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Luthier Focus - Ted Åstrand
Luthier Focus: Ted Åstrand – Åstrand Guitars
Hi all, we recently did this Luthier Focus on our dear friend Ted Astrand. Some reading for the weekend - you can catch up with all our blogs on https://thenorthamericanguitar.com/blogs/news. Enjoy. Ben Ted Åstrand of Åstrand Guitars shot to fame in the luthier world back in 2013 with the arrival of our first Å-OM Madagascar Rosewood. It didn’t take long before his name spread like wildfire among the Acoustic Guitar Forum members and orders started to flood in. He is now one of the most sought-after luthiers on the planet and has a three-year waiting list, as well as recently becoming a father and moving his workshop into a beautiful new space. Let’s look in a little more detail at the Swedish maestro that is Ted Åstrand: History: Before pursuing the art of lutherie, Ted had trained in both music, art and woodworking. He studied a three-year full-time guitar building course at The Academy of Musical Instruments in Stockholm, Sweden (alongside luthier friend and TNAG electric builder Tobias Lindberg of TLL Guitars), under fellow luthier master (and TNAG builder) Lars Rasmussen of Rasmussen Guitars. He mainly concentrated on building classical, steel-string and archtop guitars, receiving his bachelor’s degree in guitar building and passing the tests with honours for his journeyman's certificate as a luthier. Ted was fortunate enough to become the first apprentice under world-class luthier Jason Kostal at Kostal Guitars, after speaking with musical master Tony McManus. He traveled to Phoenix, Arizona to work under Jason to learn the approach of building a modern steel string guitar and how to voice a guitar for maximum responsiveness. Ted currently creates around 8-10 guitars per year, with each part of the guitar being made completely by hand and with simple woodworking tools to achieve perfection both tonally and aesthetically. He spends an astonishing 200+ hours working on each instrument. From start to finish the instrument is built during a period of 3-4 months, only using the very best materials available and never rushing any part of the process. He is a one-man shop by choice which means that he is able to focus solely on creating the highest quality craftsmanship, tone, and playability. The Guitars: Ted currently offers three body shapes, all beautifully crafted and offer an incredibly wide and dynamic and tonal range. 1) The Å-SJ: The Å-SJ is Ted’s largest model with a lower bout width of 400mm. It has a tight waist and a relative small upper bout which makes it very comfortable to hold and play, and perceived as being a much smaller guitar than it actually is. Tonally it is beautiful, articulate with a deep, loud voice. Overall the Å-SJ is very responsive and perfectly suited for the fingerstyle guitarist. Dimensions: Length: 510 mm Lower bout: 400 mm Upper bout: 286 mm Waist: 232 mm Scale length: 25.5” 14th fret neck joint Here is an absolutely stunning bespoke ordered Åstrand Å-SJ in African Blackwood and Torrified Adirondack Spruce we brought into the UK back in 2017. Here is what Ted had to say about this guitar: "This is the first ever Åstrand SJ to arrive at TNAG and only the second one built so far in my workshop. It's a new model that has quickly become one of my favourites, I'm looking forward to building plenty more of these in the coming years. It has some of the finest African Blackwood I've had the pleasure to work with paired with a torrified Adirondack top. Apart from the rich golden colour from the torrification it gives a very full and matured tone. With the tonal attribute from the Adirondack and my voicing technique it gives a very versatile instrument." Ted Åstrand Sound Board - Torrified Adirondack Spruce Back - African Blackwood Sides - African Blackwood Neck - Graphite reinforced Mahogany Headstock Veneer - Ebony Rosette - Ebony with Sapwood Scale length - 25" Fretboard - Ebony Nut - Bone Saddle - Bone Bridge - Ebony Bindings - Ebony Tuners - Schertler with Ebony buttons Inlay - Silver headstock logo Case - Hiscox Pro II 2) The Å-OM: The legendary Åstrand Å-OM is one of Ted’s most popular models, an incredibly dynamic and versatile instrument that is perfect for the contemporary fingerstyle player, the acoustic blues player and also flat picker. Plus it is as light as a feather but packs a big punch volume-wise. The Å-OM is Ted’s interpretation of the perfect mid-sized guitar. It has a slightly larger lower bout than a standard OM and a smaller upper bout for better balance and comfort. It is built for maximum responsiveness and is a great fingerstyle guitar. Dimensions: