Fretted Instrument Reviews

From time to time, I have been privileged to photograph, play and evaluate instruments by some of the world’s finest luthiers. Several of them have graciously allowed me to create web pages of photographs, descriptions and specifications for each of these breathtaking instruments. In addition, some of the instruments listed here I know intimately, and for those I have provided my extensive player’s review, using consistent, well-defined terms and metrics to facilitate evaluation and comparisons between them.

I have found the ability of these master craftsmen to transform pieces of wood into instruments of surpassing beauty and functionality, combined with their ability to tailor the sound of each instrument precisely to meet a client’s specifications, to be a rare skill that borders on the magical.

Follow the links below to see some examples of what many aficionados consider to be the current “Golden Age of Lutherie.”

2007 Circa OM

2009 Circa 00

2009 Bashkin 00

2017 Buendia Jumbo

2017 Robbins R.1

2009 Heiden F5

2008 Poe F5

2013 Northfield F5

2013 Holst F4

1985 Sobell cittern

Nature conceals her mystery by means of her essential grandeur, not by her cunning.

– Albert Einstein

Close Menu