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Michael Watts

  • HOME
  • ABOUT
  • MUSIC
  • IN CONCERT
  • ONLINE LESSONS
  • TABLATURE
  • LIFE ON THE FRETBOARD PODCAST
  • LUTHIER STORIES
  • VIDEO INTERVIEWS
  • WRITTEN INTERVIEWS
  • THE BLUE GUITARS
  • GEAR REVIEWS
  • GETTING TO KNOW YOU
  • CASIMI GUITARS
  • KOSTAL GUITARS
  • MAILING LIST

Viewing: Iconic Instruments - View all posts

Feb 25 2023

KEN PARKER - THE PARKER FLY PROTOTYPE

Ken Parker is a true visionary in the world of the modern electric and arch top guitars. His revolutionary “Parker Fly” design was a paradigm shift when it first appeared but as you will see - it didn’t quite turn…

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Feb 18 2023

LINDA MANZER - VISIONARY GUITAR MAKER

I have absolutely loved Linda Manzer’s guitars for many years but it was only recently that I had the opportunity to visit her workshop in Almonte Ontario. 

Linda’s influence runs deep throughout the guitar luthier community with many of her…

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Feb 11 2023

4 SONGS ON A KIM WALKER GUITAR

Kim Walker's work has fascinated me for many years - not least because, despite his stellar reputation - I had never had the chance to play one of his guitars. However, while on the road with The Archtop Foundation last…

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Jan 15 2023

RUINED BY THIS GUITAR

George Gruhn knows what he's doing - as he showed me around his private collection of achingly rare guitars - my curiosity was piqued by a 12-fret Euphonon dreadnought. It is one of a pair made in 1940 - explains…

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Aug 28 2022

Martin O-18 K 1921 - 100 years of beauty!

The final guitar that was calling my name as I recorded The Blue Guitar Collection is this delicately wonderful Martin O-18 K which has offered discerning and fortunate players over 100 years of gorgeousity since its birth in 1921.

Centre…

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Aug 17 2022

KEN PARKER ARCHTOP "Sidekick" - This was fun!

Another extraordinary instrument that I found in the new home of The Blue Guitar Collection  is this Ken Parker acoustic archtop - just gorgeous!

Just wow!

This was only the second time I had ever seen a Ken Parker acoustic…

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Aug 11 2022

CASIMI GUITARS C2 Signature Pernambuco & Redwood

In amongst The Blue Guitars I found a trio of exceptional brown guitars and in a relatively quiet moment in amongst the azure mayhem I managed to film them.

Just look at them!

Here is the first, a sumptuous Casimi…

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Mar 29 2022

Rickenbacker Guitars Exhibition at Shapero Rare Books in London - Extended to 2nd April!

Rickenbacker guitars have a magnetic pull for me - I can't explain exactly why but I find them to be some of the most beautiful electric guitar designs out there. 

As such it was a pleasure to visit Shapero Rare…

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Mar 2 2022

Losing My Mind with a 1959 Gibson Les Paul - The Morgan Burst

While I do get regular offers to play rare and exotic guitars I am not so jaded that the thought of spending quality time with an original 1959 Gibson Sunburst Les Paul doesn't get the blood pumping!

In this video…

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Jan 22 2022

USA vs UK Acoustic Guitars - What do They Sound Like?

I am regularly asked for my thoughts on the differences between acoustic guitars from the USA and the UK and rather than get bogged down in minutiae I find that a direct comparison is often the most useful way to…

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Nov 12 2021

5 Ridiculously COOL Guitars I still Haven't Played!

I have been very fortunate, over the past couple of decades I have been left unsupervised with some truly stellar instruments made with love by many of the world's most talented luthiers. 

This sort of thing being a case in…

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Sep 29 2021

What is a MODIFIED DREADNOUGHT Acoustic Guitar?

The Modified Dreadnought acoustic guitar was created by the luthier Ervin Somogyi (Oakland, California) in the late 1970s at the request of several artists recording for Will Ackerman's nascent Windham Hill record label - most notably Daniel Hecht who…

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Sep 23 2021

A Guitar Made With Human Teeth - Ervin Somogyi

While trawling my archive of hours of raw footage from the first season of Luthier Stories I came across this clip where legendary guitar builder Ervin Somogyi talks about the creation of an unusual instrument made with decayed woods and…

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Sep 9 2021

Can You Play Fingerstyle on a Dreadnought?

It is a question that comes up with unfailing regularity wherever acoustic guitarists congregate. Inevitably one, perhaps a little bolder than the rest, will offer an opinion on the efficacy of Martin's venerable dreadnought design when pressed into service as…

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May 15 2021

Playing a Matsuda M1

I have made no secret of my admiration for the work of luthier Michihiro Matsuda (Oakland CA). Since first meeting him in 2009 I have been regularly left dumbfounded by the extraordinary elegance and startling lines of his instruments. As…

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May 21 2020

A Kostal Guitar for President Jimmy Carter

In a recent chat with Jason Kostal he told me about a fascinating project he'd undertaken to create an instrument for 39th President of the USA Jimmy Carter!

President Carter with his new Kostal OM

The guitar is made from…

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Feb 21 2020

Catching Up With Rosie Heydenrych - Turnstone Guitars

One of the joys of a visit to the Turnstone Guitars workshop is a cup of tea and a chat with Rosie Heydenrych, the luthier behind all these beautiful instruments. 

This time we filmed it (it's been a while!) as…

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Jan 8 2020

More Vintage Guitars Than is Strictly Fair...

It's been an exciting start to the year for me and I sincerely hope for you too!

Thank you to everyone for your messages over the holiday period. It was wonderful to hear from you all!

I've been busy in…

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Jul 10 2019

1935 Gibson Super 400? Yes please!

I spent a wonderful morning at ATB Guitars in Cheltenham this week and amongst the frankly superb (even for someone as jaded as me!) inventory I found this beautiful Gibson Super 400 from 1935, the first year of production.  

It…

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Nov 15 2018

Iconic Instruments - The Casimi Guitars Prototype

This wonderful instrument is the first Casimi Guitar, it even predates the company's logo so there's nothing on the headstock and no label! It is what was to become the Casimi C2 model and is made from Cocobolo on the…

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Nov 7 2018

Luthier Stories - Linda Manzer - The Iceberg Guitar inspired by Lawren S. Harris

I've loved Linda Manzer's work since first meeting her in 2009 and had harboured a secret hope that at some point I'd get a chance to play her astonishing Iceberg harp guitar having seen it exhibited as part of the…

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Aug 4 2018

Iconic Instruments - Gibson L1 1919

Just look at this! It's a century old Gibson archtop with a gorgeous dry, sparky voice and a neck like a tree trunk! I filmed this wonderful guitar in Paris while preparing for a private concert with Derek Gripper…

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© Michael Watts 2023

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