Length: 497 mm Lower bout: 385 mm Upper bout: 276 mm Waist: 227 mm Scale length: 25,5” or 25” 14th fret neck joint Here is an absolutely breathtaking bespoke build Åstrand Å-OM in Brazilian Rosewood and European Moon Spruce with an Amboyna burl rosette, we delivered to our client back in 2016. Model: Å-OM Back&sides: Brazilian Rosewood Top: European "moon" spruce Headcap: Amboyna burl (so nice!!) Rosette: Amboyna burl Bindings: Ebony End Wedge: Amboyna burl Nut width: 1 3/4" (44.5 mm) Bridge string spacing: 2 1/4" (57.15mm) Scale: 25" Fretboard radius: 16" Tuners: Gotoh 510 Custom options: Soundport Backstrip 3) The Å-O: The Å-O is a parlor size guitar and is my smallest model. It is responsive like all of Ted's guitars and has a very comfortable size and shape. It includes a 13th fret neck joint which places the bridge at the “sweet spot” on the guitar’s top, it also gives easy access to the 12th fret. This guitar offers great clarity and projection and has a lot of volumes for it’s smaller size body. Dimensions: Length: 476 mm Lower bout: 350 mm Upper bout: 245 mm Waist: 196 mm Scale length: 25” 13th fret neck joint Available TNAG Bespoke slots: 2021 Build - 35% Deposit : £2,397.50 2022 Build - 35% Deposit : £2,397.50 Incoming Åstrand Guitars: Åstrand Å-OM Brazilian Rosewood and European Moon Spruce - £12,450 his incoming Åstrand Å-OM Bespoke Build in Brazilian Rosewood and European Moon Spruce is going to be out of this world and one Ted and TNAG have been planning for some time now. A beautiful OM Custom in Brazilian Rosewood and European "moon" spruce with a stunning 12th Fret inlay (TBD) The Brazilian Rosewood for this instrument is some of Ted's finest collection. Imported to Sweden in 1952, has been air dried for the past 66 years, and produces an unbelievable tone that will ring for days. Of course, comes with all the correct CITIES paperwork. Due for delivery early 2020. We will start a build thread here for this guitar....but for more information on ordering your very own Åstrand guitar, please do not hesitate to contact us on +44 (0) 207 835 5597 or email us here. Thanks Ben
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Ben Montague. Froggy Bottom D14 Deluxe Taylor 818 B&G Crossroads Non Cutaway P90's B&G Step Sister Cutaway Kikbuckers www.benmontague.co.uk www.thenorthamericanguitar.com Last edited by Ben Montague; 10-12-2018 at 09:05 AM. |
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Wow! Awesome sounding guitars, beautifully played! I didn't know that he had worked with Jason Kostal - that's pretty unique. Great post, all round - thanks for sharing.
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Hatcher Woodsman, Collings 0002H, Stella Grand Concert |
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Thanks SJ...Ted is awesome and we are so proud to represent his work. Have a great day. Ben
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Ben Montague. Froggy Bottom D14 Deluxe Taylor 818 B&G Crossroads Non Cutaway P90's B&G Step Sister Cutaway Kikbuckers www.benmontague.co.uk www.thenorthamericanguitar.com |
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Quote:
Jason himself has often (and indeed on this forum) drawn the very obvious distinction between having done the Somogyi apprenticeship for 2 years vs. taking the voicing class for one week. I guess the same distinction would be drawn between staying with Jason for 2-years vs. one-week? In any event, I've played a number of Astrands and they are incredibly well built instruments. I don't think any have reminded me of a Kostal over and above any number of other well-built modern fingerstyle guitars. Cheers, Steve |
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I couldn't tell you, Steve - they are vague about that in the video, possibly deliberately. I don't imagine it was anything like a two or three year apprenticeship. I would love the opportunity to play a guitar by either of them!
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Hatcher Woodsman, Collings 0002H, Stella Grand Concert |
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Can't wait for my Astrand build in 2020-21.... Still a long time to go...
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Avalon Custom Auditorium Fan Fret Sinker Redwood/Ziricote Furch 34 SR Stahl (custom) - Sitka/EIR Classical Hanika 58CF - Alpine/Cocobolo Yamaha LS16 - Engel/EIR Alvarez MSD1 - Cedar/Mahogany Breedlove C25 - Cedar/Mahogany K-Country 1975 - Sitka/Mahogany upcoming : Michaud Made OM-R - ARW/ Swiss "moon" Astrand A-OM - MRW - Euro Bearclaw |
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Still going to be worth the wait! Are you setting up a build thread?
