+ All Categories
Home > Documents > issue 2 spring 2013 The guitar Jack built Brook Issue 2.pdf · issue 2 spring 2013 Welcome... ......

issue 2 spring 2013 The guitar Jack built Brook Issue 2.pdf · issue 2 spring 2013 Welcome... ......

Date post: 26-Aug-2018
Category:
Upload: ledien
View: 222 times
Download: 0 times
Share this document with a friend
20
Babbling news. music. players. instruments. issue 2 spring 2013 Welcome... ...to the second edition of ‘Babbling Brook’, our online magazine for all things ‘Brook Guitars’. Hard to believe that almost a year has gone by since the first issue was launched – but there’s been lots going on at our workshops since then... ...not least of which is the stunning custom Taw you can see here! Also featured in this issue are two longtime friends of ours – Steve Yates, a stunningly original and award-winning fingerstyle composer/guitarist, and the wonderful singer-songwriter Phil Bird – and much more. As always, we value your opinion and would love to hear from you, so call or email to tell us what you think of ‘Babbling Brook’ – and who knows, we could even discuss your ‘next guitar’! Cheers... Simon and Andy Founders, Brook Guitars Brook takes its custom building to ‘nouveau’heights, with this very special model (left). To find out more about the project – and the Easterbrook Art of Inlay – see page 2... The guitar Jack built...
Transcript
Page 1: issue 2 spring 2013 The guitar Jack built Brook Issue 2.pdf · issue 2 spring 2013 Welcome... ... It is, quite simply, the most stunningly ornate custom Brook guitar ever ... Takeuchi

Babbling

news. music. players. instruments.

issue 2 spring 2013

Welcome......to the second edition of‘Babbling Brook’, our onlinemagazine for all things ‘BrookGuitars’.

Hard to believe that almost a yearhas gone by since the first issuewas launched – but there’s beenlots going on at our workshopssince then...

...not least of which is the stunningcustom Taw you can see here!

Also featured in this issue are twolongtime friends of ours – SteveYates, a stunningly original andaward-winning fingerstylecomposer/guitarist, and the

wonderful singer-songwriter PhilBird – and much more.

As always, we value your opinionand would love to hear from you,so call or email to tell us what youthink of ‘Babbling Brook’ – andwho knows, we could even discussyour ‘next guitar’!

Cheers...

Simon and AndyFounders, Brook Guitars

Brook takes its custom building to ‘nouveau’heights, with this very special model (left).To find out more about the project – and the Easterbrook Art of Inlay – see page 2...

The guitarJack built...

Page 2: issue 2 spring 2013 The guitar Jack built Brook Issue 2.pdf · issue 2 spring 2013 Welcome... ... It is, quite simply, the most stunningly ornate custom Brook guitar ever ... Takeuchi

page 2 www.brookguitars.com

continued on page 3

It is, quite simply, the most stunningly ornate custom Brook guitar everbuilt at the Easterbrook workshop. Here, its creator Jack Smidmoredescribes how he found inspiration in the work of Czech Art Nouveaupainter and decorative artist Alphonse Mucha – and reveals a few secretsabout the fine art of inlay...

Brook Taw

Page 3: issue 2 spring 2013 The guitar Jack built Brook Issue 2.pdf · issue 2 spring 2013 Welcome... ... It is, quite simply, the most stunningly ornate custom Brook guitar ever ... Takeuchi

www.brookguitars.com page 3

continued on page 4

The project was very much a one-off, but I really do hopethat the guitar as a whole isappreciated not just assomething to be looked at ina glass case, but also played...

““

I’D been thinking about making a reallyspecial one-off guitar for six or sevenmonths. I knew at the outset that I wantedto cover it with my inlay work, but I alsowanted the design of the inlays and guitar

to work together as a whole.

I started to think about Art Deco or Art Nouveauas the style or theme and began to research theInternet for some inspiration. I stumbled acrossAlphonse Mucha’s work and basically fell in lovewith it: fantastic, stylish, colourful painting anddesign, and I could also see that there was a lot ofpotential to adapt his work to make somebeautiful inlays.

The headstock and back inlays were based on apainting called ‘Dance’ (see page 4) and luckily,Mucha’s work is in the public domain! After workingon the main inlays I designed the rosette, looselybasing it on another Mucha ‘nouveau’ border, thenthe heel cap and finally, the position markers.

Originally, my plan was to make a Creedy, as Ithought that a traditional parlour size guitarwould suit the whole Art Nouveau idea, but theback inlay really didn’t suit the Creedy shape, andby this point I had decided I wanted to repeat the‘Dance’ inlay on our standard flat headstock.

I really like the shape of the Taw – I have onemyself at home – with its tight waist and widerlower bout I felt the inlays worked the best with

Page 4: issue 2 spring 2013 The guitar Jack built Brook Issue 2.pdf · issue 2 spring 2013 Welcome... ... It is, quite simply, the most stunningly ornate custom Brook guitar ever ... Takeuchi

page 4 www.brookguitars.com

Inspirationbehind theinstrument

ALPHONSE Maria Mucha (above) was born in the town ofIvanãice, Moravia (the present Czech Republic) in 1860.

Drawing had been his main hobby from childhood, andfollowing high school he worked at decorative painting jobsin Moravia, mostly painting theatrical scenery, before takingup freelance decorative and portraiture.

Moving to Paris in 1887, Mucha produced magazine andadvertising illustrations. Around Christmas 1894, hehappened to go into a print shop where there was a suddenand unexpected need for a new poster advertising a playfeaturing the famous actress Sarah Bernhardt. Muchavolunteered to create a lithographed poster, and Bernhardtwas so impressed with the result that she began a six-yearcontract with Mucha.

Mucha went on to produce a flurry of paintings, posters,advertisements, and book illustrations, as well as designs forjewellery, carpets, wallpaper, and theatre sets in what wastermed initially ‘The Mucha Style’, but became known as ArtNouveau (French for ‘new art’).

His works frequently featured beautiful young women inflowing, vaguely Neo-classical-looking robes, oftensurrounded by lush flowers which sometimes formed halosbehind their heads.

Mucha’s work has continued to experience periodic revivalsof interest for illustrators and artists. Interest in Mucha’sdistinctive style was strong during the 1960s (with a generalinterest in Art Nouveau) and is particularly evident in manypsychedelic posters.

More recently, Japanesemanga artists NaokoTakeuchi and MasakazuKatsura have mimickedhis style several times,while former MarvelComics Editor in Chief JoeQuesada also borrowedfrom Mucha’s techniquesfor a series of covers,posters, and prints.

this model. As for the sound, the Taw isn’t one ofour larger models, but it produces a great soundthat suits different styles of playing. I’m quietlyconfident that this one will too.

I had to make a decision about what woods touse for the back and sides before I started the restof the inlay work, because I’d decided thatwhatever wood I chose would be used for theinlays too. Again, the idea was that although theguitar would be covered in inlays, I wanted thedesign to work as a whole, to be beautiful butsubtle at the same time.

We had recently cut up 11 sets of bubinga, whichjust seemed to arrive at the right time andperfectly fitted the bill. Bubinga is quite a hard,stiff wood with a rich dark orange/red colour; it’snicely flamed and worked really well with theblack ebony that we used for the bindings,fingerboard and bridge.

So, apart from the back and headstock inlay, therepeated use of bubinga and ebony wouldprovide the red and black theme that appealed tome; the front is a beautiful, highly-figured set ofAlpine spruce that is perfectly book-matched; andthe laminate neck is flamed sycamore with abubinga and ebony centre stripe, along with astacked decorative heel.

The approach I took with the bracing was to tryto do as little different from standard as possible,to be honest. We’ve made over 1,000 guitars now continued on page 5

from page 3

(Right) ‘Dance’, the originalMucha painting which

inspired Jack’s stunningBrook Taw Nouveau

Brook Taw

and know what works, so apart from one extraback brace to add a little support under the largeback inlay, all the internal bracing, blocks, liningsetc. are all as standard. The back’s only slightlythicker than normal, but since the bubinga isquite stiff and the back is pressed into a curve, I'mconfident that the inlay won’t adversely affect thestructural integrity or tone of the instrument.

In total, there are 16 individual inlays on thisguitar; the back inlay alone consists of 83individual pieces and the headstock has 62.

Unfortunately, there wasn't enough room to usethe Brook logo in its usual position on the headveneer inlay so I incorporated ‘Brook’ into the 12th

Page 5: issue 2 spring 2013 The guitar Jack built Brook Issue 2.pdf · issue 2 spring 2013 Welcome... ... It is, quite simply, the most stunningly ornate custom Brook guitar ever ... Takeuchi

www.brookguitars.com page 5

I must admit that I haven’tgiven her a name – or perhapsit’s just that I don’t want to gettoo attached to her...

fret position marker inlay.

