Background Experience

Hello everyone.

I’m a 71 year old originally from the St Margarets area near Richmond, Surrey UK. Am over in rural Bucks now where the Workshop’s located. In Jan 2024, 52 years at this wonderful job.

Potters Music in Richmond during the 50’s, 60’s, 70’s, 80’s, vinyl Heaven…, but out the back a room of finely crafted guitars by all sorts of Luthiers: Bailey Twin-Neck Acoustics. John Joyce electrics (he designed for Aria Guitars, in particular some of the Aria Pro II series). Knight Guitars (Dick Knight & Gordon Wells). Peter Cook’s Ned Callan/PC/Simms-Watts/Shaftesbury/CMI (he designed electrics for the UK, Italy & Japan). Joseph Pages’ antique rosewood & spruce parlour guitars. Ditson’s , Weyman’s, Kalamazoo’s, Gretsch’s, Gibsons, Fenders, Rickenbackers, Mosrites, Yamahas, etc… So yes, I was overexposed to their delights, but what a way to get interested in guitar making.. Thanks Jerry..

Many fantastic guitars & players/enthusiasts (over 15,000 tasks to date), an Alladin’s Cave moment for 4yrs with Gibson Guitars at the Selmer/Norlin workshops in Braintree UK & the Waalhaven Gibson Guitar QC at Rotterdam, Holland between 1976-1980. Gibson are renowned for releasing brand new ideas & ‘variants’ of favourite models. So this was a very interesting time as Gibson mass-produced to meet the worldwide demand during the 70’s. Many ‘Limited Edition’ models too, I had the honour to Qc the very first ‘Kalamazoo Award’ distributed into Europe when it arrived at The Waalhaven, Rotterdam back in 1978 (Kid Gloves were supplied too).

A trip to Kalamazoo & Nashville too for a mind-blowing Guitar Seminar held by Norlin Music after they’d acquired Gibson from CMI (H.NORton Stevens/Maurice BerLIN), a multitude of incredible players working from shops all over the USA, most were luthiers too. The purpose of the Seminars was to share all experiences, ideas that worked, those that didn’t, ie : peg-head angles, neck-pitches, over-clamping Les Paul necks’ fingerboards to attempt to rid End-of-Board ‘turn-ups’, neck-cuts (‘feel’), acoustic guitar strutting variations, passive pup variations (at the time, 63 different types of Gibson Humbucker), active electronics, binding techniques, finish improvements, case improvements, workshop layouts, to name a few…

A number of friends migrated to Yamaha MK during the 80’s, so I did a stint there too, a year of Wednesdays in ’93. Their brilliant APX Transducer/Contact Mic System had just been revealed with all sorts of very useable string-pan-assignment switching via the stereo mode array. The Yamaha LL Series Acoustic is still one of my favourite sounds, acoustic & electro-acoustic.

Just prior to that a very, very busy time in Denmark St (Tin Pan Alley), 2 & 1/2 years (Jan ’87 to July ’89) with a talented team of Guitar Nuts who never seemed to sleep, except when in Greece.

At my farewell to TPA (where my ex-boss generously bought me 1/2 a pint of shandy with 31 straws) I was set upon by two surly (yet immaculately tailored) lads from Earls Court and press-ganged into service, overviewing attention to detail on all manner of Genuine Vintage Guitars…. it was a tough wrench, but somebody had to do it.. Seriously, Roger Giffin (Master Luthier) had been headhunted to head up the West Coast Gibson Custom Shop in LA leaving Vintage & Rare Guitars bereft of his attention to detail. I’d met Roger a few times when I was working for Hands Music Centre/Bargain Basement in Kingston-upon-Thames in ’73. Howard Conder (drummer with Joe Brown & The Bruvvers/Unit 4 + 2) & Derek Radcliffe jointly ran that shop, Roger was just leaving to concentrate on a handmade guitar business with Richard his bandmate & business partner, which left an opening as a guitar repairman… So that’s the beginning of my career in working on guitars, followed up by V’n’R’s finest some 17 years later offering unlimited access to most of the amazing Vintage guitars on Earth.. Thanks Guys.

November 2001 saw a departure from the Vintage scene as values were spiralling upwards, & besides there’s only a finite number of those unique guitars, many going into private collections. There were a number of specialists already established, & many more new talented Luthiers/Repairers working on those Vintage guitars that were still available. So, it was time for a change towards my own handmade guitars, servicing for guitar owners who’d settled down with a favourite guitar/collection of guitars for recording/going on the road..

There’ve been so many fab times with this way of life, I wish for more to come. So keep an eye on this site as I chisel ‘n’ whittle it into shape.

It’d be a pleasure to do a job for you too.

Be Creatively Fab…..Mark

A BIG Ps. I’m now, Hand Winding Pickups.. PERDIO PICKUPS, (named after my brilliant Dad’s understanding of ‘crystals’ placed in a specifically designed Transistor Environment).. Due to the thorough ‘Annealing’ Process in America, I’m currently using American-sourced, 42AWG, 43AWG Pickup Wire (both in various ‘Insulation’ Coatings). Hand Winding brings subtle, yet noticeable results regarding the Pickup’s individual sound-character. Wound ‘Traditional’, or ‘Hot’: P-90’s; Tele’s Neck/Bridge; Strat’s Neck/Middle/Bridge; Precision Bass; Jazz Bass Neck/Bridge; Les Paul/SG/335/355/345 Humbuckers’ Neck/(Middle)/Bridge.. Wax Potting available, too.. I’ll update this as more ‘models’ are available..

Ps. 1960’s-Build Filtertron-style Neck & Bridge ‘variant*’ coming soon… will update when available..

*  a ‘Variant-design’ is almost identical to the original ‘Model-design’. Applied to winding a Pickup, a specific group of frequencies can be emphasised, which can contain the original ‘character’, yet have its own Tonal-identity..

Also,

I’ve found Danish Oil to be the fastest surface for Necks, with hardly any ‘drag’ experienced between the Neck-surface & the surface of the Hand.. Most nitro-cellulose finishes contain a small percentage of ‘plasticiser’ (not all) which tends to cause ‘drag’.. It’s possible to carefully strip off the nitro-cellulose (very important to keep the ‘feel’ of the Neck when all is completed).. prepare the wood-surface.. then commence the application of Danish Oil.. The whole procedure takes about 2 to 2 & a 1/2 weeks.. It ‘sets’ Matt (not Gloss).. The area targeted for the Danish Oil doesn’t include the Headstock Information, or the Heel-area if it’s a Bolt-on Neck.. it’s JUST the area where the Hand encounters the Neck.. ‘Staining’ the timber surface can be done, too. Bear in mind Danish Oil gives a slight Amber tint/hue over the colour..

Contact email address is:      info@markwillmottguitars.com