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Ben Montague. Froggy Bottom D14 Deluxe Taylor 818 B&G Crossroads Non Cutaway P90's B&G Step Sister Cutaway Kikbuckers www.benmontague.co.uk www.thenorthamericanguitar.com |
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Ted’s guitars are beautifully austere and sonically magnificent.....such pure tone. He’s A most gifted luthier.
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My YouTube Page: http://www.youtube.com/user/ukejon 2014 Pono N30 DC EIR/Spruce crossover 2009 Pono koa parlor (NAMM prototype) 2018 Maton EBG808TEC 2014 Hatcher Greta 13 fret cutaway in EIR/cedar 2017 Hatcher Josie fan fret mahogany 1973 Sigma GCR7 (OM model) rosewood and spruce 2014 Rainsong OM1000N2 ....and about 5 really nice tenor ukuleles at any given moment |
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I have one of Ted's guitars. The man is simply right up there. I was initially attracted to his work by stumbling across his web site a few years ago, back in the day when the prices were in Swedish kroner and I could deal with Ted direct. Really great build project - went with Madagascan and Swiss moon spruce. The guitar also sports a set of hand made tuning machines by Keith Robson. The same guitar would now cost me easily two and a half times what I paid for it. Having said that, even at current prices Ted's work remains great value.
In short, a great builder and a great guy. My wife and I were out in Gothenburg earlier this year to have Ted check the guitar out and make some adjustments that tend to be necessary after over three years. Ted had the guitar for a day at no expense to me, just great service. He was delighted to see the obvious signs that the guitar had been played A LOT. He returned it to me as an instrument re-born. Cheers, Ian |
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Quote:
Thanks for your comments Ian, what a wonderful story. Ted is such an inspirational guy, humble and sensationally talented. Thanks again. Ben
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Ben Montague. Froggy Bottom D14 Deluxe Taylor 818 B&G Crossroads Non Cutaway P90's B&G Step Sister Cutaway Kikbuckers www.benmontague.co.uk www.thenorthamericanguitar.com |
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I'm Probably going to start first with my next build from Michaud Made due to start in January 2019. However when my build with Ted comes I'll probably do so as well.
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Avalon Custom Auditorium Fan Fret Sinker Redwood/Ziricote Furch 34 SR Stahl (custom) - Sitka/EIR Classical Hanika 58CF - Alpine/Cocobolo Yamaha LS16 - Engel/EIR Alvarez MSD1 - Cedar/Mahogany Breedlove C25 - Cedar/Mahogany K-Country 1975 - Sitka/Mahogany upcoming : Michaud Made OM-R - ARW/ Swiss "moon" Astrand A-OM - MRW - Euro Bearclaw |
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Great stuff you will have to keep us all informed as to how the build is going? I am seeing Joel in a few days. Cheers. Ben
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Ben Montague. Froggy Bottom D14 Deluxe Taylor 818 B&G Crossroads Non Cutaway P90's B&G Step Sister Cutaway Kikbuckers www.benmontague.co.uk www.thenorthamericanguitar.com |
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Yes I will. Nice ! What are you seeing him for ? Another Talking guitar ? Going to see him in January before my build starts.
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Avalon Custom Auditorium Fan Fret Sinker Redwood/Ziricote Furch 34 SR Stahl (custom) - Sitka/EIR Classical Hanika 58CF - Alpine/Cocobolo Yamaha LS16 - Engel/EIR Alvarez MSD1 - Cedar/Mahogany Breedlove C25 - Cedar/Mahogany K-Country 1975 - Sitka/Mahogany upcoming : Michaud Made OM-R - ARW/ Swiss "moon" Astrand A-OM - MRW - Euro Bearclaw |
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Quote:
We have a beautiful J-R in Pan Rosewood being built. See we are catching up at Woodstock show.
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Ben Montague. Froggy Bottom D14 Deluxe Taylor 818 B&G Crossroads Non Cutaway P90's B&G Step Sister Cutaway Kikbuckers www.benmontague.co.uk www.thenorthamericanguitar.com |