T H E I N T E R V I E W: DAVID WREN
GUITARBENCH P LAY E R S | LU T H I E R S | C O LLE C T O R S
ACOUSTIC&CLASSICAL
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You’re missing a lot of great content in Issue3 Click here for the full ISSUE! INTERVIEWS
David Wren 52-65 Kris Barnett 66-79 Megan Slankard 80-82
LESSONS Celtic Guitar Masterclass with Anton Emery: Celtic Backup 40-44
FEATURES Guitar Anatomy 6-7 Honduran Mahogany 9-10 The Tree Mahogany 12-13
SPECIAL FEATURE All instruments featured in this issue are feature highly figured Mahogany from “The Tree”
Kostal Modified Dreadnought 14-22 Ryan Dragonfly 24-29 Wells The Atlantic 34-37 Elliott Steel String Model 30-33 Breedlove OM Revival 38-39 Mauel McCloud 45-48 Miller Dreadnought 49-51 Kraut Modified Dreadnought 84-85 Saville Small Jumbo 86-90 McElroy Standard 94 Shimo Sugilite 95 True North Guitar Model 1 96-99 Fleishman 100-102 Woolson Ukulele 103-104
REVIEWS Little Man 91 Songs About Something 92 Acoustic Bossa Nova 93
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Thanks for talking to us David, I first wanted to congratulate you on returning to lutherie. Maybe we can start with how you got into guitar building in the first place? Thanks Terence! How did I get into building? Well, I had played guitar since public school and in high school became more involved in art … painting, sculpting etc … so when my father saw Irving Sloane’s book on guitar building, he thought it might fit my interests. I can distinctly remember just being dumbstruck when I realized that a person could actually build an instrument. Guitars were built by huge companies like Gibson and Kent as far as I was concerned (this was the late ‘60s and I hadn’t even heard of Martin at the time). The thought that an individual could fabricate a guitar was a real revelation! This was of course pre-Internet and I had never even heard the term “luthier”. “I have absolutely Shortly after receiving the Sloane book, I discovered a night school course in guitar building being held at a nearby high school. I signed up and volunteered to try and source out the woods that we would need. Through the Toronto Folklore Centre I found out that there was a professional builder in town by the name of Jean-Claude L’arrivee.
no idea what Jean saw in me that made him think I was up to the task.”
This would have been in the early ‘70s when Jean had a shop on Bridgman Ave, with Jim Hale (formerly of Mossman), and apprentices Grit Laskin and Sergei de Jonge. When I went to pick out the wood, I only have vague memories of a friendly guy with really long hair pointing at a stack of wood and saying “no problem, pick some wood out and we’ll work something out”. That was my first contact with the man who would teach me everything I know about guitar building.
Opposite: A completed Wren Concert model sits on the workbench Above: Signature Wren inlay Photos courtesy of D. Wren
It wasn’t until a year later that I worked up the courage to approach Jean and ask for an apprenticeship with him. I have absolutely no idea what Jean saw in me that made him think I was up to the task. I remember the very first thing he asked me to do was “set up the bandsaw fence to 4 centimetres”. Well, I think I figured out what the bandsaw was, but I had no idea what a fence was and at that time I hadn’t been exposed to the metric system of measurement. To top it off … I was too stupid to admit these things to Jean, so I just walked over to the saw and started fiddling with it. He finally came over, gave me a strange look and set it up himself. That was the start of the most important learning curve in my life.
Jean was always very open and free with his vast knowledge of lutherie and was absolutely fantastic to have as a mentor. My early apprenticeship took place in a little storefront on Mt Pleasant Blvd in Toronto, just after Jean had married Wendy (they lived in the back of the shop). Grit Laskin was still with Jean at that point. After Grit went out on his own, we moved to a larger space on Portland St. in downtown Toronto. The last Toronto shop was on Dwight Ave, and that was where people like Linda Manzer, Tony Duggan-Smith and George Gray started their apprenticeships. Good times! There’s still not a day goes by that I don’t thank my lucky stars that Jean took me under his wing!
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Would it fair to say that your base is mainly Larrivee or have you also other influences from the start? Definitely my influence at the start was ALL Larrivee and he is still my main influence for sure. Before I met Jean, the best acoustic guitar I'd played was a Gibson LG-0 with a mahogany top and a hollow plastic bridge. The first time I played a Larrivee I simply couldn't believe that a guitar could sound that amazing. I still think that about his guitars for that matter! My years in music retail exposed me to quite a variety of vintage and new acoustic guitars. That experience has definitely added a new dimension to my building.