The inlay work alone took around 100 hours over about three months,on top of the 80 hours that we estimate goes into the construction ofone standard instrument.

The guitar is now on display at Ivor Mairants in London, and is for sale at£5,500, if anyone fancies taking a closer look and trying it out! That’sobviously a lot of money, but it is a very special guitar – I certainly wishit was mine.

The project was very much a one-off, but I really do hope that the guitaras a whole is appreciated not just as something to be looked at in aglass case, but also played.

I must admit that I haven’t given her a name, I’ve just been calling her’Taw Nouveau, style 020’ – or perhaps it’s just that I don’t want to get tooattached to her!

from page 4

(Above) Jack strums the first few chords on his one-of-a-kind custom Taw

Brook Taw

The guitar Jack built...Bear-claw Engelmann top

Figured bubinga back and sides

Figured maple, bubinga and ebony laminated neck

Ebony fingerboard, bridge and head veneer

Ebony binding with bubinga purfling

Waverly tuners

Bone nut and saddle

Elixir Polyweb Light strings

Page 6: issue 2 spring 2013 The guitar Jack built Brook Issue 2.pdf · issue 2 spring 2013 Welcome... ... It is, quite simply, the most stunningly ornate custom Brook guitar ever ... Takeuchi

page 6 www.brookguitars.com

continued on page 7

HERE was a time when simpledots on the fingerboard and theoccasional headstock logo werethe extent of the ‘decoration’ tobe found on the average guitar.

Notable exceptions were, of course,Gibsons – reknowned for the slabs ofabalone and ‘signature’ trapezoid inlays onmany of their instruments – whilst the levelof inlay on a Martin has always beentraditionally increased proportionate to theprice tag of the model concerned!

Today, however, the ‘art of inlay’ hasreached new heights, developing as it hasin close parallel to the increasingly highstandards that many modern luthierscontinue to set in their work.

At one end of the scale are the elaboratedesigns that span the entire surface of afingerboard, front and/or back of a guitar;arguably, such instruments are rightlyconsidered works of art in themselves,though – sadly – seldom destined to beplayed, heard and enjoyed in public.

Instead, they are more likely to be

The fine art of

A selection of some of the inlay work carried out by Jack over the last 12 years...

Raw materials:some of

Brook’s stockof abalone and

mother-of-pearl, in its

natural state

Custom builds are the lifeblood ofBrook Guitars. From a slight variationon a ‘standard’model’s spec to thechoice of timbers used, there are manyways to make a guitar uniquely yourown. But when it comes topersonalising your instrument throughits inlay, that’s where Jack Smidmore,Brook’s resident expert, comes in...Interview: Martin Bell.

consigned to a glass case, or – worse still – ahermetically-sealed vault, locked away as avaluable collector’s item.

Then there are those for whom an inlaydesign affords them the opportunity topersonalise an instrument in a completelyunique way, whether through something

as simple as their initials at the 12th fret –or a more poignant motif/illustration.

At Brook, Jack Smidmore has carved out hisown niche as ‘inlayer-in-chief’ during thepast 12 years, initially beginning with...

Page 7: issue 2 spring 2013 The guitar Jack built Brook Issue 2.pdf · issue 2 spring 2013 Welcome... ... It is, quite simply, the most stunningly ornate custom Brook guitar ever ... Takeuchi

there anything you’ve ever been asked to do that’snot been possible, or that you’ve refused?

JS: There have been things thatcustomers have wanted that I justcouldn’t do and I must say that I doprefer to work on my own designs. Butif I can work out a design based on acustomer’s suggestion and it’s whatthey want, then I’ll do it. I’ve worked onall kinds of different designs over theyears: birds, dragons, gargoyles,mountain ranges, skulls, dolphins,trees, wolves, leaves, flowers, tigers,cats, horses, knots, names, faces – andeven a complex copy of a customer’stattoo.

www.brookguitars.com page 7

continued on page 8

from page 6

The fine art of

Tiger, tiger: Jack has earned his ‘stripes’ at Brook with work such as this...

Bottom: The Larry Robinson book that first inspired Jack’s work

Left (from top): Bullrushes anddragonfly design, from an originalconcept by customer Steve, fromSouth Devon; Tranors/cranes inlaid into the rearof the headstock of a custom ‘Tidan’for Daniel in Sweden; Rocky Mountains High – arecreation of the Colorado range forJohn Denver fan/Midlands singer-songwriter Mark Robinson

initials (!), and working towards the stunning BrookTaw Nouveau featured in this issue.

I started by asking Jack whether he had undergoneany formal/informal art training, before or sincejoining the Brook team...

JS: Apart from a GCSE in graphic design I have had noformal training, I have always been artistic and spentmany years drawing before I started doing the inlay andmarquetry work.

MB: How did you first get into the inlay work?

JS: The inlaying came about solely through work; Ithink the first inlay I attempted was maybe acustomer’s initials on the 12th fret, probably about 12years ago now. From there, it would just be smallthings like that, a logo here, a name there, a flower, aCeltic knot. At first I found the whole process quitestressful, and I was basically learning as I went along.After spending years drawing asmuch detail into my pictures as Icould with depth and shadow,drawing every hair etc., movingonto inlays with solid lines,edges and a limited area towork with was frustrating. Overthe years I’ve realised thatinlay/marquetry work is just atotally different craft. I’m nowmuch more confident with mydesign, cutting and use ofmaterials.

MB: What is the mostunusual/bizarre requestyou’ve had to personalise aguitar with inlay? And is

I’m proud of all my work,whether it’s a reallycomplex piece, some finelettering or a fantasticcombination of woods...

Page 8: issue 2 spring 2013 The guitar Jack built Brook Issue 2.pdf · issue 2 spring 2013 Welcome... ... It is, quite simply, the most stunningly ornate custom Brook guitar ever ... Takeuchi

MB: ...and what about the simplest?

JS: Not sure I’ve done one of those yet!

MB: What are the challenges – technical orotherwise – in producing fine inlay worksuch as yours?

JS: There are three parts to my inlay work;the design, the selection of materials & thecutting. As long you get those things rightit’s easy!

page 8 www.brookguitars.com

continued on page 9

from page 7

The fine art of

No, it all starts with the design. An inlay isessentially just a complex little jigsaw puzzle,pieces have solid edges that don’t blend andas I don’t do any engraving on my work allthe lines of detail are cut in using a saw.Over the years, I’ve worked out what level ofdetail is possible, how to use shadow andcreate depth. Material selection is importantfor creating depth and detail too, how aparticular piece of abalone reflects the lightfrom the viewing angle or how the grain orflame in a piece of wood can add texture ordetail to a design. The thing I most like aboutmy finished inlay work as opposed to my

drawing is the addition of colour, wood is beautiful and my preference forinlay work.As for things going wrong, I try to design an inlay that I will be able to cutbut the cutting is the really hard bit, it’s a case of having to get it right – orbeing prepared to start that bit again.

MB: What sort of depths/thicknesses of materials are you working with?And does an intricate fingerboard inlay create any problems when itcomes to re-fretting, or adjusting the relief on a neck? Does it have to beable to ‘bend’ with the wood, for example?

JS: I thickness my wood veneers to 2.2mm but after sanding they end upjust under 2mm. The abalone and Mother of Pearl comes in smaller piecesand tends to be thinner, around 1.5mm. When the guitar goes together, the neck is glued on and left to settle for acouple of days. We’ll then level the fingerboard and take out any humps ordips, before routing out the cavity for the inlay. As I initially leave my inlaysloose, they take on the camber of the fingerboard before we glue and fillaround them, prior to the frets going in. That does mean that when weeventually come to do a re-fret it’s less likely we’ll sand through the inlay.

MB:To create a design such as, for example, the tiger, the tranors/cranesor the ‘nouveau’ guitar, where do you start? Do you trace over an

Some of my latestwork is based fromsource photos. Afterprinting out a picture,I’ll lightly trace thenre-draw it, dividing itup into sections...

Pencil-drawn examples of the artistic skills andattention to detail Jack puts into his inlay work

Page 9: issue 2 spring 2013 The guitar Jack built Brook Issue 2.pdf · issue 2 spring 2013 Welcome... ... It is, quite simply, the most stunningly ornate custom Brook guitar ever ... Takeuchi

www.brookguitars.com page 9

from page 8

The fine art of

(Right) Jack uses a jeweller’ssaw to cut out the intricate

pieces of an inlay design, andearly alternative headstockdesigns for the ‘Brook Taw

Nouveau’

(From top) The work of William ‘Grit’Laskin, Jimmi Wingert and CF Martin

original ‘source’ picture and work from there, or is everythingdone completely ‘by eye’?

