I learned to play the guitar as a teenager in Gamlins Music Centre in Cardiff. My teacher, Rob Crocker, was a luthier and sometimes we'd have the lesson in his workshop. I was always fascinated by the half built guitars hanging around the walls and I thought... "One day, I'll build guitars."
I did think it might not be a realistic dream though. I got married and moved away so I wasn't going to be able to ask Rob to teach me to be a luthier. Then I came across Martin Guitar kits. Buying and completing a kit made the project seem just that little bit more achievable. There was also the added bonus of a kit costing only a fraction of a Martin guitar, which I've always wanted but which was definitely out of my price range.
My first guitar, who is named Martina (Yeah, corny but all my guitars have names, maybe another blog entry will introduce them) took me over a year to complete. I didn't work at it solidly though. This was something I'd always wanted to do and I was determined not to allow it to become a chore. I only worked on the guitar when I wanted too. As such, I really enjoyed the process and now have a lovely handmade guitar that I regularly play at gigs. Don't panic M, I promise I will work more diligently on your guitar!
So my next post will include pictures of the parts awaiting assembly, and the early stages in building my very first commissioned guitar!
