Quote:
Originally Posted by Guitars44me
I just re-read this entire thread. Boy, there is a LOT of very interesting technical info above!
The axe sure looks beautiful, and I too hope to play one of Mark's beauties some day soon.
Thanks for sharing all of this with all of us!
Salud
Paul
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Thanks again for your kind comments about Mark’s work...
. I document these build threads for two reasons.
- To try to illustrate what makes a particular luthier’s work different from others. We all know that no two builder’s guitars sound the same but why? Yes, they look different, but as we know there is more to it than that and how they are constructed matters.
- To help raise awareness about a builder’s work. These posts remain here long after the delivery of a guitar and they may prove helpful to someone trying to learn about a luthier beyond what is on their website.
Mark learned to build on his own in the 1980s and early 1990s (and actually, as in all journeys toward mastery, he continues to learn to this day). He did not apprentice for anyone so all his methods were home grown in his California and Montana workshops. This is why building methods are so heterogeneous between luthiers.
He did learn the tool of Chladni from Al Carruth in the mid 1990s and he developed his own way of integrating it into his build process to help him guide decisions and improve his consistency of outcomes. Keeping careful notebooks on every guitar coming off his bench has helped him interpret characteristics associated with his best sounding work. He also learned the basics of archtop guitar construction through a course taught by Linda Manzer and Tom Ribbecke. Mark pasted along some of his approach to Chladni methods teaching luthier Randall “Sparky” Kramer. He designed, patented and manufactures his own double acting truss rods as well.
While he has been building custom instruments for over 25 years now, Mark is a quiet guy who now lives in the Sierras. He has a website, makes some guitars for a well known reseller and attends luthier exhibitions. Despite this, I don’t feel that he is widely known enough among the AGF custom acoustic guitar community. Fellow luthiers all know and respect him and his work, but I don’t think there are more than a few threads here on AGF exhibiting his work across the 20-years that this site has been around. His guitars are unique in their construction and in their tone and that is why I am back to have him build me a second guitar.