JS: I draw out my designs in both of those ways to be honest. Allof the ‘nouveau’ guitar inlay work was drawn out freehand, tryingto copy the Mucha ‘Dance’ design as closely as I could. The soundhole, V, position markers etc were drawn out with pencil until Iwas happy with the designs. The tiger inlays and some of mylatest work is based more from source photos. After resizing,editing and printing out the picture, I’ll lightly trace the outlineusing a light box, then redraw the image dividing it up intosections and deciding what changes I want or need to make tothe design as I go along.

MB: Aside from your fabulous ‘Taw Nouveau’ project, what inlaywork are you most proud of over the years?

JS: I’m proud of all of my work, whether it’s a really complexpiece, some fine lettering or a fantastic combination ofwoods….the truth is – I’m most proud of the last inlay that Icomplete and hopefully the next one I finish will turn out to bethe one that I am most proud of!

MB: Are you hoping that the ‘art nouveau’ guitar will be a‘player’s instrument’, or do you see it more of a ‘collector’sitem’? It’s definitely not the sort of guitar I’d feel comfortablehanding around in the pub, for example!

JS: I know what you mean, the guitar is very much a one-off but Ido hope that the guitar as a whole is appreciated as not just assomething to be looked at but also played.

MB: Have you been inspired by any other makers’ inlay work(eg Larrivee, William ‘Grit’ Laskin etc)?

JS: Larry Robinson’s work is great, he’s been doing inlay work forlonger than I have been alive and it was his ‘The Art of Inlay’ bookthat first inspired me and showed me the sort of thing that couldbe done. I also like Jimmi Wingert’s work, but as for whose work Ireally admire, it would have to be ‘Grit’ Laskin’s stuff, which isabsolutely incredible.

MB: I’m asking you to play ‘devil’s advocate’ slightly now – thereare some stunning examples of the ‘art of inlay’ to be found onso many instruments – the millioneth Martin guitar, forexample, and some of the Grit Laskin guitars, where there’s somuch inlay involved, no wood is even visible. But is there a‘good taste’ line that’s sometimes crossed – albeit in the nameof creating a true collector’s instrument? What are yourthoughts?

JS: After making the ‘Taw Nouveau’ this might sound a bit of acontradictory answer but, yes, I DO think there is a ‘good taste’line that is often crossed! I’m personally not very keen on guitarswith A LOT of abalone inlay work; I can certainly appreciate thecraftsmanship and work that has gone into these ‘shiny’ guitars,but I do often wonder what an instrument with as much pearlinlaid directly into the wood sounds like.I love the way Grit Laskin uses the head veneer and fingerboardas a canvas for work that is interesting, well-designed andincredibly executed, but there is something about how abalone &Mother of pearl sits with any wood other than ebony that I’m notso keen on...

MB: And finally, what project is next on the cards?

JS: One of my Harris Hawk headstock inlays is going to be used ona stock Taw that’s making its way through the workshop now.Other than that, I’m usually either working on a customer’s inlayat work, a possible future customer’s inlay at home or a newdesign. At the moment, I have a selection of designs ready to goand it’s just a case of choosing which one to start next...

Page 10: issue 2 spring 2013 The guitar Jack built Brook Issue 2.pdf · issue 2 spring 2013 Welcome... ... It is, quite simply, the most stunningly ornate custom Brook guitar ever ... Takeuchi

page 10 www.brookguitars.com

continued on page 11

West Country musician/composer Stephen Yates is one of select group of Brook customers to have won ‘Guitarist’magazine’s ‘Acoustic Guitarist of the Year’ title. Steve’s challenging solo guitar pieces are showcased on the 2010 CD‘Stories in the Strings’, and here, in a wide-ranging interview, he talked to Martin Bell about his music, composing onan ancient Atari computer – and his electric alter-ego, Fieldmarshal Gorsefinger... Photos: Melissa Till

It would be greatto sit back in theaudience andwatch othersperform my workswithout having toworry aboutwhether my handswere warmed upor if my memorywas on the ball...

MB: When and how did you first start playing?

SY: When I was 13, my mother was helping to look aftera boy with severe learning difficulties who also owned acheap plywood guitar, which ended up lying aroundour house. I would sit with it and mess around, playingbits of music I’d heard here and there, whether it waserstwhile pop songs or attempts at flamenco or ‘ThreeBlind Mice’. I didn't regard it as ‘learning an instrument’, Iwas just messing about. After a while, I was allowed tohave a go on a Spanish guitar my mother owned. That’show it all started...

MB: Who/what were your earliest influences?

SY: That year (1973) I do recall hearing Segovia on theradio a couple of times and being very taken by thesound of the classical guitar. On top of that, I’d always

loved the sound of the flamenco guitar and my mumpicked up a copy of ‘Flamenco Virtuoso’ by Philip JohnLee (who sadly died recently), which I listened toincessantly and which gave me my first experience ofworking stuff out off records. I was also interested in theelectric guitar as the older kids in school had bandswho’d perform occasionally playing contemporary hits. Iremember reading somewhere that in terms of sheerphysical complexity, the guitar was the hardestinstrument in the world and that was another spur. Whocould resist that challenge!

MB: Was music always your primary career goal?

SY: In school I flatly refused to study music as I knew itwould ruin my enjoyment of the subject just as it haddone to every other, but I did after about 18 months

Storiesin the

Strings

Page 11: issue 2 spring 2013 The guitar Jack built Brook Issue 2.pdf · issue 2 spring 2013 Welcome... ... It is, quite simply, the most stunningly ornate custom Brook guitar ever ... Takeuchi

www.brookguitars.com page 11

from page 10

Storiesin the

Stringssubmit to my mother’s demands to get a privateteacher as I had to admit that by that time my playinghad reached quite an advanced level, ( I was alreadylearning classical concert pieces) armed as I was with full-sized photos of Segovia’s hands and ancient tomes bysuch luminaries as Aguado etc. So I studied with DavidStanley in Exeter and subsequently with DouglasRogers at the London College of Music. Obviously Inever had lessons on electric guitar, or in blues playingor banjo, or any of my other stuff, as there were noteachers of those styles then. Sometime around age 16 Iguess I started to realise that I wanted to be a full-timeguitarist, but I still had to go through the pointless ritualof A levels in subjects I had no interest in by then andcouldn’t really give the guitar my undivided attentiontill I was 18.

MB: How do you make your living today?

SY: Most of my income is derived from teaching butdue to times being as hard as they are I'm actuallyforced to put on concerts just to earn a little moremoney. Never let it be said that hardships don't havetheir benefits.

MB: You reached a point in 2005, when – by your ownadmission –you were ‘forced to accept that classicalguitar and me were doomed to part company’. Yetrecently, you seem to have returned to it again, re-recording compositions originally composed/performedon the steel-string guitar. Why is that?

SY: When I said I had parted company with classicalguitar I was thinking primarily about the whole clasiscalrepertoire thing. I have no intention of going back toplaying programmes entirely made up of other people’sworks, although I always throw in a few when playing to‘non-specialist’ audiences. My main aim was to be acomposer performer and I didn’t seem to be able tocompose on a Spanish guitar for some reason. Itsparticular sonority did not inspire ideas. The issue of theinstrument is also important, inasmuch as I don’t seewhy a steel strung guitar cannot be used in this way (i.e.for through-composed pieces). Barrios used steel stringsand not always out of necessity either, because when

the opportunity to switch to gut came he turned itdown. It’s true I had no initial intention of performingmy works on a nylon string instrument but it becameapparent that many of them would actually soundbetter this way, and ultimately it’s the music that matters.I enjoy the projection and dynamic of a good Spanishguitar and the fact that I don’t need to amplify. I’m not,however, abandoning steel string in any way. It’s justtaken me the last nine months to get my pieces to workproperly on a Spanish, and all my latest Youtube uploadshave been on such an instrument. I must admit, theyseem to work well on it!

MB: There are few, if any, other guitarists playing suchcomplex music on the steel-string acoustic; did youhave to make any technical ‘concessions’ to playingthese pieces on the steel-string guitar, or were theyoriginally conceived for the instrument?

