Choosing your luthier ... and specs

[nobo]

Hi,

Once I have the money, I'm hoping to get a custom baritone made (probably by a UK luthier, given the weakness of the pound and the imminent increase in VAT and so cost of importing from outside the EU). I have a rough idea of spec but with some details to be fleshed out. What I don't know is who to go to. I've had quite a few recommendations, but the difficulty is trying to find examples of luthiers work. The builders themselves are usually dotted around and their guitars even more so. If I go to visit one, they may not have anything vaguely similar in to what I'm after (even more so since it's a baritone). And there aren't any places where you can compare all these guitars side by side.

So I'm curious to know how you chose your builder and how much experience you had of their guitars before you did. There are a lot out there and it seems a bit terrifying choosing one based on such limited information!

Sadly, budget is a major factor since I'm after some pretty specific specifications without spending an absolute fortune. FWIW, they are:

- baritone for exclusively (mostly solo) fingerstyle with a light touch and low tunings - think CGDGAD but down 4 steps or so.
- c. 47mm nut and 61mm string spacing at bridge
- cutaway
- sound port
- ideally with an arm bevel
- possibly wedge body
- probably fan fretted
- gotoh 510 tuners
- probably european/italian/englemann spruce top

Back and sides material and scale length(s) tbc.

Thanks for any tips!

[Kent Chasson]

Not a UK builder but David Berkowitz makes a nice baritone and The Acoustic Music Co. in Brighton carries his guitars.

[Fliss]

There was a recent thread about good custom luthiers in the UK which might make a good starting point for some window-shopping on luthiers' websites:

http://www.acousticguitarforum.com/f...d.php?t=180408

If it was me, I'd start by looking at some of those, picking those you like the look/sound of and perhaps phoning or emailing the luthiers to find out more about what they do. I know it can be a hassle when builders are scattered in different parts of the country, but if you are able to do it, it's well worth arranging to visit some builders' workshops. Even if they don't have a baritone for you to try, you can see whether you like their work and whether they seem to be someone you trust and can have a good working relationship with. If they don't seem to understand what you're looking for, I'd suggest moving on and trying a different builder.

Whith regard to budget, clearly that makes a big difference. If you want somethign custom without spending a fortune, it might be worth taking a chance on one of the less well established builders. .

As Kent says, TAMCO in Brighton would be a great place to go and compare guitars by some great US builders. There's also Guitar Junction in Worthing and Mairants in London which stock guitars by some of the UK builders you might find interesting, such as Brook, Eggle, Atkin, Fylde.

Fliss

[pakhan]

You can read a little more about various luthiers here:

http://www.guitarbench.com/luthiers/