As a repair person in Nashville TN, I occasionally get the opportunity to work on some very special vintage instruments. In those moments I try to learn what I can, but mostly, I think of the people who originally built and designed them.

My thought is this… if they had the technology, the data and wealth of information we have today, they would use it. The musical context of the guitar has changed widely overtime. All the while, It has proven to be one of the most versatile and adaptable instruments in western music. In light of that, guitars contend with a new set of problems in the modern day, the context of the guitar has changed, and the technology and access to information has reshaped our world. If we could reach back into the late 1930’s and pull a luthier into the modern day, I believe they would see room for improvement themselves.

Many builders today are going to great lengths to preserve and replicated traditional steel-string acoustic guitars. These efforts have provided so much great insight and the people who have committed their lives in this way are national treasures. But for me personally, Im captured by the effort to push the guitar forward, leaning on the lessons of the past but reaching for the guitar of the future.