Building Reputation

I’ve been reading Guitarist for years now and I love it. I’ve often thought you should do a series of articles on the next generation of luthiers. I know you have done loads of great articles on the current gods of the art, but the new guys need to get a look in too!

I always wanted to have a guitar made and finally, after being inspired by Guitarist, I decide to put my money where my mouth is. I had a guitar built by Tom Sands who resides in the Republic of Yorkshire. He was an apprentice of Ervin Somogyi and the quality of his workmanship is staggering. As you know Somogyi is known for the spectacular voicing of his guitars and Tom has brought this into his work. Either way give the guys a break and do a mini series on them. Keep up the good work. Dave Prior, via email

Thanks Dave, we agree that there’s a wealth of guitar-building talent in the UK that deserves wider recognition. From makers now breaking into the mainstream, relatively speaking, such as Gray Guitars (see Workshop, issue 435) to luthiers who are just starting to get their name out there, such as Fidelity Guitars (see review, issue 429) we do try to feature some of the best and brightest coming through.

While it’s hard to fit in every emerging maker that deserves a mention, it’s definitely worth supporting to the hilt – so why don’t readers send in their nominees with a pic of builds they’ve had made? Also the industry seems to be crying out for an annual prize that celebrates the best emerging luthiers. Maybe that’s something we could host as well, if there’s enough interest?

In the meantime, we’ll keep on featuring smaller but worthy makers in our Workshop series and in the reviews pages as and when we can. But for now, we salute Tom Sands’ efforts, which have clearly made a hit with you Dave. We hope you continue to enjoy your custom creation.