18 Oct2025

Danny Bradley plays ‘Sweetness of Mary’ on 2D guitar

Danny Bradley currently has my 40th Anniversary 2D guitar on long term loan; he plays it beautifully and is a great ambassador for it.

He is a skilled guitarist who uses and controls sustain well, so the 2D with its depth of sound and great sustain suits him particularly well.  Today he sent me an audio clip of him playing ‘Sweetness of Mary’ on the 2D.

The 2D is fitted with a Highlander under-saddle pickup, but this clip was recorded using two condenser microphones.

‘The Sweetness of Mary’ arranged and played by Danny Bradley

The model 2D is based on my Model 2, a relatively large bodied guitar with 12 frets to the body.  The D version has two extra frets at the nut, making it a long scale 14 fret to the body guitar, with the bridge position unchanged.

It is tuned a full tone down as compared with a standard guitar; fitting a capo to the second fret gives standard guitar tuning, scale and string tension.  Taking the capo off opens up a fabulous full sound.

On this clip, Danny has tuned to CGCFGC, capoed at the first fret to play in C#. Capoing at the second fret would give a standard guitar scale and the commonly used DADGAD tuning.

Danny is a lovely singer and guitarist and has written some great songs.  He gigs regularly, opened for Richard Thompson on his recent tour, and will be doing several spots at the upcoming Celtic Connections festival in Glasgow.  If you haven’t already heard him, I recommend you go and hear him if you get the opportunity.

Danny with the 2D in my workshop .

 

17 Sep2025

Visit to Mark Knopfler and British Grove recording studio

After an accident that left her nearly blind, Helen wanted to thank her fiancé Matthew for his wonderful help and support throughout her ordeal.  She knew Matthew had put in a bid on the guitar I built for Mark Knopfler at Mark’s auction, but had failed to buy it.

She asked me to build him a guitar as a surprise, but we quickly realised he had to be consulted as to the model and specification.  Still wanting to surprise him, she secretly asked me to see if Mark Knopfler would present it to him. Mark very kindly agreed, so when the guitar was finished we arranged a time to go to British Grove studio for the presentation.

I told Matthew I was going for a tour of the studio and could take a couple of friends, but that Mark himself was unlikely to be there. I dropped the guitar off the evening before for Mark to give to Matthew; everybody at the studio was in on the secret. 

Mark showing Matthew an alternative chord fingering.

Although the tour was a pretext for getting Matthew there, it turned out to be fascinating.  The equipment included consoles from the sixties and seventies (still regularly used) and was immensely impressive.  And despite the massive amounts of equipment and vast recording space, the studio had a friendly and comforting atmosphere. Andy Cook, the recording engineer, was great, interesting and informative, and took time to take us round and explain everything.

Finally we were led to a calm, spacious hospitality room, where we were offered coffee and cakes. After a few minutes Mark Knopfler entered with Matthew’s guitar; Matthew was taken completely by surprise.

Mark has just come into the room with Matthew’s guitar.  Here he is handing it over. Matthew is stunned.
Helen, Mark and Matthew chatting after the handover
1960s desk, still used regularly, gets a unique drum sound

After presenting the guitar, Mark stayed chatting for over an hour, talking to Helen about help for those with problems like hers, and also giving Matthew hands on tips on guitar chords. He was truly generous with his time.

He was also gratifyingly complimentary about the guitar.

 

 

Mark
Andy and Matthew looking at the main desk. Wow.
Matthew, guitar, Mark, and guide dog Sunny
28 Jun2025

Tom Fletcher plays Model 2D guitar

 

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Today Tom Fletcher recorded my latest long scale 2D guitar.  This is an African Blackwood and Douglas Fir guitar I built for Paul Aegerter of Bellingham, Washington USA. Paul kindly agreed to this recording.

Tom is a lovely guitarist, and his sensitive and lyrical arrangements bring out the sound and balance of every guitar he plays.

18 Jun2025

Tom Fletcher plays Douglas Fir MS guitar

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Tom Fletcher plays my Brazilian rosewood and Douglas Fir Martin Simpson Signature model guitar on this recording he made recently.  It illustrates the clarity and separation of a Douglas Fir soundboard.

