Brook Tavy Custom: 'Autumn'
From a river bed to a
concert stage
This is the story of a unique and very special guitar
"I think I'll build my own guitar; that'll be fun"
Grand designs, but zero ability to full them!
Research
Many hours were spent researching woods; I knew I wanted a jumbo sized guitar with a Sinker Redwood top (see my page about
guitar tonewoods)
The Woods
Reality Check!
I found a lovely set of highly figured Sinker Redwood for the top, and Claro Walnut with dark swirls in the grain for the back and sides from a luthier in the USA
Woods purchased, guitar construction book read, had a go at bending woods,courtesy of my friends at Brook Guitars (see next page); advice taken from my good friend and luthier Roger Williams...then the horror of it sinks in,,,
Let the Experts do it
Roger had just retired from
making guitars, so after a period where he kindly stored the woods, I contracted Brook Guitars to build it for me
Could I get by...?
...with a little help from my friends?
Master guitar builder Simon Smidmore of Brook Guitars, demonstrating how to bend strips of solid wood for the sides of the guitar
Then I have a go; this is a strip of 'Rio', as Simon called it - Brazilian Rosewood, for many the 'Holy Grail' of
guitar woods. I still have this little piece as a memento of the days when my exuberant ego thought I was
capable of far more than my hands could actually
deliver!
February 2023:
The Journey Begins...
The original woods, safely on the back seat of the X-Trail, about to embark on their journey to Easterbook, Devon, to begin their rebirth
The woods meet their 'Tavy' body mould
At this point, following Roger's advice, I'd swapped the Claro Walnut for the back and sides with a lovely set of East Indian Rosewood (on the right), which has some hints of orange and purple in its straight grain.
On the left is my original, highly figured Sinker Redwood, which began its life as a huge Metasequoia tree in California, probably sometime in the 1700s, would have been felled around the time of the American Civil War, and lay on a river bed until it was dredged out over 100 years later.
July 2023:
The woods begin to take shape
Brook Guitars still make their instruments the old way; no modern vacuum press to hold the pieces in place whilst the glue sets!
I remember when I bought my first Brook guitar, this was the very first thing I saw when I walked into the workshop.
I just love this keeping of
traditional methods.
The image on the right shows the top and sides, after the
glueing process for the braces and the kerfing is complete.
The dark tone of the Sinker Redwood looks lovely against the pale Sitka Spruce braces. The Rosewood back is below.
August 2023:
The design details begin to show
When I designed this guitar - the wood choices, the rosette, the inlays - I had envisaged it being synonymous with Autumn - the colours of the Fall.
The headstock was to have three maple leaves in different shades, and a wide rosette and purfling in abalone to represent sunlight on water.
The back wood was selected principally to provide a rich tone, with a 'scooped' midrange, where my tenor voice would sit in between the rich bass
response and shimmering trebles. Indian Rosewood does this so well, and this is such a beautiful example, too.
October 2023:
Autumn in glorious colour
A key part of my original design was to have wood inlaid maple leaves in three autumnal colours on the neck, as fretboard markers. Simon and Andy felt that wood inlays wood become dirty, and recommended abalone or mother of pearl maple leaves, which I
reluctantly agreed as a compromise. Jack had other ideas, and accepted the challenge, hand cutting the exquisite wooden leaves seen here. When I first saw them - in the photos below - I had more than just a tear in my eye.
October 2023:
Autumn comes home
My first Brook guitar was made exactly 20 years before 'Autumn', and took a whole year for the guys to build and put in the intricate
inlays. This time around, it was just eight months from delivering the woods to bringing my beautiful, unique guitar home.
I'd just like to pay tribute to the craftsmanship, attention to detail, and really importantly - the willingness to turn the vision of a simple player like me into the masterpiece instrument you've seen in these pages. I am humbled by your talents, in awe of your creations.
THANK YOU Simon, Andy and Jack; you have twice been trusted guardians of my dreams, and you've made them come true.