Banjola for sale
John James
Skeet Williams
Will McNicol, South Mountain
Strings that Nimble Leap
Comments from Artists
Sigourney Weaver. Sonnet 128
Ethiopia plants 200 million trees in one day
New Albums
The Mechanics and Construction of the Acoustic Guitar

What a beautiful thing. Brazilian Rosewood back and sides, top quality, and full of colour. Fine grained Italian Spruce Soundboard, 45mm Mahogany neck laminated with Ebony and red lines. Snake wood bindings, Abalone shell diamond inlays. Headway FEQ pickup fitted. With CITES papers.

This guitar was completed for a USA order about a year ago, but the customer had to temporarily withdraw, so we have used it for display, and loaned it to one of the artists to use on the "Strings that Nimble Leap" album.

Rich, warm, clear and powerful sound, it's in excellent, just about perfect condition, and it's for sale.

£6,800

Ben's site.

I'll be starting another guitar for Gordon soon, a rather interesting one!

Gordon's site.

Jack has made quite a few interesting, quality videos using his Alchemist. I'll be posting more as soon as I can.

Jack's site.

Gerry once opened for The Grateful Dead, and played electric guitar on tour for Marianne Faithfull. His guitar is a rather special Falstaff, made from African Blackwood before the timber became so popular in the "higher end" instruments.

Gerry's site

It isn't finished yet, wait until next month. Unless we lose the Ashes, in which case I might drop the whole idea.

I've been trying to find a decent acoustic version of “Bat out of Hell" to share. Fortunately for you, I've failed.

I know how to treat my friends and staff.  Take them deep below the Earth’s surface, drive miles out under the ocean and drink water. Better than a bonus.

Boulby Mine is in North Yorkshire, originally a Potash mine, it now concentrates on mining Polyhalite. Just in case you've forgotten, that’s basically, a fertiliser.

Boulby is the only Polyhalite mine in the world, and the deepest mine in Europe. I won the chance to go down the mine at a charity auction a few months ago.

Breathing apparatus was individually tested for all of us, then we were kitted up and taken the seven-minute trip down the pit shaft to the lower levels.  It's hot down there, and we had to carry individual ice and water supplies, a "Self-Rescuer" device, air masks, plus the more obvious safety gear. I've never worn "Spats" before.

In the event of a shaft collapse or a fire, the cones on the lifeline would help us to the "safe refuge" where we could wait for rescue in a sealed fireproof room, one mile below the earth, with its own air supply and ice making machinery. The idea is that we could survive there for 36 hours before rescue. Without Flapjack?

We were then driven down seemingly endless slopes, deeper and deeper, and several kilometres out under the North Sea, with a specialist laboratory at the bottom, Neutrinos and all that sort of stuff. The UK space agency is there, even NASA is there. Watch the video below.

We were very privileged to be allowed to visit the mine, not many people get the chance. It's not easy, some of the film crew in a previous visit had to go back up because they couldn't deal with the depth and temperature, but we loved it. I had been promised that we could visit the laboratory, but everything took longer than expected and it didn't work out. A big disappointment, so we all want to go back.

There were showers provided when we got back "up". but there were three shower cubicles, and four of us. Interesting.

We had been anticipating that NASA would notice our massive intellects and superb fitness, just the right people for a trip to Mars, we thought, but we haven't heard anything yet. Just as well really, as I won't let Alex and Paul have ten years holiday pay, and Keith wants to cycle there.

Moira says I can go. She says I should. She says she'll wait for me.

Billys' crowdfunder is closing in a few days. He has a place at the Royal College of Music but needs some help.

He has a massive future; I do want him to succeed. Let’s all support him! Link to crowdfunding page.

Only a few tickets left, it's getting more difficult every year to find accommodation and buy tickets, don’t leave it too late. Link to website.

Martin seems to have entered a new phase in his musical life, not a major shift, but a change of emphasis. He deserves his reputation as one of the world’s finest acoustic guitarists, but on this album, he has let his voice take a larger part of the show. I noticed it straightaway, and mentioned it to Martin, who explained that his voice is stronger than ever (older and wiser?), so why not?

Martin hasn't abandoned his instruments, they are just a little less in the foreground on some tracks, and he has introduced other instruments and players, my favourite being "swing" clarinet, amazing.