I’m currently offering what I think of as a modern style of instrument, as well as a couple that have a funkier vintage aesthetic ... a reflection of some of my more recent influences. My Remuda and NL-1 models often feature rope or checkered marquetry and other appointments that are reminiscent of ‘20s and ‘30s style guitars. Recently I built a guitar up at my friend Sergei de Jonge’s shop in Chelsea Quebec and was incredibly impressed with his methods. I’ve always absolutely LOVED his instruments and I can definitely see how he has influenced my building. There are so many amazing builders out there with creative ideas and with the internet, it is so easy to keep up with the latest innovations. It’s a very exciting time to be building guitars!
“Definitely my influence at the start was ALL Larrivee”
Opposite: Wrens’ signature asymmetrical bridge Above: Spalted Maple rosette and side
Back when you were with Jean, it looks like the woods were predominantly sitka and Indian rosewood- but now I take it that your tonewood repertoire is wider? When I was with Jean, we were building steel strings almost exclusively with German spruce and Indian rosewood, although Jean would occasionally bring out the Brazilian Rosewood for clients like Bruce Cockburn. We did use Western Red cedar occasionally for tops as well. Jean never used Sitka in the Toronto years though.
You're right though ... I think every builder's tonewood options cover quite a bit more territory these days. I've got a great stash of not only Sitka (the most underrated topwood in the world!) and bearclaw Sitka but also some stunning Lutz, Alpine, Adirondack, Engelmann and European spruces. I also stock Western Red cedar and redwood tops, which in my opinion make great sounding steel strings. All of these species bring different sonic qualities to the table of course.
When I was first building instruments back in the seventies, mahogany and rosewood were the only woods that had gained any acceptance by players when it came to back and sides. I absolutely love what both of these species bring to the table... but it is wonderful that people are so much more open to other tonewoods today. I'm currently offering Indian, Madagascar and Brazilian Rosewood, tropical mahogany, pomelle quilted Sapele, Cocobolo, spalted Mango, Oregon Myrtle and figured Hawaiian Koa as back and sides choices.
I think that the wider acceptance of "alternative" tonewoods by guitar players gives the luthier a wider palette of tone colours to chose from when designing an instrument and ends up creating a more unique one-of-a-kind guitar ... I love it!!!
A 12 string Koa concert. The signature Wren inlay is at the 5th fret.
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Would you be able to briefly give us a run of the unique tonal properties of the various topwoods you use? I’ll qualify my answer by saying that I really believe that different builders bring different sonic characteristics out of the various tonewoods. My answers of course reflect what I have found over the years with regards to my own instruments. For starters, the qualities I look for in any species of top wood are, absence of lengthwise grain runoff, quarter sawn grain orientation, even grain count, attractive colour and brilliant displays of medullary rays. Having said that, all builders have utilized tops that don’t display the textbook characteristics of “the perfect top” … because some wood that falls short from a visual standpoint, exhibits physical attributes that are hard to ignore … excellent stiffness both with and across the grain, and a responsive tap tone. I guess what I’m saying is that a lot of builders today have the courage to utilize wood, especially with species like Adirondack and European spruce that are getting more difficult to procure, that falls slightly short of the perfect looking top. The bottom line is, if a piece of wood has the right strength-to-weight ratio and a strong lively tap tone, I think a builder should consider using it! In general terms, I tend to think largely in terms of midrange and overall warmth when it comes to top woods. With spruces, I find that Sitka has the thickest midrange and warmest overall tonality, with a very solid note fundamental and can be manipulated to have a great multilayered set of partials as well. Sitka is also able to produce a very wide dynamic range … probably one of the best species for this characteristic. Lutz is a naturally occurring hybrid of Sitka and either White or Engelmann spruce, and it tends to share sonic characteristics shared by these species. It seems to lend a very similar girth to the note fundamental as Sitka, but with an ever so slightly scooped lower midrange and perhaps a bit more sizzle in the overtone series.
