Reimagining musical instrument design

My journey is an intuitive investigation in the pursuit of acoustic, efficiency and ergonomics.

I have an attention to detail that could be classed as a condition and if I lock onto an idea...well, it’s very hard for me to step away. I have invested thousands of hours to develop a new generation of instruments, searching for super refined musical experiences for the ears, eyes and fingers.

I have spent a great deal of time looking at the way sound is handled by nature. The design elements which have formed over billions of years in response to the movement of sound, liquids and air are cues I have tried to reference when developing the acoustic principals of these instruments.

A way in

In my teens and early adult years, I pursued a career in music. I stepped away from that goal but the need to play music remains constant, as does my need to explore any instrument I can get time with.

I was exposed to traditional instrument making in my mid-teens and even though it had a deeply profound effect on me I could never find a way in. It felt too prescriptive.

In my mid-thirties I built an Electric Lap Steel which is a perfect first instrument because of its simplicity. I decided to make it pretty, so if it failed sonically it would look good on the wall. I did a great deal of investigation, so although it has its flaws it plays well and has a lovely deep voice and rich tone.

Hand Drums & Percussion

A few years on I borrowed a Cajon drum for a gig. It was cheap and nasty but gave me an insight into what a great instrument a Cajon is to play, and that was a single-faced empty box. On returning it, I immediately missed having it. I decided to make my own, which evolved into a deep investigation of percussion instrument design and construction. Luckily I found a stunning piece of high-grade, three-millimetre ply at a local cabinet makers which was fundamental to making a really sweet sounding instrument. I recognised the correlation between high-grade materials and good tone. My first Cajon was a quantum leap from the instrument I borrowed and it was just the beginning.

Since then I have been reimagining the design of the Cajon from an empty box with a single playing face into a multi-faced, tuned percussion instrument with an integrated chassis. Shifting the structure from the exterior of the instrument into a consolidated X chassis opened the floodgates of possibilities! It proved pivotal as I could make each side a super responsive, tuned playing face. That enhanced tonal response and volume of the whole instrument.

I am currently prototyping lightweight, ergonomic multi-voiced Bongos, Lap Cajon’s and Shakers.

From little things…

In 2013, master luthier Bryan De Gruchy offered me one of his Dobro’s at a crazy price but I had a young family and couldn’t justify the expense. I was left wanting a Dobro. The only way I was going to get one was to make it. I came up with multiple designs and intuitively I knew it needed to be a departure from traditional methods. I spent a few months working up design iterations trying to decide how this instrument might eventuate.

A friend made a rudimentary but very cool sounding two-stringed bowed instrument out of an old can and a garden stake. I found the idea deeply inspiring. I was gifted a beautiful old oil can and built a Cantar with a neck made from three layers of nineteen-millimetre plywood. The instrument is nothing special to play but the resolve to stack plywood for the headstock/neck was a revelation as I discovered I could build any form in three dimensions with sheet material.

Resonator Lap-Steels

My ethos was strong from the start to find new ways to approach materials, design and the playing experience. I could make structure from narrow pieces stacked for the sides and use the bulk of the material for lateral strength in the neck. Immediately I started building a Dobro shell from nineteen-millimetre ply.

This Dobro has a 50/50 weight distribution and weighs only four kilograms (two kilos lighter than my brass bodied tri-cone). It has a ply sound-well and no back bracing. It’s a lovely tactile object, with a wide neck and a smooth, angled junction where it meets the leg of the player; it’s easy to pick up and hold. The back is mahogany which was the only real concession to tradition aside from the hardware. It’s not a guitar that has been modified to be a lap steel, it’s an instrument designed to be played on your lap, and it feels like it.

Though this instrument isn’t a De Gruchy, it does have a lovely, even voice and projects as a resonator should. I have played it a lot which I guess is ultimately what makes an instrument successful.

This construction method has now been superseded by a skinned skeletal frame which is incredibly strong, stable and less than half the weight. The layered design was invaluable as it led to the dismantlable prototype. This generated a huge progression in my ability to develop ideas.