Tom is a lovely guitarist; he demonstrated my guitars at the charity talk I gave at Slaley village hall a few months ago.

31 May2025

Anniversary MS model for Martin Simpson

I recently visited Martin Simpson at his home in Sheffield, taking him the Anniversary Martin Simpson guitar he fell in love with on a recent visit.  He intends to use it for recording and playing live.

Here are photos I took of Martin playing the guitar in his home.  It sounded wonderful; it took me back to how Martin sounded playing my guitars years ago.  His wife Kit echoed my thoughts, saying ‘Martin, that sounds like you’.

The guitar is my 40th Anniversary guitar number 4, built in October 2022. I’ll add another pickup to the existing Highlander later this summer.

Why is there a dulcimer in my ear?
10 May2025

Danny Bradley visit

Danny Bradley came to the Queens Hall in Hexham a couple of months ago, supporting Fairport Convention on their UK tour.  A lovely man, he plays guitar and sings his own songs along with others.

Danny is a great singer and his guitar playing is wonderful; lovely arrangements and great tone. Not super well known yet, but he soon will be.   Catch him if you get the chance.

While in Hexham, he came to visit and play a few guitars. We agreed he should borrow one and he returned recently, dithering between a Martin Simpson signature model and a long scale 2D, both Anniversary models. Both are built with old German Spruce and best Brazilian rosewood.  He finally chose the 2D; here he is in my workshop, trying it through the pickup.

Danny is currently supporting Richard Thompson on his UK tour.

Danny is currently supporting Richard Thompson on his UK tour.
Tour dates: https://www.richardthompson-music.com/tour-dates

20 Jan2025

My upcoming talk in Slaley village hall

Between 2008 and 2013 I gave talks on guitar making at the Whitley Chapel parish hall. Pat Wilson, who lives in Slaley, heard about this. When asking would I do one at Slaley, she unfortunately spoke to my wife Liz.  Liz got back to Pat saying I would do it and my arm would probably have recovered by then.

So a dozen years after the previous one, I will be giving a talk at the Slaley Commemoration Hall on Monday 27th January.  The entry charge is an outrageous £4.00, and a donation will be made to Medecins Sans Frontieres.

Guitarist Tom Fletcher will be playing music on one of my guitars.

Later edit:  The talk raised £160 for Medecin Sans Frontieres

Here is the flyer advertising it.

27 Dec2024

Old mahogany for necks

Liz and I spent this Christmas with our daughter and her friends. Lots of good food, lots of laughter. At one point, probably to keep me out of the way, she suggested I might like to play her guitar.  This is a Model 0 (the predecessor of my New World) I built for her 21st birthday in 1995.  It’s in perfect condition, with a sweet, gentle sound.  I was so pleased to be playing it again.

While examining it, I was struck by the appearance of the neck, which was made of old mahogany, dense and dark. When I was first building, I occasionally came across mahogany like this, but it became harder and harder to find and eventually impossible.  Since then I’ve used mahogany from a stock I bought in the early 2000s.  Nice wood, but not as dramatic as this. My daughter’s guitar must be one of the last I built with it.

In recent years I’ve also used Wengé, another stiff and resonant wood.

1995 neck mahogany

1995 Model 0 with Brazilian rosewood back

 

A few weeks ago I had one of my regular clearing up sessions.  Going through my shelves and cupboards I was astonished and thrilled to find I still had some pieces of this old dark mahogany.  Enough for perhaps half a dozen necks and heel blocks.

I also have two boards of Honduras rosewood, one for necks and another for backs, lovely dark perfectly quarter sawn wood .  I bought them from Craft Supplies (now long defunct) in 2002 but didn’t use them because the boards were too big for me to cut in my shop.

I’ve not built with Honduras rosewood before, but it is very well regarded as a tonewood for backs and sides.  It is heavy like African Blackwood but has a ring like Brazilian rosewood, an interesting combination.  Now I’ve decided, I can’t wait to have it cut and build with it. I’ve arranged to have it cut by a business with suitable equipment.

