::NEWS::
Visit with Barney Bentall and Simon Whitfield
Barney Bentall and Simon Whitfield came up to Quadra to see Rich guitars and visit Naked bikes . We had a fun jam at Sam's place with several guitars, a resonator and a ukulele. The following day they came to see the shop and try out more instruments including the new Quadritar and a recent tenor guitar.
Tenor Guitar
Here's a fun little instrument just finished. Tenor guitars were created by The Martin Guitar Co. in the 1920's for banjo players looking for instruments they could easily play. At this time the banjo was being replaced by guitar in a lot of the bands. It's a four string instrument tuned usually in fifths ( C G D A ). A quick strum reveals a range of sound from guitar to banjo-like!
Annual Guild Show
Just got back from our annual Islands Luthiers Guild Show in Qualicum Beach and I'm happy to report an excellent turnout and an
excellent show. I was able to show off my newly finished 'Quadritar'. It was played and enjoyed by many, the guest guitarist Rodrigo
spent a long time with it and was impressed with its clarity of tone and projection.
The Quadritar Project
A new experiment in the works. Twin soundholes to provide more space for
an active soundboard, a stiffer 'boat' with it's inverted lining and radical modified 'ladder' bracing.
The neck, now underway, has twin carbon fiber tubes instead of a truss rod. Finally it will have a pinless bridge for
fast string changes and no problems with lost or worn pins. Should be fun!
A maple roundbody for Aileen.
Aileen Diefenbach was on Quadra visiting from Alberta, and originally from Australia, came to see
what was happening in the shop. She now has a 'Rich' roundbody guitar with
figured maple sides and back and an inlay of a Kingfisher. She says this
is the first guitar she can do a barre chord on cleanly and combined with
it's beautiful tone and great looks is very happy.
Ray Leonard and his Axiom.
Ray came by on the Quadra Island Studio Tour and liked what he saw. Later
on in the summer after hiking the West Coast Trail, Ray came by and picked
up an Axiom Classical guitar. He's planning on working on his chops with
his new friend, I'm sure they'll get along fine. 
Shane Philip with his new 'Quadrasonic' lap steel!
Shane just took delivery of his 'Quadrasonic' lap steel and is heading off for a concert immediately with it. He's pumped and says
it's inspiring new sounds already. It features an inlay in black shell of Dave Oram's
artwork from the cover of Shane's latest cd,
"Live at Baker Studios".
new 'Quadrasonic' slide guitar
An exciting new project is almost complete, an electric slide guitar. Built in Honduras mahogany, Cocobolo and Bigleaf Maple it has some interesting features. The design is neck through body and is heavily influenced by Weissenborns. The bridge is of Cocobolo for a cool acoustic look and strings go through the body to enhance sustain. The body has multiple internal chambers to reduce weight and give it some of that semi-hollow sound. Pickups are twin Golden Era humbuckers with dual volume and tone controls and a three position switch.
new baby
Denis Berger came and picked up his new 'OM' guitar, an exciting day for us both. He's had the wood for twenty plus years and I was thrilled to be the one chosen to bring it to life. It's in East Indian Rosewood with a red cedar top and his initials in pearl in the peghead. Another cool feature is the fretwork with gold fretwire done with my new lipstick fret end treatment. It has that bell like chime sound that he's been searching for.