SY: To date, all my pieces were written on a steel-strunginstrument except those that were written on acomputer, with no specific sound in mind (eg ‘Mr Hyde'sHop’ and ‘Elegy for a Forgotten Story’). ‘The Girl WhoTouched The Sky’ was written on an electric guitaroriginally, although I perform it on acoustic. I have up tonow made few if any concessions to difficulty. I neverever thought I’d perform ‘Mr Hyde's Hop’ because Iassumed it to be unplayable on a single guitar. Thepiece was just written as an abstract piece, and a lot ofwork went into finding fingerings that would render itplayable without altering the notes. My new year’s resolution, however, is to write slightlyeasier pieces, as the amount of preparation some of mystuff requires is something of a nuisance. Obviously,these pieces are even harder on a nylon string (Spanish)guitar as the neck is a lot thicker and high fret accessseverely limited. I’ll never be able to play ‘The Girl WhoTouched the Sky’ on one, because the high passagescan’t be made to sound smooth – at least not by me.

MB: Do you usually compose with guitar in hand or doyou adopt the view that it's better that techniqueshould expand in order to play new music?

SY: Composing on the instrument has two big

FOR all his virtuosity on the acoustic/classical guitar,Steve is equally well-known for his prowess on theelectric guitar. He holds regular electric workshops nearhis Devon home, and has produced an electric guitarensemble repertoire under the pseudonym‘FieldMarshall GorseFinger’...

MB: Did your electric guitar playing develop inparallel to your classical/acoustic studies?

SY: It’s worth remembering that the early 1970s werea period of tremendous musical eclecticism. Electricguitarists such as Jan Akkerman, for instance,thought nothing of including a few renaissance lutesolos on their albums, and John Williams was seenplaying a Les Paul! As a result, I played both classicaland rock and saw nothing odd in so doing. I was alsoplaying bluegrass banjo and masses of blues. In fact,for a while those two areas were where I spent mostof my time. I still think I’m a better banjo player thanguitarist.

MB: Do you regard electric and acoustic as twoseparate ‘identities’or two halves of the same whole?

SY: This is a really interesting question and I could goon all day but I’ll try not to! I’ve always noticed that Ican’t practice electric in the morning and classical inthe afternoon as when I am enthused with either oneI am consumed by it and have no interest in the other. Everything about electric guitar seems almostanathema to a classical sensibility and vice versa. I’deven go as far as to say that my whole personalityalters depending on which one I’m immersed in so,yes, they ARE separate identities but it’s not electricwhich is the odd one out but classical. I’d lump myelectric playing self in with my steel string, blues andbanjo-playing self, but when I play classicaleverything alters and was one reason why I havealways been uncomfortable as a straight classicalplayer and contributed to why I gave it up. When I play electric, there’s not a whiff of theclassical or acoustic about it. I play a bluesy fusionstyle these days, although I was a hard rock player inmy youth. I like plenty of caustic overdrive a la Frank Zappa,although these days I use a Strat. I suppose the

player I most admire atpresent is Guthrie Govan andI tend in that direction but alittle less jazzy.

www.myspace.com/fieldmarshallgorsefinger

Eclecticelectric...

continued on page 12

Page 12: issue 2 spring 2013 The guitar Jack built Brook Issue 2.pdf · issue 2 spring 2013 Welcome... ... It is, quite simply, the most stunningly ornate custom Brook guitar ever ... Takeuchi

advantages. Firstly, you are able to work directly on thesonorities and textures that will make the music

attractive. Music written away from the instrumentcan often feel awkward in this respect. Muchclassical guitar repertoire of the last century waswritten by non guitarists and can suffer in thisway. Creating a consistent sonority is vital toguitar music, hence the reason so many playersthese days use DADGAD. Look at the marveloussound flamenco players get – they write on the

instrument. Secondly, the music is, as a result ofthese factors, usually a lot easier to perform.

On the other hand, writing away from theinstrument is a lot quicker. Put a guitar in my hands

and the fingers will immediately suggest myriadalternatives to any given phrase resulting in a severe‘bogging down’ of the creative process. Personally, I canwrite three or four pieces using my computer to holdeach idea as it comes in the time it would take me toget one piece together on the instrument, with all therepetitive faffing that goes with doing it that way.

MB: Speaking of computers, I know that you have anold machine to assist you while composing. How doesthis work?

SY: I use a truly antedeluvian Atari 1040 running aprogramme called Notator, which brings the basic scoreon the screen and you click your crotchets and quaverson with the mouse. The whole thing is only 2MB anddates from about 1988. I run it into an old RolandJV1080 synth which can, if I want it to, sound like acrude orchestra. My current method of composition is a cunningcombination of on the instrument and off with mesitting at the computer with a guitar on my lap. I thinkof what I want to hear and put the notes in. I then checkthe phrase on the guitar for playability and sound andmake what adjustments are necessary to create aguitaristic effect. This way I don’t have to makemodifications once the piece is finished. I’ll then write itout by hand on manuscript and learn it as I would anypiece.

MB: How do you approach composition? Some of

page 12 www.brookguitars.com

I’ve found exceptional delicacyand lightness of tone in Brookguitars – very bright but alsosweet and ideally suited tofingerstyle playing...

from page 11

Storiesin the

Strings

continued on page 13

your pieces appear to be very muchcentred on harmonic/theoretic/technical concepts – others (particularlya tune like ‘Summers Spent’) possessmore melodic romanticism aboutthem, and tell more of a story. Discuss!

SY: Ultimately, it’s all about having apiece of music in my head that I want tomake concrete and doing so, but theprocess can take several forms. A piecelike ‘Io Pan’ has a structural concept thatI decided I would stick to come whatmay and use as a backbone for themelodies, which could then be made toecho each other as a result of thiscommon rhythmic relationship. On theother hand, ‘Elegy for a Forgotten Story’was an attempt to create a certain soniceffect of slow floating melodies over arather expansive backdrop. As a rule I find the most important factoris some sort of cohesive structure.Above all the music must feel balancedotherwise no amount of pretty tunesand harmonies will redeem it fromsounding awful.

There are times when I may map outwhole sections so that I know how longmelodic phrases are going to need tobe. This is one area where working onthe Atari is very helpful. The overallstructure is much easier to monitor. I dohave concepts in terms of melody andharmony. My first completed solo piecewas ‘The Girl Who Touched the Sky’ andthat is an exploration of the hexatonicscale using pentatonic in the melodybut referring to a sixth note in the bassor internal voices. This inspired me touse this system rather a lot and peoplemight be forgiven for thinking that thatis my compositional style but in fact itwas just a phase I was going through.My more typical style would beexemplified by either ‘Mr Hyde’s Hop’ or‘March For A Free Man’, especially thelatter with its ambiguous tonality. If you

look on Myspace under ‘Music’, for‘FieldMarshall GorseFinger’ you will hearsome of my compositions for electricguitar ensemble. One, entitled ‘Return Tothe Sky’, is an attempt to use ‘The GirlWho Touched...’ style but enriched by thelarger number of notes happening atany one time. ‘Gorilla Tango’ and ‘ZoochThrust Sprool, Caroline Thrust Zooch’ arehighly chromatic and ‘Man Stacks Stone’was where I first turned on to thehexatonic thing and was actually whereI derived many of the chord shapes andideas for ‘The Girl Who Touched The Sky’.

MB: Do you think of yourself as aguitarist who composes your ownmusic - or a composer who just sohappens to play guitar?

SY: I think if I had more outlet for mynon guitar stuff I might start feeling likemore of a composer. It would be greatto sit back in the audience and watchothers perform my works, withouthaving to worry about whether myhands were warmed up or if mymemory was on the ball. Hell, I couldeven have a drink BEFORE the gig! As ithappens though I must confess tofeeling more of a guitarist who nowperforms his own stuff although it doesmake a sizeable difference to how I viewperforming. When I played standardrepertoire it was all about how well I godown as a player.( compared to all thenames who have played those works inthe past) Now it's also how well thepieces go down. I don't feel I’m beingcompared to others so much, which is arelief, but on the other hand I have todish up music no-one’s ever heardbefore and make them like it.

MB: What music do you listen to andwhat inspires you?

