Steve Hicks Guitarist and Luthier

Luthery

These are some of the instruments I currently offer

Modern Fretted

Steel string guitar

Parlour 00 000 O.M. Dreadnought12 String

Custom options.

Cutaway Venitian or Florentine styles.

7 String (low B)

7 string guitar

Ergonomic tapered body design. The rib depth is altered so as to be shallower around the lower bass bout. The guitar is more comfortable to hold and can help reduce potential tension in the right arm/elbow. The rib depth is increased accordingly on the treble side lower bout to maintain the air volume in the guitar body.

Soundboard timbers are either Sitka Spruce or European Spruce as standard. I can also offer Engleman Spruce and Western Red Cedar.

Necks are Mahogany as standard. Fingerboards are Ebony as standard.

Celtic Bouzouki. 4 course long scale Tuning GDAE or GDAD

Celtic Cittern. 5 course short scale. Suggested tuning GDAEA The high 'a' first course aids position playing by increasing melodic possibilities within the First 5 frets and also enhances chord/harmonic functions.

Both the bouzouki and cittern are available in flat top or carved top styles. Back and rib materials as guitar

Materials.

I use Indian Rosewood predominantly for backs and ribs. I can also offer Mahogany, Maple (figured). Walnut and Cherry. More exotic timbers, subject to availability are, Koa. Pau Ferro (Bolivian Rosewood). Honduras Rosewood. Cocobolo and Padauk.

Early Fretted Instruments.

6 course lute

Renaissance Lute 6 and 7 course

Cittern after Canpi

Orpharion after Palmer. Fan frets

Bandora 7 course. Fan frets

Viols in the English style after Rose, Meares, Blunt (lyra viol)

Custom options:-

Carved heads

carved head

Rose Designs

materials options etc. please contact me for further information.

rose design

Pricing, ordering, terms and conditions. Please contact me.

Methodology.

I build in a traditional style. For modern fretted instruments I seldom use moulds, rather by assembly on a workboard (solera) which permits modification of the body shape of an instrument to suit customer requirements. Thus I can build to a customer’s choice of guitar body design with more ease. I use the highest quality materials available, personally selected from my suppliers. Instruments are finished in high gloss acrylic water based finish. Early fretted instruments are finished in oil varnish with lute soundboards finished in drying oil.