Meet the Makers - Steve Sedgwick
Sept 26, 2013 11:44:41 GMT
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Post by Martin on Sept 26, 2013 11:44:41 GMT
Acoustic Soundboard 'Meet the Maker' Interview
Steve Sedgwick
Interview by Dave White
www.stephensedgwick.co.uk
Steve Sedgwick
Interview by Dave White
www.stephensedgwick.co.uk
Based in Kent, Steve Sedgwick is one of this country’s guitar making “national treasures”. Well known internationally for his unique design Harp guitars, he is also a maker of a wide range of steel string guitars and mandolins.
He kindly took time to talk about his guitar making with me.
Photo by Martin Scott.
Dave: What drew you into the world of acoustic stringed instruments and what enticed you into wanting to make them?
Steve: I was influenced to play guitar at 14 by my older brother who was playing bass at the time. My grandfather also had a banjo mandolin, which I was interested in because back then I had never seen anything like it. I knew I wanted to do something with music but felt I wasn't good enough to be a musician. After filling out the career guide form at school, I received back 'Instrument Maker'. That felt like the perfect thing for me to do and so I looked up where I could learn to make guitars. Once I finished school I went straight to London Guildhall University (better known as the London College of Furniture and more recently London Metropolitan).
Dave: Was the Guildhall course just on guitar making or on other stringed instruments as well and did it serve you well as the basis for your future career?
Steve: I was on the guitar making course, although there were other instruments you could study, like violins, woodwind, piano, harpsichord, early guitar or lutes. Our first instrument to make was a mandolin, which I enjoyed because I could play a bit on it. Most people wanted to head straight into guitars but only a couple of people had previous wood working experience. So making the mandolin gave a nice start on the basics of using our tools, wood working, skills and techniques for instrument making. It was not just about making a guitar, the course at the time included lectures with the other groups on Instrument design, restoration, repair and history. There were the sciences, wood biology, chemistry which included properties on glues and finishes. One of the most important subjects was 'acoustics', which taught about the physics of sound. There was also business studies and a few other lessons. It did give a great basis for a future in instrument making, many people from Europe came to London to study instrument making there.
Dave: Was it while you were there that you discovered harp guitars and what was it about them that fascinated you?
Steve: It is hard to know why I was so drawn towards harp guitars, just something special and magical about them that stood out. I liked the fact that they were slightly different from a regular guitar and musically the instrument had more capabilities. It was while in the library at Guildhall where I discovered a great article by Jonathon Peterson on harp guitars in a Guild of American Lutherie journal #29 called Harp Guitar: That Extra-String Things. I was fortunate to meet Mr Peterson a number of years later.
Dave: You mentioned making a mandolin, what other instruments did you make at your time at the Guildhall?
Steve: I also made a 12-string mandolin, a copy of a 19th century Washburn parlor guitar with ladder bracing and a copy of the Torres 11-string guitar. I also made a couple of other instruments on the side of the main projects which was an 8-string electric bass for my brother and two dreadnought acoustic guitars, one went to Holland and the other to Australia.
12-string mandolin Copy of the Torres 11-string guitar Copy of a 19th C. Washburn parlor
Dave: So what did you do next after you graduated?
Steve: I looked for a proper job (lol). I continued to build instruments in the spare bed room and French polish in the dining room. For a couple of years I did this with some temping work. Work was sporadic and I was as good as unemployed really, although I never claimed anything from the Government. I did labour work seven days a week for several months for a French polisher guy and builders who were working on a banker's house. From that I managed to get enough money together to get a proper workshop and set up business officially.
Steve at Work in his Kent Workshop
Dave: Plus a decent head start in doing French polish finishes from the sound of it. What range of instruments did you offer when you started up and how hard was it to get your name out there?
Steve: I was fortunate to have made quite a few different kinds of instruments and so I advertised what I had already made. I was able to offer steel string guitars, mandolins, harp guitars and I was in the process of making a couple of classicals. Going out into the big wide world and getting my name out there was hard, it just takes a long time.
Dave: Did you have in your head a Steve Sedgwick "sound" and "aesthetic" for the instruments you made from the start or is this something that you evolved over time?
Steve: For me it evolved over time and is still evolving. Making instruments was like learning to play guitar. I wanted to be like Jimmy Page. Before attempting just feats you have to learn the basics of chords and where the notes are on the fret board. That was like making your first instrument. Once you master some of the basics you then go onto leaning to play a song. As you learn more songs you pick up more techniques and skills as well as gaining more knowledge of music. The same can be said when you start to build more instruments and different kind of guitars, you learn new things. That 'sound' comes from all those guitar building experiences and influences. Your workshop, your method of working, the way you shape the bracing for example adds to the signature of the sound. As regards to aesthetics I could leap forwards a bit because of seeing so many pictures of a great guitars and getting ideas about wood combinations and design features. With making custom guitars sometimes I get a lot of input from a customer as to how they want the instrument to look.
Dave: Can you tell us a little more about the Sedgwick style and the range of instruments that you offer?
Steve: When you say style what do you mean because it is very subjective? How would you describe my style? I currently offer flat back mandolins, 12-string mandolins, harp mandolins, small, medium, jumbo and dreadnought steel string guitars. I don't advertise it but I have made several classical guitars and I wouldn't mind making a new one at some point and make a newer parlour guitar. I offer three different harp guitars, one similar to the classic Dyer style, an 'M' harp guitar which has the bridge in the middle of the soundboard and the neck off set. I also offer a 21-string harp guitar, which has extra super treble strings. This is based on John Doan's original 20-string harp guitar made by John Sullivan and Jeffery Elliott. I can also make one-off unique bespoke custom stuff, like the 30-string Arpa Viola Caipira (Brazilian harp guitar), a sitar guitar with sympathetic strings and multi neck instruments. Most of my orders are for harp guitars and odd stuff.