My standard answer is that I never listento music – but that’s not strictly true. Ienjoy the folk music of all parts of theworld, particularly in its unmodernisedforms; the more ‘primitive’ the better. I’m developing a Radio 3 habit atpresent and I’ve always enjoyed theRussian nationalists, such as Mussorgsky,as well as great quantities of early 20thcentury stuff like Ravel or Scriabin. I still like the old blues men and recentlywrote a number of songs in the style ofCharlie Patton, as it’s hard to find

Page 13: issue 2 spring 2013 The guitar Jack built Brook Issue 2.pdf · issue 2 spring 2013 Welcome... ... It is, quite simply, the most stunningly ornate custom Brook guitar ever ... Takeuchi

musicians with any commitment down herethese have never been performed. I adoreFlamenco and keep telling myself to maketime to actually play it as it was my first loveon the guitar. I do like some popular forms. Alot of 70s prog still inspires me, or a band likeLittle Feat, and there’s masses of new stuff Ienjoy too. I really like electronic music if it’sdone well; Aphex Twin, for example, is anartist I’ve been very impressed by. I still enjoy much reggae, especially some ofthe older stuff like Prince Far I or AugustusPablo. It has a haunting quality that’s reallyunique.Two artists in particular have had an impact

on me. One is Don Vliet, aka CaptainBeefheart, who has inspired me in much of

the electric guitar compositions that I’vedone, even if they aren’t actually usingsimilar ideas as such. The other – muchmore importantly for me, since he’sgreatly influenced my compositions –is a man who, strangely enough, was aschool friend of Vliet’s, and that is, of

course, the late, great Mr Frank Zappa.It was hearing his piece ‘G-Spot Tornado’

that made me realise I could compose asI was able to notate it in my mind whilst

hearing it due to the musical languagecorresponding to the one I had becomefamiliar with through my study of the electricguitar. This served as a window into widermusical systems becoming available to me inthe same way as all the myriad bizarre scales Iused while improvising became tools forcomposition. In general I’m not sure if I’ve spoken muchabout my compositional influences, but Idefinitely feel an affinity with Ravel andStravinsky, as well as Mussorgsky, Janacek,Scriabin, Kordaly and Zappa. Progressive rockis also something that permeates what I do,as well as world music and early music. OldIrish harp music, of which very little survives,is a good example of the type of thing I like toplay with.

MB: What guitarists/musicians do you like/listen to?

SY: I’ve probably had a phase of being ‘into’pretty much every guitarist I’ve ever heard(well, maybe with a few exceptions). There’salways something to latch onto. One player,though, stands out a mile and that’s Paco deLucia. He revolutionised flamenco guitar notonce, or even twice, but three times! He hasproduced more crossover sub-genres, newensemble line-ups and instrumentalcombinations and general internationalism

www.brookguitars.com page 13

from page 12Storiesin the

Strings

than any other musician I can think of – and he’sa guitarist! There’s something we can all beproud of. Others who continue to inspire meinclude Kazuhito Yamashita; what he did in the1980s is still unsurpassed and he is in myopinion the one true original thinker in classicalguitar of the last 30 years. Guthrie Govan is alsosomeone I am constantly in awe of. What hecan’t do on electric isn’t worth doing. I could go on, but there are really too many. Asfor musicians who are not guitarists: all of them!All the leading classical soloists, singers, jazzsaxophonists, Mongolian throat singers, Irishuilleann pipers. Dead or alive, they’re all great...

MB: What musical projects do you currentlyhave on the go?

SY: At present I just want to build up arespectable body of solo guitar works. I have amass of musical styles and ideas that I’ve yet totry on the guitar and I’m on the lookout forwhat might be the best way forward. Only byconstant experimentation will I discover what Ilike to write and to perform, and what willmake the most effective guitar music. There areother things I’d like to do as well, but I feel atpresent that I need to press on with my sologuitar project. I haven’t composed anything in2012 as a way of refreshing my creativeenergies, so you can guess what my 2013 NewYear’s resolution is...

MB: Besides being a fellow Devonian, whatled you to Brook guitars?

SY: Well, I’ve known Simon (Smidmore) since1976, so I suppose that is the main reason Iknew about Brook – although I wouldn’t buysomeone’s guitar if I didn't think it was good, nomatter how close a friend they were! I currently play a custom Taw, with a cutawayand a slightly short (63cm) scale. It has a sprucetop, Indian rosewood back and sides. It’s rather‘aristocratic’ sounding, which is in my opinionone of the strengths of Brook’s instruments.Very bright and full of overtones. It’s also a

beautiful guitar to look at as well. I used to owna Torridge, but sadly had to part with it someyears ago. At that time I wasn’t playing steel-string acoustic and I also wanted a Strat, so ithad to go. Shame, as it was a very fineinstrument.

MB: What qualities have I found in Brooks?

SY: Exceptional delicacy and lightness of toneand feel. Very bright, but also sweet and ideallysuited to fingerstyle playing. Bright and full ofovertones with an almost porcelain quality,especially in the basses, which gives greatclarity and definition. They also make a verywide variety of instruments which obviouslyincreases the likelihood of finding somethingyou like.

MB: Do you have any other instruments ‘inthe pipeline’?

SY: If you refer to me getting another Brookthen yes, I am thinking of getting a yew-backedguitar off them some time, as I’ve beenexceptionally impressed with their use of yewin guitars and its tonal qualities. In particular, Ilove the response that a guitar with back andsides of yew gives. It’s so light and easy to play,with a lot of sustain. I feel it gives similarcharacteristics as found in cypress, which isused for flamenco guitars, but applied to a steelstring i.e. lighter and more immediate. I nearly asked them to build me one when I waslooking at my current model, but it would havetaken time and so I did the ‘bird in the hand’thing and bought the one I did, but I do stilldefinitely lust somewhat over other people’syew-backed Brooks – so I suspect it’s only amatter of time before I succumb!

www.youtube.com/user/stephenyatesacoustic

www.stephenyatesguitaristcomposer.co.uk

Page 14: issue 2 spring 2013 The guitar Jack built Brook Issue 2.pdf · issue 2 spring 2013 Welcome... ... It is, quite simply, the most stunningly ornate custom Brook guitar ever ... Takeuchi

page 14 www.brookguitars.com

continued on page 15

The ‘art’ is the inspirationalbit; the ‘craft’ is the carefulworking of the initial melodyidea, to bring it out andrealise its full potential...

““

Like the Brook guitars he uses to accompany them, modern-day troubador Phil Bird’s songs aremeticulously hand-crafted in the West Country. Here, he discusses with Rob Jessep the art of song-writing, his inspiration and influences – and the general ‘quality’ of listening at open mic nights.Photos: Anna Georghiou

Bird songsI first met singer-songwriter Phil Bird and his lovelypartner, Anna Georghiou, at the summer party atBrook’s workshop in July 2012.

It was one of those amazing musical experiences thatoften strike one totally unexpectedly. I knew I wasgoing to meet some lovely people that weekend, andtake part in some wonderful music-making – but themoment I heard Phil’s distinctive voice singing one ofhis wonderfully authentic narratives, I knew I washearing someone with a unique gift: the ability notonly to weave truly mesmerising stories, but alsosomeone who could pen the most gorgeous melodiesand envelop them in a positively orchestral sound ofthe most intricately picked, harmonically rich textures,all backed up by a beautiful-sounding yew cutawayTamar.

I bought two of Phil’s self-released CDs, and knew thatI had to find out more about this fine musician, andshare it with fellow readers.

Rob Jessep

RJ: Phil, how would you describe your music and what you do?

PB: I am an independent singer songwriter. My songs often have a narrative quality, inspired by ourrelationship to history, folklore, mythology, the natural environment and each other, and probably 1,001crazy experiences that defy rational explanation!

Page 15: issue 2 spring 2013 The guitar Jack built Brook Issue 2.pdf · issue 2 spring 2013 Welcome... ... It is, quite simply, the most stunningly ornate custom Brook guitar ever ... Takeuchi

www.brookguitars.com page 15

It’s best to write ideasdown as you havethem, even if it has tobe on a beer mat or abus ticket. I’ve lost alot of stuff by beinglazy and thinking ‘oh, I’ll write it downlater...’

continued on page 16

from page 14

Phil with hisBrook custom

Tamar

Bird songsRJ: Hearing your guitar style for the first time I wasastonished by its intricacy and the orchestral soundyou get from your Tamar – who were your influences?

PB: I first played guitar in the late 60s. I loved theplaying of musicians as diverse as John Fahey, BertJansch, The Incredible String Band, Martin Carthy and awhole host of influences from that time. I don’tremember learning much from tablature books, but Ican still see myself in my angst ridden teenagebedroom slowing down the speed on the latest 33rpmvinyl to learn the and patterns licks.

RJ: Do you still play any tunes by those great players?

PB: I remember learning John Fahey’s ‘Sunflower RiverBlues’ note by note, and many of Bert Jansch’s beautifulsongs. Bert was a massive influence on a wholegeneration of guitarists. You could learn the licks butyou couldn’t imitate him; there was very individual soulat work in his playing, and very different to DaveyGraham, who was a major influence on him. Stuff that Ilearned then has influenced me immensely and hasbecome part of what I do, but no, I don’t play anyspecific tunes from that formative time.