My plan is to build a short series of guitars with Honduras rosewood bodies and old dark mahogany necks. Soundboards will be German spruce, figured Sitka spruce or Douglas Fir.

Old dark dense mahogany

Honduras rosewood

17 Oct2024

Broken truss-rod replacement

Truss-rods can fail. Sometimes because of over-tightening, sometimes when the hexagonal keyway has been rounded (with an undersized or worn allen key), sometimes when they rust and seize after being kept in damp conditions, and sometimes because they were under-engineered in the first place.  And sometimes for no obvious reason.

I now grease all truss-rod threads, so that even should the guitar be kept in damp conditions (which of course it shouldn’t for several reasons), the threads should not rust. And should turn more easily in all conditions.

Daniel Clark recently sent me his 1989 Model 1 guitar with a non-functioning truss-rod.  This truss-rod was made of a steel rod in an aluminium channel, as were most at the time of building. One end of the rod is fixed to the end of the channel, the other is threaded with a long Allen nut working against the other end of the channel.

Tightening the long nut against the threaded end of the rod shortens it, and as the channel is of fixed length, the channel has to curve. Because the truss-rod is tightly enclosed, it bends in its entirety with the longer channel back to the outside of the shorter rod, bending the neck with it.


Old type steel and aluminium truss-rod

Modern truss-rods are simpler and more compact.  The rod is threaded at both ends, one standard and one reverse thread, and runs through long nuts attached to each end of a narrow flat steel bar. So turning the rod (with an Allen key in the rounded end) one way shortens it (and the other way lengthens it) against the fixed length bar, thus bending it.

Not only does this have less work to do (not having to bend the sides of the channel), it also eliminates the problem caused by different expansion rates of steel and aluminium. It also permits pulling the neck forward if required.

Modern double action all steel truss-rod

When Daniel’s guitar arrived, turning the long Allen nut was effortless but had no effect.  So the truss-rod had to come out.

The standard procedure is to remove the fingerboard (complete with frets), so the truss-rod can be changed, replacing the fingerboard afterwards.  My problem with this method  is that it damages the finish, not only between the fingerboard and the neck but also, more importantly, between the upper portion of the fingerboard and the soundboard. Touching up old finish on a soundboard is a problem, it will always show.  So I decided on a different method.

Rather than remove the whole fingerboard, I take out the frets and cut a slot in the fingerboard above the truss-rod so I can remove and replace it. I do this with a router mounted on a simple plywood jig.

1. Here is the jig mounted over the fingerboard.  I removed the frets and routed out the area above the broken truss rod, enabling me to lever it out. The mahogany neck is visible at the bottom of the slot. The old truss-rod is alongside.

2. The new truss-rod is in place. As it is narrower than the original, I set pieces of Blackwood on either side so the truss-rod is a snug fit. As the rod underneath now has to turn, it is lubricated with graphite powder to minimize resistance.

3. I cut a piece of ebony of the exact size to fit the slot and fitted and glued it in place, pressing it gently onto the truss-rod. I checked that the truss-rod can still turn freely.

4. I trimmed the ebony insert down to match the level of the existing fingerboard, cut the fret slots in it, and replaced the centre Mother of Pearl dots.

5. The old frets were worn, so after checking the fretboard is level, I replaced them with Evo Gold fretwire.  This is much harder than the original nickel silver and will last much longer without pitting.

6. Now strung up, it needed just a tweak on the truss-rod, and it’s perfect.  The only way the repair shows is that the new ebony is a little blacker than the original, but a quick oiling minimizes even this. With the 3rd and 4th strings over the joins, it is almost impossible to see. And no damage to the finish.

Click on the image to see a larger version.

When I removed the old truss-rod, I found the thread had stripped, allowing the nut to turn freely without shortening the rod.  On examination, I saw the rod was thinner than on some, as was the threaded end. It was also installed at a time before I greased the threads.

The fingerboard repaired, with new frets and new truss-rod, is now better than new and the instrument sounds excellent.  In fact, better than before.  This guitar will become shortly become available to purchase and will appear on my ‘Available now’ webpage.