So how long does it take to make a guitar (Cittern) Part 3?

Well, I’m now up to 40 hours and you can see that soundboard, back and sides are all together.


Fixings the sides together on this shape takes a fair bit of time as there are small blocks shaped to fit inside each point and the neck block has to be exactly right to accommodate the cutaway and ensure a smooth transition from neck to body. As Ruaridh wanted to limit the use of tropical hardwoods in his instrument, you can see that the linings and blocks are all made from spruce.


The tail-block is plywood, less prone to splitting if you have a 12 mm hole for a jack socket. Fixing the sides together on this instrument probably took two hours longer than on a guitar. You can see that the purfling is now going on...

Raymond Burley

You may have heard of Ray, he is a highly acclaimed classical guitarist. If he is playing near you must go and see him. We saw him recently in concert near, Oxford and his playing is superb. He also plays with Gordon Giltrap and they have a great album out together called “Double Vision.”
If you have been following my blog for a while you may remember that a good 18 months ago I lent my friend Andy, my Classical “demonstrator” which I never got back as he bought it from me! Anyway, Andy has guitar lessons from Ray Burley and over that period of time Ray has heard it develop and played it a fair bit. So, I was absolutely delighted when Ray put a favourable comment about my work on his website.

Mandolin Jack Flat

Talking of good music, check out Mandolin Jack Flat on YouTube. He is a friend and client - I’ve done repair work on few of his instruments. He has put together some great Americana music and videos.