RJ: Do you think that with the immediacy of theinternet, and other digital technologies, we arebeginning to lose valuable skills such as the ability tolearn songs from actually listening to records?

PB: Today we are immersed in the digital sea of musicand muzac, we are saturated with it and musical culturehas become very mix and match. The problem as I see itis that many of the younger players can acquire quitephenomenal technical skills and seem to see this as anend in itself, but sometimes the technical skills seem tohide an emotional vacuity.I had relatively few role models, but what I loved tolearn was as much of the heart as the head, immersedinside the music and learning to play it from the inside.Guitarists as musical gunslingers is not what it’s aboutfor me. Some of the most beautiful songs I have heardare pared down; the most technically sophisticatedmusic is not necessarily the most accomplished. Somesongs are moving because they have a pared downsimplicity, heartfelt, with a transparency of technique.

RJ: Your songs seem so perfectly structured and thelyrics so easy and free flowing. What comes first, thewords or the music?

PB: As a songwriter who runs song-writing workshops Ioften get to discuss this question. There are as manyways to write a song as there are songwriters. Whendoodling around on guitar a melody may suggest a

mood and words may enter into that; or a particularplace, memory, or incident may trigger the wish towrite and I bring it to the guitar later. I always keep asong writing diary, I also sketch out musical ideas withtablature and record them on the digi studio, so that Iremember them and work on them later. It’s best towrite ideas down as soon as you have them, even if ithas to be on a beer mat or a bus ticket, I have lost a lotof stuff by being lazy and thinking, “oh, I’ll write it downlater.”

RJ: So do you have studio at home?

PB: Yes, I have a Korg Digital Studio. I use two Sampsonlarge diaphragm mics, one at the lower bout and one atthe 12th fret to record the guitar, and I also use a Shurevocal mike. I am having to re-think this, however, as Ilike to record live with no overdubs and the condensersgive a lot of bleed-through from the vocals. I’m not verytechnically-minded, so I am seeking advice on this atthe moment.

RJ: Do your melodies come fully formed, or do theyrequire a bit of ‘crafting’?

PB: My melodies may have their roots in a love of folk

balladry contemporary and traditional, but I guessinfluences come from everywhere; we are saturatedwith music and muzak. When I’m playing with chordprogressions, a melody comes along and weavesaround that. Initially, a melody motif may be aspontaneous expression of mood. Whatever comes asinspiration needs to be shaped into a vessel whichsupports and carries the song’s narrative and essence.Beautiful melodies come like a gift from who knowswhere! But song-writing is a craft as well as an art. Theart is the inspirational bit, the craft is the carefulworking of the initial melody idea, to bring it out andrealise its full potential. It may be a bit of a cliché butsometimes the really beautiful melodies almost writethemselves.

RJ: I know when I come up with an idea I like, but isn’tquite fully formed, sometimes the pressure is on totry to make something of it – the ‘crafting’ bit is wherethe real hard work comes isn’t it?

PB: Yes, that’s right. I hope I’m getting better at honingdown and editing songs back to their essence. I’vealways been a word hoarder, so editing is hard work.

Page 16: issue 2 spring 2013 The guitar Jack built Brook Issue 2.pdf · issue 2 spring 2013 Welcome... ... It is, quite simply, the most stunningly ornate custom Brook guitar ever ... Takeuchi

page 16 www.brookguitars.com

I want to find out what it is I don’t know,and what a tuning can teach me...

continued on page 17

from page 15

Bird songsA painter once said something to me which I feelapplies equally to music: ‘If you have a precious jewel –your painting – you might find the whole painting getsblocked if you just try to fit all your composing decisionsaround it. Sometimes, we have to let go of the darling bits,and then the painting breathes again.’It’s like that with songs: each part is there to supportthe whole, not just to shine on its own.I have a song box where I put all the lines I like but can’tuse in a particular song. At song-writing workshops, Ioffer them out – if anyone is stuck for an idea, they canuse them. It’s a fun exercise and it works well, and getsinteresting results.

RJ: What tunings do you play in and what do you feelabout alternate tunings in general?

PB: I use what may now be seen as the ‘standard’alternative standard tuning – DADGAD – also variants ofopen C and G tunings in, both major and minor modes.On one or two pieces I have come across an interestingtuning by the ‘what happens if...’ method, ‘let’s see howit sounds when I drop the B down a half-tone...’, or stufflike that. I’m not very scientific or methodical about it. Iwould urge people to check out Woody Mann’s ‘Gig BagBook of Alternate Tunings’ (Amsco Publications, 1997).

RJ: What is it about Brook guitars that draws youtowards them as your instrument of choice?

PB: I first visited Andy and Simon’s wonderfulworkshop when I took a Martin HD28 for repair around1997. What musicians look for in a guitar is verysubjective, so all I can say is that I fell in love with theclarity of Brooks’ tone quality across the range ofinstruments and their astounding level ofcraftsmanship and design. The elegance, lightness oftouch, playability and overall aesthetic feel of theinstruments just resonated with me deeply. I had beentrying out a number of other makers’ guitars, includingLowdens and Fyldes, and although I had found severalgood prospective instruments, the Brooks had an extraindefinable sound quality and presence. These arehandmade, home-grown guitars with a well-deservedinternational reputation.So, in the end I sold the Martin, and over the years I’vecome to own several fine Brook instruments.

RJ: How many Brooks do you own?

PB: The Taw, my first purchase, is a really earlyinstrument that has matured in tone quality over theyears, and kept its structural integrity despite thetough time it has probably had with me as an owner! Ialso have a custom Bovey completely built of local

Tools of the trade

timbers; a rosewood Tavy, and a beautifulcustom cutaway Tamar with a yew body andextra wide fretboard, which I use as my maingigging instrument.

RJ: I’m interested in the Bovey being built of localtimbers. Do you feel it is important for luthiers toexplore using materials nearer to home? AndyManson, who is also known for using timberssuch as cherry, yew, English walnut, pear andother fruit woods, once wrote about how lutemakers would always use home grown localwoods. As clichéd as this might sound, do youthink this produces a more ‘English-sounding’guitar?

PB: I’m not sure; all tone woods have differentqualities, and I guess where they are grown mustplay a part, so it’s very possible. I wonder whatSimon and Andy think about this?

RJ: I know that Brook seem to be making aconstant stream of instruments with cherry, yewand English walnut, even recently chestnut fromsomeone’s own garden. To me at least a Brookwill always sound like a Brook, no matter whatthe tonewood, and I remember having a recentconversation with Simon where he was of theopinion that the top has far more influence onthe sound than the back and side woods.So, what would be your ultimate Brook (if youdon’t already own it)?

PB: I guess the simple answer would be ‘the nextone’! A while back Simon and Andy invited meto play on a small-bodied 12 string, The LittleSilver. I have owned several 12-strings over theyears and always ended up selling them, asbeing too heavy, cumbersome and grim to tune.The Little Silver is different: incredibly light yetrobust and it plays with an ease approachingthat of a six-string regarding string tension andaction. I would definitely like to own one...’deepinside my heart I carry the dream’. Ha ha!

RJ: I know of another Brook owner who haswritten a number of pieces for a 12-string LittleSilver, which he described as ‘Sounds like littleangels tap-dancing on crystals’. It wouldcertainly make a great songwriting tool.

PB: Yes, without a doubt it would be great, I‘vealways found that when I play an unfamiliarinstrument, new songs come out. The unfamiliartends to enchant and stimulate the imagination.Sometimes, no matter how good the instrument,I can fall into a rut with it. New sonorities wakeme up – or maybe that’s just an excuse for me toobtain yet another guitar!

Phil with two of his Brooks, a custom Tamarand a custom Bovey made from local woods

There’s enough there for a lifetime. But I don’t want tobecome an alt tuning anorak. If the mood or idea youare exploring suggests a tuning then you should use it,but to explore the possibilities of any tuning takes timeand effort and lots of listening. Avoid the flash andgimmickry, I say – but I don’t always take my own advice!

RJ: As someone who has been exploring Csus2(CGCGCD) for about 12 months now, I would agree ittakes time to fully explore a particular tuning, butwhen you do, it opens up so many creativepossibilities. Is there something you do in particularto explore a new tuning? For example, do you find outwhere common chords and intervals are, or do yousimply allow the tuning to unfold its magic gradually?

PB: Yes, I like your idea of gradually unfolding the magicof a tuning. I try to let the unexpected have a voice. Idon’t want to superimpose what I already know on anew tuning – I want to find out what it is I don’t know,and what the tuning can teach me.

