ROSIE HEYDENRYCH

TURNSTONE GUITAR COMPANY

Finding out about Linda Manzer, among other female luthiers, encouraged Rosie Heydenrych, in her mid-20s, to sign up for a guitar-making class at London Metropolitan University. She followed up with a two-year internship with a local maker, and volunteered with repairer Celine Camerlynck in London’s Denmark Street, before starting the Turnstone Guitar Company in 2015.

What sets your guitars apart?

I’d like to say tone and playability, but that is for the player to identify. It’s exciting to use new woods, feel their differences in my hands and anticipate the contribution they will make to a finished instrument. I like to use different woods for bracing to emphasise tonal characteristics that a species excels at – walnut for warmth, padauk for clear treble, mahogany for crispness. I have become very interested in the use of English timbers.

Does it matter that there are so few women in lutherie?

Lack of diversity in any industry is a shame. Things are changing, but when I was at school I was the only girl in my year to take woodworking. I think to this day it still breeds an undercurrent of insecurity. I worried about what friends and family might think when I told them I was interested in working with hand tools, machines and glues. One of the first things I did was research if there were any female guitar makers, and I found out about Kathy Wingert, Linda Manzer and Judy Threet. It gave me the courage to walk through the door of that evening class.

I see so many small women who are swamped by a dreadnought-size guitar. I don’t think women [guitar players] want anything that’s aesthetically different, but they do sometimes have different physical requirements. It comes down to wanting a better playing experience, so for women I think in terms of smaller guitar bodies, less weight in the instrument and easy playability on the neck.

Being a custom maker I can help spec a guitar that caters physically to a person’s requirements. That goes for men and women.