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Making guitars in a changing world

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Old closet doors: better in guitars than landfill

Posted on August 28, 2023September 7, 2023 by Richard Hobbs

In this post, we meet Tim Sway of New Perspectives Music, who’s been making guitars from old closet doors and spreading the message that things that are good for the planet can be cool and can be done without compromising quality or tone.

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War and peace: hanging on to hope

Posted on August 4, 2023August 5, 2023 by Richard Hobbs

The news is full of heatwaves and forest fires and the grinding war in Ukraine. Here I reflect on living through the Cold War and risk of nuclear annihilation and then confronting the reality of 8 billion people on Earth and what that means for the planet. Despite all the problems, hope for the future remains, and it’s important to hang on to and celebrate that. And we need a living planet to be able to continue to make guitars.

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Football, flowers and tone: objective reality versus perception

Posted on June 26, 2023June 28, 2023 by Richard Hobbs

Guitar tone and what contributes to it is a much discussed topic. While the acoustic aspects of tone can be measured, it’s often forgotten that there is a large subjective element in how individuals perceive tone. Here we explore the world of human perception, starting with a college football anecdote and then considering the beauty of wildflowers, before focusing on how sound travels from a guitar through our ears and into our brain.

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Guitars made from bamboo: who knew?!

Posted on May 12, 2023May 16, 2023 by Richard Hobbs

Bamboo is a widespread, fast growing plant. As well as being what giant pandas eat, it is used in many ways, including as a sustainable replacement for wood as structural material. Yamaha launched a guitar made from bamboo in 2000 which received a mixed reception at the time. Other guitar makers are following suit, and bamboo offers an interesting and different option as a material to make guitars with.

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The view from space: Martin’s Earth Guitar

Posted on March 26, 2023June 12, 2023 by Richard Hobbs

The Martin 00L Earth guitar, with its striking painting of our planet, was inspired by Greta Thunberg and protests seeking meaningful action on climate change. But its roots like back in the 1960s with the first views of Earth from space. Its message is too important to ignore.

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Mangoes, cherries and Martin guitars

Posted on March 10, 2023March 14, 2023 by Richard Hobbs

Mango and cherry trees provide sustainable wood options in very different ways.  They’ve both featured on guitars made by C.F.Martin & Co. whose factory we visit here.

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Applewood: instruments from the orchard

Posted on February 2, 2023February 4, 2023 by Richard Hobbs

Apples are a staple fruit for many people, and it turns out that apple trees produce a great guitar wood too. Here I look at the history of apple cultivation and the decline of the traditional apple orchard – and, of course, an applewood guitar.

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A collector’s passion: diverse woods used in early European guitars

Posted on December 17, 2022December 17, 2022 by Richard Hobbs

A chance visit to a historical guitar collection in an Italian art gallery provided interesting insights into the variety of types of wood used in early European guitars – not much tropical wood and a lot of local species.

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The curious case of the violin in a cage

Posted on November 18, 2022November 20, 2022 by Richard Hobbs

Following visits to museums in Oxford and Cremona to see historic guitars and violins, I discuss the world of rare instruments and explore issues around their value, whether they should be played or not, and how their authenticity is established – and how this all relates to modern instrument building.

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Metal, mines and music: resonator guitars

Posted on October 4, 2022October 5, 2022 by Richard Hobbs

Metal-bodied resonator guitars first appeared in the 1920s and were played by many blues musicians. Here I celebrate these amazing vintage guitars and their modern counterparts, while also taking a look at the mining industry that produces the metals that go into them.

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Recent Posts

  • Old closet doors: better in guitars than landfill
  • War and peace: hanging on to hope
  • Football, flowers and tone: objective reality versus perception
  • Guitars made from bamboo: who knew?!
  • The view from space: Martin’s Earth Guitar

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