Page 17: issue 2 spring 2013 The guitar Jack built Brook Issue 2.pdf · issue 2 spring 2013 Welcome... ... It is, quite simply, the most stunningly ornate custom Brook guitar ever ... Takeuchi

www.brookguitars.com page 17

There are surprisingly very fewopportunities for acoustic players to playout to sympathetic, listening audiences...and some folk club singarounds have allthe expectant atmosphere of a dentist’swaiting room..!

continued on page 20

from page 16

Bird songsI try all sorts of shapes and fingerings out, the majorand minor progressions tend to sort themselves outnaturally in the process. But I don’t start deliberatelyimprinting them.I have doodled around with that wonderful Csus2 tuningyou showed me. It’s sheer delight and I hope I will find asong in there sometime.

RJ: As someone who has all but convinced himselfthat he cannot write lyrics how would you approachworking with someone like me? Do you actual thinkanyone can write a song?

PB: Yes, I believe that anyone who really wants to canwrite songs. I have run workshops where really powerfullyrics have emerged from people who thought theycouldn’t write. Once we get beyond trying to write howa song should sound, and dig into our own real interestsand life experiences, and stuff we really care about,then clichés dissolve and authentic writing begins.One thing that makes workshops so exciting is gettingto the end of a session and thinking Woah! I wish Icould have thought of that line. Some people onworkshops write really great stuff – it keeps me on mymettle.

RJ: You recently performed some new, and as yetunrecorded songs at last year’s Brook summer party.They told poignant stories of characters such as tinminers and witches. Are they going to be on yournext album?

PB: Spirit of place has always been an influence in mywork. Here in Okehampton on the edge of Dartmoor Ihave written several new songs.‘The Tinner’ came about after several visits to tinworkings and mediaeval sites around the awesomevast, sparse moorland of Scorhill. This song is a fictionalportrait of a miner working during the times of theharsh stannary laws and iniquitous Lydford jail.‘The Salmon’ is another recent song inspired by the twoOckment streams which rise on the deep moor, flowthrough the lush oak wood valleys and join in the heartof the town. Atlantic salmon still return here after manyyears at sea to breed in the very stream they were bornin. In the song I wanted to contrast the seeminglyageless cyclical return of the salmon, with the morefleeting aspects of our human condition. By the salmonrun is an old kissing gate leading to what was once aVictorian workhouse, so the song also explores the joyof youth contrasted with the frailties and cruelties ofold age.‘The Witch of Litchfield’ came about after visiting thecathedral city of Lichfield, which has the dubioushonour of being the last town in England to burn aheretic at the stake in 1566. The song’s harrowing

theme is about hysteria, superstition, and religiouspersecution during the era of Europe’s infamous witchtrials. It’s a tale told through the eyes of the husband ofa young wise woman, who is accused of witchcraft andcruelly put to death. All three of these songs will be onthe new CD, ‘Gleeman’s Tales’.

RJ: Can you tell us about the acoustic sessions you runin Okehampton – what sort of turnout do you get?How are they run?

PB: We wanted to open an acoustic club, rather than anopen mike, of which there are so many; some are verygood, but others are more like musicians’ cattle markets,where players are shunted on and off and the musictreated as if it were auditory wallpaper – just abackground to banter. There are so many goodmusicians around and they deserve more than that.

RJ: This rings very true for me – I recently went to mylocal folk club, which was having a ‘singaround’ ,where we all sat round in a circle and dutifully playedour little piece, before moving straight on to the nextitem. It felt more like a conveyor belt!

PB: There are surprisingly very few opportunities foracoustic players to play out to sympathetic, listeningaudiences. It’s all got very silly. I have sat in open micswhere really fine and original acoustic players havehad to put up with a constant barrage of banter.Maybe it’s stuffy of me, but I find that so disrespectful,dumbed down and ignorant. Why can’t people juststop babbling and enjoy the wonderful experience oflistening? I must be careful not to get on my highhorse here, as there are quality open mics, but thegeneral level does make me angry when I see finemusic being ignored and some folk club singaroundsdo have all the expectant atmosphere of a dentistswaiting room! It was in response to such dissatisfaction that wedecided to start up our own acoustic club, in acommunity centre rather than pub. We have a cafestyle atmosphere with candlelight, people can bringtheir own drinks- alcohol or non- and we provide aperformance platform for 4-5 different acts eachmonthly session. Each set is about 25 minutes, soperformers have a chance to settle in and give a miniconcert, and the audience of around 30 to 40 peopledo come to listen when people are performing.

RJ: As an independent musician, what is involved intrying to promote your own work and get your nameout there?

PB: It is difficult for independent artists to get theirwork out. Making CDs has been a bit of a home-grownindustry for me since the mid-1990s and I’ve producedseveral albums – ‘Storm Gold’, ‘Little Vessel’, ‘TheFamous Flying Bedstead’, Shape the Clay’ – and apoem and narrative album called ‘Snapshot Horizon’. Websites are important, and my partner Anna has just

Page 18: issue 2 spring 2013 The guitar Jack built Brook Issue 2.pdf · issue 2 spring 2013 Welcome... ... It is, quite simply, the most stunningly ornate custom Brook guitar ever ... Takeuchi

continued on page 19

That’s a relief...page 18 www.brookguitars.comThe mere thought of going anywhere near a truss rod strikes fear into the hearts of most guitarists. But maintaining your instrument’s playability is a lot easier than you might think – asBrook Guitars’Simon Smidmore explains in this simple ‘how to’guide to guitar set-ups...

EVERY Brook guitar that leaves our workshop atEasterbrook does so having been set up for whatwe consider to be optimum ‘playability’ – that is tosay, it should be possible to play in any positionon the fretboard without having to exert anuncomfortable amount of pressure.

This ‘playability’ is down to what is known as the ‘action’of your guitar – the distance between the top of thefrets and the bottom of the strings.

In general terms, a guitar with a low action is easier toplay than one with a high action. A very low action,however, can also reduce the volume of your guitarand, in some cases, affect the intonation. And if theaction is too low, the strings may also rattle against thefrets, causing that annoying ‘fret buzz’ we’ve allexperienced from time to time.

Conversely, a guitar with an action that is too high willalmost certainly be difficult to play beyond the first fewfrets – and pretty impossible the higher up the neck

of EITHER raising/lowering the height of the saddle (thebit slotted into the bridge that the strings rest on!) ORcranking the truss rod in one direction or another.Very often, the correct set-up on your guitar will beachieved by a subtle combination of the two, in greateror lesser degrees – and, in more extreme cases, otherremedial action best left to the professionals.

But before we get into the ‘how to’ part of the articlethen, it’s perhaps first best to understand the‘mechanics’ of what we’re dealing with, and how it allworks within the context of your guitar’s set-up’.

Sometimes, looking down the neck of your guitar cangive the alarming impression of a ‘bow’ or a dip in theneck, when in reality there isn’t really any more thanthere should be. Neck bow is often talked about inhushed tones, as though it’s one of the worst thingsthat can happen to a guitar. Certain companies, such asMartin, have always built in a certain amount ofintentional bow into their necks – although that was inthe days when a non-adjustable reinforcing metal barwas embedded inside Martins’ necks.

At Brook, we build fine ‘controllability’ into our necks,allowing plenty of scope for adjustment as and whennecessary.

As part of this short article on setting up your Brook,we thought it might be helpful to show a few photos ofthe stages of the building process we use at theworkshop by way of an explanation.

We initially cut the neck blanks from large boards andstore them until they’re at the same humidity as therest of the woods we’ll be using on the guitars. Whenwe’re satisfied the neck blanks are stable we’ll squarethe top edge along with the top of the headstock andface the headstock with an ebony head veneer (see left).

The next stage is to rout a curved channel centrally

you venture. Fine for slideguitarists, perhaps, but anightmare for the rest of us!

We’re all as different as ourguitars, with different playingstyles, different string gaugepreferences etc. Add to that thefact that the wood your guitar ismade from is a ‘living’ medium,susceptible to changes intemperature, humidity and ahost of other factors, and it’seasy to understand why yourguitar’s action/set-up will needperiodic/regular maintenance.Think of it as a ’100,000 note’service and oil change for yourguitar…

Whilst it’s always best to entrustthese set-ups to the skills of anexperienced repairperson – or,preferably, the luthiers whomade your instrument! – we canappreciate that this won’talways be practical or possible.

But with a little practical know-how, the right tools and a littleconfidence (!), anyone can makethe sort of small, ‘fine tuning’adjustments to their guitar thatcan make all the difference to itsplayability, without fear ofcausing any irreparable damage.

