contrast very nicely with the almost white Port Orford cedar top. Edwinn

What is this weirdness? Its the top of my latest guitar. The underside of the guitar top to be precise. The braces are what gives the top strength to stay put year after year with the incredible tension put on the top from the strings. These braces are individually carved to achieve a desired tone. Generally speaking the thinner the bracing the better the sound. There is of course a trade-off as the bracing needs strength as well. I generally solve this problem by laminating carbon fiber in between two layers of wood. Carbon fiber is very strong and very light. This combination makes a very cool sounding guitar. And a guitar that will be around for a while as well. Edwin

Obsession is the driving force to the creation of art. An artist does what he does, creates what he does because he can't not do it. He has no choice in the matter. An artist goes to sleep thinking about his art, wakes up thinking about his art,, and thinks about his art all the live-long day. There is no choice in this. Obsession is not a bad thing. It is an essential element to the creative process. Edwin

Form vs function. You can have both. When designing a new guitar, I agonize over a curve or shape sometimes for hours. The sound is effected so little with subtle shape changes that almost any shape will do. But visually subtle differences make a huge difference. The difference to me is whether or not I can build that guitar as I need to be inspired by what I'm creating. No inspiration, no guitar. Edwin

Just because one can doesn't necessarily mean one should. You can paint a car with stripes of varying color but it probably would look like shit. You can make a guitar look as though it arrived from outer space, but it would take someone like Prince to make it work. Traditions on the 1st blush seem boring, but traditions became traditions for a reason, and that is acceptability. All artist need a level of acceptability to continue. Traditions also need to be challenged. Edwin