A Love Letter to St. Lucia

A Love Letter to St. Lucia

This is a really unique custom instrument for a customer who is a fan of St. Lucia (the island) and wanted a guitar that expresses that feeling. Every detail is a product of that collaboration. We started with a small jumbo sized instrument with African Blackwood and Redwood. We also designed the custom inlays that show off the Pitons, St. Lucia’s iconic mountains, in abalone and reconstituted stone as well as inlays that express the shape of the St. Lucia flag. That motif is carried down the fretboard in abalone and all the way to the custom pinless bridge that also boasts a bright burst of abalone. There is an arm bevel and binding in beautifully flamed maple and that is dressed up with gold hardware and EVO gold fretwire. I really like the asymmetrically carved heel and back of the headstock. The final touch was the installation of a K&K Pure Pickup. I also want to thank KOZM Guitars for lending his services in cutting the bulk of the inlays which saved me many hours work hunched over cutting inlays by hand.

Also, a nice accessory for most any bridge, but definitely required for this pinless design was a nice top protector to keep from dinging the top while changing strings.

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June 2018

I'll be attending the 2018 Guitar Foundation of America International Convention and Competition at the University of Louisville this week.  I'm gonna miss the first few days but will be there Wednesday thru Saturday.  I'll have a  western red cedar and east indian rosewood guitar there to display.   I hope the heat and humidity don't kill me.   Come down and check it out if you can.    https://www.guitarfoundation.org

Also,  here are a few photos of a uke I made for a long time friend.  I was really excited to deliver this uke in person.  It's a bearclaw swiss spruce and claro walnut tenor with some black mother of pearl.  

2018 Koblenz International Guitar Festival and Finally Some Videos!

I just got back from the 2018 Koblenz International Guitar Festival.  I met a lot of great people: mostly all amazing players or fellow luthiers from around the world.  I didn't bring my nice camera on the trip but I took some photos with my phone while I was there.  I mostly subsisted on fried potatoes and beer during the trip. That picture of beer, fries and currywurst is indicitave of my diet.  Below are some photos which include:  Pictures of the town, a blurry photo of Fabio Zanon (whom I always enjoy hearing), the ceiling of the symphony hall which I thought looked cool,  Swedish Luthier Heikki Rousu showing off an 11 string guitar, Guitarist Miguel Mandelli checking out my guitars, and a random food cart pod event going on Sunday night where half the carts were American style BBQ and most the trucks had a rock n roll theme with flames painted on the sides!?!

Secondly,  I'm going to try to make videos on a regular basis for my instruments.  Here the 1st video; a performance of "La Paloma" by Sebastian Iradier and performed and arranged by Guitarist Ryan Walsh.  The guitar is a 2018 western red cedar and East Indian Rosewood guitar. This is the 1st video I've uploaded.  More to come later.  

This is a short and charming Spanish tango by Sebastian Iradier from the 19th century. Also one of my favorite encore pieces! If you enjoy videos like these, consider becoming a patron on Patreon.com! There will be monthly uploads of such pieces, and much more! https://www.patreon.com/ryanwalsh

Been a While

Been a While

Shop photos, construction and pictures of finished guitars