It’s a common misconception tosimply think that adjusting theaction on your guitar is a caseThree necks take shape, two with the channel routed out ready for the truss rod

At Brook, we build fine ‘controllability’ intoour necks, which allows plenty of scope foradjustment as and when necessary...

Page 19: issue 2 spring 2013 The guitar Jack built Brook Issue 2.pdf · issue 2 spring 2013 Welcome... ... It is, quite simply, the most stunningly ornate custom Brook guitar ever ... Takeuchi

www.brookguitars.com page 19

It’s important to understand the truss rod is NOTthere to adjust the action – it’s there simply toset the neck relief. The action is adjusted byraising or lowering the saddle...

continued on page 20

from page 18

That’s a relief...along the neck blank and cut and chisel out ahousing for the adjustment nut one end.

When the body end of the neck has beendovetailed another housing is chiselled out totrap the locked nut which stops the rod turning.

Andy cuts to size and threads each end of thestainless steel rod. He makes up a brass nut andwasher on his lathe for the adjustment end.

We wax the bar to allow it to move in the slotthen glue and press wooden fillets tightly over itso the rod follows the curve of the channel.There is a strip of ebony at each end of the filletto give the nuts and washers something solid todraw up to.

After the excess wood from the fillet is removedand the top edge is squared off we fit thedovetail to the body and position thefingerboard with pins before gluing andclamping it.

Now we have the truss rod under tension – asyou tighten the nut the rod tries to straightenout and we have an ideal means to control theneck when the 150lbs tension of a normal set ofguitar strings at pitch is added to the equation.

Roll the clock on and we have the new guitar onthe bench with its first set of strings on and wenow want to set the guitar up for optimumplayability using the same sequence ofprocesses that you or your luthier will carry outsetting up the guitar in the future.

The important thing to understand is that thetruss rod is NOT there to adjust the action – it’sthere simply to set the neck relief. The action isadjusted by raising or lowering the saddle.

If the fingerboard is set flat when you fret theguitar, you’ll find you have a lot of unwantedfret rattle behind the point of contact, so it’s

essential that the fingerboard has a small forward bow.

Firstly, with the strings tuned to pitch, we check the relief on theneck. An easy way to do this is to put the guitar into the playingposition and put one finger behind the first fret and anotherbehind the 12th (see picture, below).

Left, from top: 1 – Andy makes up the hexagonal brass nut2 – He threads both ends of the stainless steeltruss rod3 – Here’s the fixed end of the rod and thehousing on a standard neck4 – Pressing and gluing the fillets on to the rodbefore the fingerboard goes on

Checking the relief on the neck is simple and straightforward

We’re looking for a small gap, perhaps the thickness of abusiness card, between the underside of the sixth string and thetop of the sixth fret.

If the gap is larger it’s time to tension the truss rod – give it asmall clockwise turn with a 1/4” ring spanner. If the fingerboardis too flat and the strings touch the frets, knock the tension off atouch by turning the nut anticlockwise.

When the relief is set correctly the action (height of the strings offthe frets) can be optimised by raising or lowering the saddle byadding or removing shims.

1

2

3

4

Page 20: issue 2 spring 2013 The guitar Jack built Brook Issue 2.pdf · issue 2 spring 2013 Welcome... ... It is, quite simply, the most stunningly ornate custom Brook guitar ever ... Takeuchi

page 20 www.brookguitars.com

from page 17

Bird songsproduced a wonderful site for the work we do togethernow as Troubadour’s Garden.This year, festivals have included Croisant Neuf in Wales,Buddhafield Living Arts gathering, and fringe events,gigs on the acoustic circuit and benefits. Independentand regional TV/radio are very useful when you can geta slot. We also do music and visual arts workshops, oftenconnecting them to our performances in some way.

RJ: What music inspires you? I sometimes sense quitea range of subtle influences on your songs – maybeelements of jazz and world music creeping in?

PB: Roots, classical, jazz, folk and world, I listen to awide range of music, often instrumental stuff morethan song based work, I try not to be too self consciousabout analysing what influences me. If somethingsounds moving, compelling, beautiful, crazy, mooddriven, magical or whatever, it may find its way intowhat I do consciously or otherwise.

RJ: ‘Carry the Dream’ is one of my favourite songs onyour latest album ‘Shape the Clay’, with a strikinglybeautiful melody, and poignant, thought-provokinglyrics – tell us how you came to write this song.

PB: Thank you for liking that song. I wrote it in Cyprusas a sort of positive defiance to all the negativity thatassails us, and that we absorb from world events. If, inour personal situations, we allow the large issues tobreak us down and we lose our dreams of how lifecould or should be, then we score a home goal.

RJ: You work with various other musicians on youralbums, including your partner, Anna, on woodwind.It must have been extremely satisfying to have hadSteeleye Span bass player Tim Harries play on your‘Little Vessel For A Long Journey’.

Tim gave generously of his time and musical wisdom inplaying on the ‘Little Vessel’ album and producing ‘TheFamous Flying Bedstead’. He’s a very gracious man. Ibegan a musical learning curve (which I’m still on) bylistening to what he had to say and more than anythingelse by hearing the sheer beauty and economy of hisplaying. I have always loved the flute playing of AnnaGeorghiou, who is an international painter as well as aself-taught flute player. She has contributedimmeasurably to the musical landscape of my songs.Tim Averik, the Swedish classical violinist, enabled mywork to express more emotional depth, on ‘Shape theClay’. We recorded that CD in Larnaca and playedseveral concerts before he had to return to Sweden.

RJ: The title track from ‘Little Vessel’ is unusual in that

your are accompanied by just mandolin. Do you playany other instruments?

PB: Guitar is my main instrument, I play a littleNeapolitan mandolin and a bouzuoki made by JohnHathaway. I also have a love of Northern Indian andCarnatic music, especially sitar and sarod. I have playedsitar during performances including an Asian worldmusic festival in Nicosia, where Anna and I played withthe master tabla player Ravi Sandanker. It blew meaway that he asked, as my sitar playing is bothelementary and eccentric! I have never played sarod in public; it’s such a difficultinstrument, but I love its concise elegant, rich andhypnotic sound. And to hear the work of masters suchas Ali Akba Khan and a whole generation of youngerplayers is as good as it gets.

RJ: Can you explain what a sarod is?

PB: The sarod is a medium-necked lute with a metalfretless fingerboard, with four main strings and 18sympathetic strings. I think it evolved in the 19th centuryfrom an earlier instrument, the rebab, which hadwooden neck. It has become a ‘royal’ classical Indianinstrument, on a par with the sitar, and it’s reallydifficult for a guitarist to play, as it requires long nails onthe fretting hand to press the strings down. If you playit with short nails it makes a very unsatisfying ‘plinkyplonky’ sound. Mohan Bhat plays an adapted guitar with sympatheticstrings in a slide-like fashion, which to me has some ofthe beautiful qualities of the sarod. Listen to ‘Meetingby the River’, a very beautiful improvised musicalencounter between Mohan Bhat and Ry Cooder, or anyof the sitar/sarod duets between Ravi Shankar andAkba Khan, or the younger generation of players on theSense World Music label.

RJ: Where can we hear you play, and how can we buyyour CDs?

PB: As Troubadour’s Garden, we’re in process oforganising touring dates, and also look out for us on theacoustic circuit, festivals, village halls and Art Centres,etc. Each month we play a set at our own club,Okehampton Acoustic.Check us out on www.troubadoursgarden.wix.com/musicand www.okehamptonacousticclub.moonfruit.comAnd thank you, Rob, and Brook Guitars for giving methe chance to stretch my few remaining brain cells toattempt to answer these questions...

A small turn clockwise or anticlockwise with the 1/4”spanner will adjust the tension on your guitar’s truss rod

from page 19

That’s a relief...

The only other item for consideration in the nutheight – well, the height at which the strings leavethe nut slots. The slots have to be cut as low aspossible to avoid having to stretch the strings in thelower positions; however, if these are too low thestrings will rattle on the frets.

We cut these slots very carefully before the guitarleaves the workshop so it shouldn’t be a problem. Butif work needs doing to the nut, it’s really a job for theprofessional and you should let either us or anothercompetent luthier look at it.

And that’s pretty much it for a simplified instructionon the set-up! There are, of course, an awful lot ofsubtleties that it’s not necessary to go into at thisstage, but for the moment all you have to rememberis the simple rule: use the truss rod to set the relief,then adjust the action by raising or lowering thesaddle.


Recommended