The Alpine spruce that I’ve been using lately has a very similar tone to Engelmann, in that has an overall more “silvery” tonality (as to the overall “golden” tonality of Sitka), which some players hear as an increased clarity and overall chime. Both Engelmann and Alpine can tend to be very responsive to a light right hand attack and if strutted and voiced properly, will also handle very aggressive playing as well. Both of these tonewoods feature an extremely effervescent overtone series that I find really engaging. European (German, Czech) spruce is again, very “silvery” in its overall tonality … often even slightly more so than Alpine and Engelmann. The European that I’ve been using in recent years has a very good strength-to-weight ratio, light but stiff. European can take a few months to start really start opening up, but some players find the immediacy of response and crisp snappy attack. I’m one of those builders who also like Western Red cedar and Redwood as top plates for steel string guitars. One of the first commissions I received back in the mid ‘70s was a cedar/ Brazilian instrument for Bill Garrett. I’ve heard that instrument over thirty years later and I’m still very happy with the tone and response from that guitar. The cedar has held up extremely well over the years. I really like using cedar for players with a light to moderate right hand attack … it really has a lot of tonal nuances if it isn’t driven too hard. It also has just the most incredible combination of sparkle in the upper mids and high end with a nice edge to the attack transient … but a warm overall glow to the sound … an unusual combination but it really works for my ears. Redwood can be similar, but the tops I have are really high grade and really lend extra sizzle in the partials. Of course even the tops that are at the crisp and sparkle end of the tone spectrum gain some midrange and warm up with time and playing. When I hear guitars that I made thirty years ago with German spruce tops, they sound considerably darker than when new.
A concert model with Bearclaw Sitka Spruce top and Brazilian Rosewood back and sides.
David, when you speak of Alpine spruce, you are referring to European spruce? When I said European spruce, I should have specified German or Czech spruce ... as opposed to Alpine spruce (found in the upper elevations of the Alps) or as opposed to Italian spruce (found in the lower elevations of the Apennine mountains). I find that the late-summer growth rings on German or Czech spruce to be quite prominent, which I think adds substantially to the cross-grain stiffness. The Alpine spruce that I’ve been getting has a slightly less prominent late-summer growth ring, which seems to make the top slightly lighter weight for the same deflection.
There's a move towards figured woods these days - even figured tops. I understand some folks like bearclaw figure in their tops- how about yourself? I've grown to like the look of bearclaw figure. I remember Jean Larrivee showing me a top that Edgar Monch had given him before he moved back to Germany in the early '70s. It was absolutely riddled with bearclaws and Edgar considered it a very special top. He told Jean to make a guitar for his son with it. At the time I remember thinking that it just looked weird, but I quite like the look now. Some builders feel that tops with bearclaw figure have a better stiffness-to-weight ratio, but it's hard to generalize like that. I know that some suppliers resaw their bearclaw spruce slightly off the quarter because it shows off the figure better. This of course reduces cross grain stiffness though. Honestly, when it comes to judging a piece of topwood purely for responsiveness, I just close my eyes, flex it, tap it, scratch it ... and make a judgement based on my 37 years experience. I don't think about what the species is, or how much figure there is at that point. As a builder, you really have to develop that visceral connection with your wood.
“As a builder, you really have to develop that visceral connection with your wood.” And how about that wildly figured Brazilian Rosewood we've been seeing recently? The wilder looking Brazilian is possibly a result of the fact that even the old stumps of trees are being harvested and resawn into back and side sets. I've seen quotes from a few builders that indicate that this wood is also inferior sounding, but that hasn't been my experience. I've still got some old-growth quartersawn Brazilian, as well as some that was cut in this decade that is figured, and the tap tones from both examples are exceptional. I've had great results from both quartered and figured Brazilian. I'm quite discouraged from the stories coming out of both South America and Madagascar with regards to the uncontrolled harvesting of hardwoods, and won't be buying any more Brazilian or Madagascar rosewood though. With regards to finishes, I understand you’re using French polish exclusively these days? Yes, I’m using shellac applied with the French polish method exclusively these days. Sergei and Joshia de Jonge are the masters of this technique and they graciously taught me not only their methodology, but gave me their recipe for making the shellac as well. This involves dissolving shellac flakes and three different resins in pure alcohol and then boiling the mixture three separate times. This makes the shellac last almost indefinitely (just dissolving shellac in alcohol gives a solution with a shelf life of around 6 months) as well as making the final finish more durable. French polishing takes around three times longer than a standard nitro lacquer finish, but the gains in response from the finished instrument make it very worthwhile. This finish can be applied in such a thin film that there is almost zero damping factor ... allowing the guitar to realize its full potential.
Another concert model, this time in Indian Rosewood
I see. I understand you've offering a few models, would you like to give us a run down of your current line up and maybe the tonal qualities you are aiming for? Probably the most popular model is still the Concert. This is being built out of the same mould that I made thirty-five years ago but is a much different instrument today. This model has a full 16" lower bout dimension but with a tight waist and small upper bout that makes it feel more compact when you hold it (especially when the Manzer wedge is added). This guitar has possibly the most prominent bass response of my guitars, but is still very balanced with regards to bass/mid/treble projection. With all that I've learned over the last thirtyfive years, plus the addition of the side port and a thin French polish finish, the new Concert has really come into its own. The model that is really starting to get my clientele excited is the Remuda. I designed the aesthetics of this one with a retro/vintage sort of vibe, but the sound is very modern, with lots of girth on the note fundamental but with many overtone layers and again, a very even overall tonality.
