Do you have a love/hate relationship with certain tone woods? I have to admit that I do, and in particular the more vitreous members of the rosewood family can be hard work for me. 

If there is one wood that…

The name Ciaran McNally may be a new one to many of you but this young luthier based in Armagh Northern Ireland already has a huge amount of experience as an acoustic guitar maker having worked for both Lowden and…

Right - we should be back on track after a few weeks deep in other beautiful things (not complaining - it's a wonderful problem to have!) and here is the news as regards my incoming instrument from Casimi Guitars!

As…

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…

Since I played my first notes on a Casimi acoustic guitar back in 2014 I have been inspired, awestruck and not a little obsessed with the sound that Mattias Roux and Matthew Rice of Casimi Guitars manage to pull out…

Recently I've had a lot of emails asking what happened to the Clara Archtop that Luthier Thierry André and I had been working on for the 2020 Holy Grail Guitar Show in Berlin. 

80 Year Old Sinker Cedar anybody?

How…

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…

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…

Maple is a wood that divides opinion amongst acoustic guitarists with almost surgical precision. "It's too bright, There's no bass, it's too trebly, it's sterile" etc are accusations often levelled at this superb wood. 

Cheerfully I say unto you "Bollocks". 

…

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…

Ok here we go! Quilted Mahogany from The Tree is the rarest and most expensive tone wood in the world. Its striking figure and rich colour makes The Tree immediately identifiable but what is it like to own a guitar…

African Blackwood! Heavy, powerful, rare, eye-wateringly expensive and deeply elegant but surely there is more to this exotic tone wood than just a Brazilian Rosewood substitute? 

Delicious...

With a ferocious Casimi C3 Signature fan fret in hand I explore some…

British guitarist Martin Simpson is more than just an award-winning internationally successful musician. He is, to my mind, pretty much the epicentre of the modern luthier-built acoustic guitar scene on both sides of the Atlantic.

In fact, I'll go one…

Since I uploaded the latest video in my Michael Watts Plays... series I have received several messages asking for more details about Bog Oak (and its many other names).

A Bog Oak guitar yesterday

In this latest episode of my…

I have spent an enjoyable couple of days in the company of this OMC model by British luthier Jamie Swannell. 

That's quite fetching isn't it?

This is the first example of Jamie's work that I've played and I'm grateful…

Rosie Heydenrych of Turnstone Guitars can always be relied upon to bring me something I've never played before and in this case it's a gorgeous TM model in the fashionable Bearclaw Alpine Spruce but also, apple!

And why not? Apple…

I've had a lot of emails asking about my thoughts on Moon-Harvested Alpine Spruce or "Moon Spruce" as it's more commonly known. That's hardly surprising as it's regarded by many as the ultimate spruce choice and often means a significant…

The latest episode in my "Michael Watts Plays..." series is out now and it features one of my favourite Fanfret guitars on the planet - this mighty Casimi C3 Signature in African Blackwood and Moon-Harvested Alpine Spruce. 

Take a look!

…

Since I began my Instagram Live video series I have had more requests to chat with Paul Heumiller of Dream Guitars than any other figure in the modern acoustic scene. I was very happy to sit down and talk guitar…

I have had the pleasure of playing several beautiful Taran guitars over the years but one model has been on my list for a while - The Oreval. This is Rory Dowling's biggest guitar and I was intrigued to find…

I've been thinking about redwood, I've been thinking about tone, I've been thinking about Koa and the world's biggest necklace etc... Apologies to the great Bob Dylan there...

Seriously though - Redwood can divide opinion amongst fingerstyle guitarists and over…

The latest issue of The Guitar Magazine features my review of an instrument by Ciaran McNally - Check it out, I hope you'll enjoy it!

It's very pretty...

Until next time, Stay Tuned!

Michael 

Chatting with super luthier Michael Greenfield about any subject whatsoever is one of life's real pleasures. Here, in all its rough and ready glory is an hour of exactly that - from the advantage that a solid foundation in guitar…

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…

Redwood, and in particular Sinker Redwood, has grown to prominence in the past couple of decades as an alternative soundboard wood for acoustic guitars and I regularly field queries about my thoughts on its use as a soundboard wood. As…