Martin's Fylde guitars are heavily used, and he also showcases other guitar makers. His long-term favourite, Stefan Sobell of course, and PRS guitars, also Rory Dowling from Taran guitars. He's enjoying and indulging himself, because he can!

Martin's Website
Sobell Guitars
Taran Guitars

We made this for a regular customer who hasn't managed to get to grips with it. We have only ever made two, the first one was for Tristan Seume. Figured Claro Walnut body and Neck, Cedar top, sculpted Ebony fingerboard. 648mm scale, with the fifth string neatly "tunnelled" to the headstock. Fitted with Gold hardware and a Headway FEQ pickup.

Martin Simpson says it's lovely and that everyone should have a banjola. But we only have one.

For sale £2500, inc fitted case.

"Early days John Martyn heard me play this song a lot as we gigged together through the Sandy Glennon Agency. He set about learning it in one of his guitar tunings, great to hear his voice sing the song at home but I never heard him sing it at a gig. He reckoned he used the guitar figure to write other songs, one of which was on the LP "Stormbringer". The guitar I play here is my original Fylde Oberon circa 1975, not the original strings of course, don't be silly, they are quite new, about 1978."

The album is selling well, and we hope to able to send some money to the charities before long.

It is still available to buy, direct from our website. Click here ...

If anybody struggles with paying by PayPal (it’s easy!), then we can talk to you about other methods of payment. Just email me. Anything any of you can do to help publicise the album would be very welcome. Facebook etc, anything you can do please. it’s a very worthwhile project, and if I do say it myself, rather splendid.

• What a lovely edition! Bireli said he'd love to have a copy. Adam Palma
• Thank you, seriously amazing!!! Peter Howarth
• Fantastic Rog. Congratulations, how does it feel to have it out? John Smith
• Incredible! - Elliott Morris... -- excellent!!!! - Troy Donockley.
• Amazing - Toby Hay
• Amazing and what a line-up!! I’ve never seen such a fab booklet... Chris While
• Really, really lovely Rog. An enormous variety and quality which is a testament to the legacy you've built over the years. Exceptionally inspiring. Will McNicol
• Beautiful packaging and I can’t wait to hear it all. Very well done and proud to be involved. love and peace... Dave Pegg
• What a lovely thing it is! It must be amazing for you when you stand back and look at the breadth of musicians who play and love your instruments…I am very happy to be among them! Chris Leslie

Don’t get all excited fellas, the lady doesn't play guitar as far as I know, this is just my way of explaining where the album title comes from.

A little bit "off the wall", with not an Alien in sight. My words are better.

If this story is true, or even partially true, I am exceedingly impressed. I thought I was doing well by planting 700 trees at home.

According to press reports, on 29th July this year, government employees in Ethiopia were given the day off work to help with planting 200 million trees. The official announcement claims it was 350 million, but several sources dispute those figures, and i do wonder where they found all those seedlings. Nevertheless, even a fraction of that number would be astonishing, and for a country that we might imagine doesn't have the best government and organisation, well, what better government is there than this?

Link to article

Ben Walker

Times are changing. This book is perhaps the first attempt to connect the two worlds. Eddie Green is ideally placed to make that connection, He has spent something like fifty years deeply immersed in the physics, mathematics, and structure of military aircraft, while playing, building and repairing guitars for an even longer period. I met him soon after I formed “Fylde Instruments” in 1973, we immediately became good friends and he came to work alongside me for a while.

Eddie and I have similar backgrounds and interests, and even at family occasions, the talk is always of “stress”, “resonance” and “intonation”.

Within these pages, there are calculations, experiments. suggestions, theories and conclusions, which we can dip into or read in depth as we wish. Perhaps some people will not grasp the mathematics, although it is easy enough to follow the train of thought and read the overall conclusions without understanding every equation. Others might not agree with its conclusions or its relevance to their work, but if it makes us stop and think, it has done its job. I have spent much of my life making guitars, researching, experimenting and thinking, and this book has certainly caused me to stop and think some more. A lot more. My guitars will be better for it.

Eddie’s work deserves to become a milestone in guitar making literature."

Available from Amazon, £27