The third model currently, is the little NL-1 ... which has turned out to be an ideal little recording instrument. My friend Michael Francis (who has probably done more recording dates than any other guitar player in Canada) has one on order. That little instrument really does like a microphone! I've also got plans (and orders) for a slope-shouldered dreadnought. And how about those sound ports? The first soundport that I ever saw or heard of, was by Sergei de Jonge and I have to say that in my opinion it is the single most important design element to have emerged in my career. Not only does it throw significantly more sound up at the player, but if designed properly, it doesn’t seem to diminish the forward projection of the instrument at all. Not only that, it gives the builder more flexibility to fine tune the main air resonance (ie. by cutting the appropriate sized side port after the box is closed). I have heard some side ports that had very little positive affect on the instrument, but others that really greatly improve the overall response of the guitar.
I see, so you can actually influence the tone of the guitar once the box is in place by placement and size of the soundhole? How is that done? Any enclosure or container has a main "air" resonant frequency. If you blow over the mouth of an empty juice bottle, you'll hear a note. If you partially fill the juice bottle with water (reducing it's internal air volume), that note raises in pitch. The other element that affects the internal air resonant frequency is the size of the aperture (or apertures).
Once the top and back are glued on to the sides of the guitar box, you can determine the main air resonant frequency, and then with experience, add the appropriate sized side port to achieve the air note that you are after. You would think that with a certain model of guitar, the internal air volume would be a constant and always be the same, but all of the resonant frequencies are coupled and interact with each other. For example, if you utilize a very stiff redwood top to colour the tone for a specific player, its tap tone could well be higher than a Sitka top, which would drag the air frequency up in pitch. Ziricote back with landscape figuring.
The full view of that figured Ziricote back.
Just sticking with soundports for the momentdoes the shape of the soundport affect the tonal qualities it imparts? Also I have noticed that not all sound ports are equal- some have a Tornavoz like cylinder others are simply, a hole.... Different builders seem to bring different things to the table when it comes to side ports. Personally, I don't get my best sound with a segmented port (ie several holes creating a design, or a simple louvred concept), but I know other builders who have had success with that type of aperture. For my instruments, the oval is by far the most effective.
If I had to quantify it, I'd say that I get an extra 5% of apparent volume from the player's standpoint, with no loss of frontal projection. I see I see. I know Al Carruth has done a bit of research into matching the mode of the neck with the body resonance- is it a similar concept? It's a similar concept just in the fact that it is important to think of the guitar as a system whose components are coupled or affected by each other. The trap that you don't want to fall into is to start thinking of the different components of the instrument as separate entities.
Thanks for explaining that, David. I was wondering if you had much thought into bridge material which is split into the bony/ rosewood camps? I'm afraid I'm quite unscientific when it comes to determining what bridge material to use on a specific model. Generally speaking, ebony will have considerably more mass than rosewood and bring the resonant frequencies down a bit more when glued to the top ... but for me it all just boils down to trying both and going with the wood I like the sound of the best ... it's as simple as that for me. I've noticed you offer just a few models now compared to some dreads and jumbos and parlors in the past- is that an evolution of your building? I actually offer three models, the 16" Concert model that I've made for thirty-five years, the new 15 1/4" Remuda model, and the little 13 3/4" NL-1. I was going to expand the line from that, but within a few weeks of re-launching my guitar building career, I received orders for these three models that will take me two years or more to deliver! I do actually have an order for a small 12 fret parlor like the one I made Joan Baez, and for a slope-shouldered dreadnought. I still have my old square-shouldered dreadnought mould as well as a couple of jumbos and Orchestra Model shapes. I'm starting to leave some spots in my build schedule so that I can have some fun with different body styles.
“As corny as it sounds, every guitar I make seems exciting to me.” And to what extent do you think the body shape/size has on the tone? Between extremes like my 13" NL-1 model and my 16" Concert, there is a huge difference in the bass-mid-treble balance, as well as an overall power difference... and I also hear it quite dramatically in the midrange response. I also find, and this is yet another generality that should be taken with a grain of salt, that guitars with tighter waists have a more complex overall tonality which sometimes, if not often, manifests itself in the prominence of the overtone component. Thanks for that David! I was wondering before we let you go if you had anything exciting on the horizon ? As corny as it sounds, every guitar I make seems exciting to me. It seems that all of my customers want something quite different which really helps keep things fresh for me. I’ll be developing a slopeshoulder dreadnought for a commission and re-visiting the guitar I made for Joan Baez on request from another customer... it’s all exciting for me at this point!
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