If you haven’t heard the song “The Guitar” by Guy Clark and Verlon Thompson do yourself a favor and give it a listen. Many a guitar or instrument has inspired a musician to new heights in an almost mystical way. The alchemy between a great guitar and an artist can be almost frightening. Still, the guitar that inspires greatness in one player may go dead in the hands of another.
The search for “the ONE” and stories of the guitar that got away are always only a conversation away when Musicians discuss their instruments. That old Martin you had the opportunity to play at a little store while you were waiting for the bus out of Birmingham when you were on tour… or some such yarn. It is truly a treat to find that guitar and when we do, it may be the source of inspiration for months or years, or often even a lifetime, but often we find ourselves needing something else, especially as a musician finds themselves expanding their musical limitations or interests.
I’ve been building guitars for well over 3 decades and worked with some of the biggest names in the guitar industry. I know most of the major builders on a first name basis and though I never thought I had to take a backseat to anybody and was always proud of my abilities and hard earned talents, I never really felt I needed to see my name on a headstock to feel fulfilled.
Philosophy
When circumstances lead me into starting my own company, I suddenly found myself in complete control of the artistic process. The results of that have surprised and delighted me. I hear on almost a daily basis that clients who have owned guitars by some of the most revered names in the business consider their new Roberts guitar to represent a whole new level of guitar for them.
I build guitars with soul. Many of the biggest and most recognized companies, and even many independent builders, have tried to produce repeatability, or dimensional perfection, by utilizing the latest technologies like CAD/CAM computer aided design and milling. Having helped to guide both Gibson, Santa Cruz Guitar Company through the process of utilizing production techniques and high technology without losing quality, I can say without reservation that therein lies the most cost effective and profitable way to build a guitar. It is more wasteful of natural resources and it limits custom details available to clients, but it definitely is more efficient and reduces a company’s reliance on highly skilled workers. However there are costs as well.
When I embarked on this final journey of my instrument making career, I did some soul searching. I had to decide whether I wanted to grow a significant sized company capable of building quality standardized instruments which would also pay higher financial dividends, or whether I wanted to give myself a chance to approach lutherie as the almost spiritual journey which it has always seemed to be for me, giving myself permission to make decisions based on what would create the best and most soul-infused instruments. I quickly found that the clients who wanted instruments from me seemed to want custom instruments built to the highest standard.
I chose to maintain and strengthen my connection to the great instrument building and woodworking traditions of the past. Generally, I work alone, drawing on all my experience as a timber harvester, planerman, sculptor, painter, woodworker, electronics technician and finally, for 3 and a half decades, as a luthier. I build with traditional tools, Especially in regards to relying on the highest quality hand tools instead of tooling up with jigs and fixtures or CNC toolpaths for each step of the process. This way all my decisions are based on what is best for the instrument and the Musician rather than the limitations of the tooling.
I build from intuitive knowledge, and skills gained through a lifetime of woodworking and the pursing of the creative arts. I have a refined sense of design, and I work at a high skill level honed from over 40 years of working with wood and instruments.
