Instruments

All of my instruments are built individually to my clients' specifications. All instruments are built with the same care and attention to detail. I don't do "assembly line runs" of any instrument. I never use lesser quality materials or cut corners. I use the finest materials I can secure, and I carefully "tap test" the woods to ensure the best acoustic properties.

Construction materials

Woods Used for the Bowls

Cypress, Yew, Curly Maple, Birdseye Maple, Curly Cherry, European Pear, European Plum, Sycamore, Walnut, Rosewood, Kingwood, Bloodwood (deep red), Ebony.

Detail woods (edges, fingerboards, etc.)

Boxwood, Snakewood, Holly, Ebony, Bone, and other materials as I see fit and are available. I'm sorry, but due to import and export restrictions, I cannot use ivory.

Woods Used for the Soundboard

I use fine, hand-selected German, Bosnian, and Romanian Spruce. I have used red cedar on some vihuelas with very good results: it yields very different sounding instruments that have pleased their owners.

Roses

Those "Round Gates of Sound" also known as Rosettes or Roses (By any other name should sound as Sweet) or as the Italians put it "stelle" (if you prefer the night sky)

The rose is a flourish to the instrument that shows the builder's skill and helps establish the instrument's identity, both aesthetic and acoustic.

Here are some examples.