A Swiss Moon/Brazilian Mahogany Turnstone for Martin Simpson

Thanks Phil! I'm glad you like it!

Hi Everyone,

I’m delighted to let you know that Martin Simpson’s new Turnstone flew the nest earlier this week!

Of course, due to the current pandemic restrictions we weren’t able to deliver it in person, so we boxed the guitar up carefully and sent it on its way. I awaited word from Martin with nervous anticipation to hear what he thought of it. As he had loved the other TM model he tried so much, I knew that this one needed to surpass that to suitably impress him!

I spoke to Martin on the phone earlier today and I was so thrilled to hear that he is completely enamoured with the guitar! And once again thankfully he loved it and said that he’s is able to do things on this guitar that he isn’t able to on others. He added that for him it’s very exciting because it’s inspiring him to try new things.

We’re just finishing off the photos that we took before it left, which we’ll post soon, but even better than that, Martin’s going to play it live at 4pm (GMT) today on his Facebook page!

Hello all,

Thank you so much for your kind words and sharing the excitement of this build journey with me. It’s been quite the ride.

If you recall, I mentioned my client and friend Terry in the first instalment of my build thread. I made Terry’s newest Turnstone alongside Martin’s, and it was Terry who introduced me to Martin in the first place.

Here’s a quick recap:

It was back in 2017 that I met Martin, when Terry was visiting the workshop to spec out his first Turnstone; Terry brought him along for moral support and to try a Turnstone for himself. Martin (very kindly) had lovely things to say, and advised that when the time came he would be thrilled to give my instruments a spin in the future if I ever needed feedback. I took him up on this offer in 2020; and to my delight, the Turnstone Guitar I sent him to unpick was (which came as a surprise to me I may add) proudly smiling out from the cover Martin’s newest album, ‘Home Recordings’. I think this was a real highlight of my 2020.

After I delivered the news to Martin that the guitar in question was already spoken for, I did let him know that I still had the sister set of the mahogany from which it originally came, the plan to build Martin a similar guitar was made. I was overjoyed, of course.

Meanwhile, back to the client and friend I mentioned - Terry. Terry, as I’ve mentioned, already had one Turnstone Guitar to his name - and he came back for more in 2020, pencilled in to be in the same batch of guitars as Martin’s build. This was fantastic for me on a personal level, as you can imagine; the opportunity to build a guitar for each friend in tangent would no doubt be a total joy. And it really was. Both Martin and Terry, of course, imprinted their own personalities into the builds through their own choices and specifications working closely with me, of course, but they were also able to get excited together and receive updates in real time about their guitars coming together in tangent.

I also had fun with the fact I could, if I played it correctly, ensure that both guitars were finished at the same time, and that both boxes arrived on the same day. Of course if I had it my way I’d be delivering them both to Martin and Terry in person, but the Coronavirus had other plans. So instead I had fun orchestrating their arrivals so that they would have their guitars on the same day, and could share the excitement together. This all went surprisingly well and the guys got their guitars the same day, as planned (hurrah! That I felt smug the delivery had all gone swimmingly was an understatement).

To top it off, I was delighted to hear wonderful things about the guitars from both parties - a real testament to the fun we had collaborating upon the build from wood choice to design. It is a very special feeling to know that after the pandemic restrictions are lifted, whenever that may be, they will be bringing their Turnstones to play music together once more in a celebration of their friendship and of live music.

To top it all off, the day after Martin received his Turnstone, he did an exclusive little concert over on his Facebook page. Despite Facebook live’s tendency to murder sonic integrity through streaming and compression, it was great to see Martin enjoying his new instrument live time and getting feedback from such an appreciative audience. But with it apparently also being 'pick up your guitar day' yesterday, I was delighted to see Martin picking up his Turnstone with his full stage rig set up and playing some beautiful blues. Here's the link on Facebook to check it out (also on Martin's Instagram and Twitter) - fb.watch/3Cg61bk51W/

I can’t wait to see what the guitars inspire Martin and Terry to do in the coming weeks, months and years - thank you for following along the journey. We really appreciate you and your kind words here at Turnstone.

So without further delay - I am so happy to show you the photos of Martin's guitar and also a couple of Terry's too! Thank you for sharing this journey with me.

All the best, Rosie















And here are some of Terry's guitar too - an all English 'E-Series' guitar made entirely out of English grown timber. The top is English grown Cedar of Lebanon with English Cherry back and sides and English Walnut neck. The fingerboard and bridge are made from a wood called Labernum. This is also a TM model with a Florentine cutaway but this is a 12 fret join instead of a 14 like Martin's.










And lastly here is a picture of Martin with his Turnstone - I hope to soon have a picture of Terry too!

I have to say that aesthetically Terry's guitar is the one that does it for me .... even luckier chap!

Looking forward to hearing a recording ..

Those are beautiful, Rosie.