Sedgwick Concert Guitar
Simon Wahl - Eleanor Rigby (played on a Sedgwick Concert guitar)
Sedgwick Standard Guitar
Sedgwick Jumbo Guitar
Sedgwick Mandolin
Sedgwick 20 String Harp Guitar
Sedgwick Harp Guitar
Paul Oorts - Stones Rag (played on a Sedgwick harp guitar)
Jason Carter - Finlandia (This video will be at a Canadian film festival)
Jason Carter - Finlandia (This video will be at a Canadian film festival)
Sedgwick Arpa Viola Caipira Guitar
Brad Hoyt - Sheechka Moye (played on the Arpa Viola Caipria)
Brad Hoyt - Sheechka Moye (played on the Arpa Viola Caipria)
Dave: That’s a wide and very interesting range of instruments. I’d describe your style as being rooted in and respecting the tradition of the American steel string guitar but with an elegance and simplicity of line and respect for materials that lets them be the main focus for the eye. Great craftsmanship and a compactness especially on your harp guitars that really appeals and helps with playability that inspired me when I was designing and making my own harp guitars. Also there is the eccentricity and love of the unusual that I really relate to. I saw and was impressed by your Sitar guitar at last year’s East Anglia Guitar Show – can you tell us some more about its conception, development and its making?
Steve: Thanks for the kind words, that is a very poetic description of my work. I've always loved the exotic Eastern sound of the sitar and I had to study some of the music regarding the tuning temperaments because it wasn't in equal tuning. Sometimes on an album it is a great trick to add a sitar track to a song because it helps pops that tune out from the rest of the songs on a recording. I had wanted to make a sitar guitar for myself ever since I started making guitars but never got around to it. A few years ago I had a serious enquiry for one from an Italian guy living in Leeds. I said I would make one for myself first to see how it turns out. He specified having sympathetic strings going through the neck like Fred Carlson's Sympitar. I was reluctant to copy Fred Carlson because of design rights. Carlson had been one of my original heroes of guitar making and I was very fortunately to meet him a few times at the harp guitar gatherings in America. I asked him about making a copy of the instrument. If I was to do an exact copy then I would have to pay a licensing fee. He urged me to do something similar but not the same. What made Carlson's Sympitar special was to have the sympathetic strings through the neck but also inside the body of the guitar. If you need to change the strings and make any adjustments you do so by going through a door in the back of the guitar. So I contemplated and pondered what to do with the strings for months. The Italian guitarist wasn't in a rush which was good and so this Sedgwick sitar guitar became a special long term Skunk Works side project. I drew inspiration form the viola d'amore and the English Violet which have sympathetic strings going through the neck but they go over the body through the same bridge, but underneath the main strings. I thought I would do it this way since it has been done historically before and the bonus was that I could change and make adjustments to the bridge to the sympathetic strings without going inside the guitar. It took a while to draw the plans and calculate everything so it still looked and felt like a normal guitar and I only had 2mm room for error with the sympathetic strings. I was pleased with the outcome of the instrument; you can change from a regular bridge for the sympathetic strings to an Indian Jawari (buzzing) style bridge. I also made three different saddles for the main guitar strings, so you have either a regular guitar, a full buzzing sitar guitar or something in between. It worked out great in the end and I love playing it. It is probably best if you watch the videos on YouTube.
Sedgwick Sitar Guitar
Sedgwick Sitar Guitar – Rosette and Sympathetic Strings
Sitar guitar
Dave: Which part of instrument making do you enjoy the most?
Steve: That end result of bringing art and science together is always the best, when you set up a new instrument and sit down to play it. It is like breathing life into a wooden box.
Dave: Where possible do you use traditional techniques to make your instruments in terms of tools, glues and finishes used?
Steve: The majority of my guitar making is with hand tools. I tend to use the Spanish method of construction rather than the modern American style. I wouldn't complain is someone offered me a CNC router. With glues I used PVA (Polyvinyl acetate) with my early instruments and they haven't come apart. At the moment I tend to use Titebond, which is an Aliphatic resin and has been an industry standard. Modern glues are far better for some exotic woods where their surfaces need more care when gluing. Some can have more oil or tannic acid on the surface. The old hide/animal glue has proven to improve the sound of guitars, but I don't use it because the glue can fail after so many years. With finishes much of it depends on what the the musician wants and their playing habits. I personally love the old French polish/shellac finish. The one down side with it is that it is not a hard wearing finish, so sometimes I use a modern finish applied and rubbed by hand.
Making a harp guitar
Dave: You’ve made a number of instruments in collaboration with professional musicians. Do you find that these projects have helped your development and building?
Steve: I learn something new with every instrument I make. Collaboration with professional musicians are very much the same as any other commission. It is nice if they have a special design request because that can push my limits to a new levels. Doing new things do broaden your skills and experience.
Dave: Do you work on a number of instruments at the same time or one at a time?
Steve: I normally have a couple of instruments on the go. One would be the main project and then I have the next order which I might do a bit of work on, depending on what has be finalized. I also have in the background a special instrument I work on which is a long term project.
Dave: You have made some very interesting and eccentric instruments – are there any more that you have on your wish list to do?
Steve: I do have a long list of interesting and eccentric instruments to make. They are my long term special projects, which are usually self indulgent but they help to keep my creative freedom flowing.
Sedgwick “Double Neck”
Dave: Where can readers see and play some of your instruments?
Steve: There are a few shows I exhibit at and you would have to check my website where I will be. Alternatively you could visit my workshop by appointment.
Dave: Thanks for taking the time to do this interesting interview, it’s been fun.