My guitars owe their inspiration to the instruments of Antonio de Torres, Santos Hernandez and Hermann Hauser 1. By combining design elements from these great makers with my own ideas I produce instruments which are traditional in style, lightly built and very responsive.

I am aiming for a sound which is clear and focussed across the whole spectrum. I favour a slightly thicker soundboard with fairly light struts which I feel contributes to more efficient sound radiation and helps give an instrument 'character'; widening its range of available colour.

Volume is a necessary attribute but it should not be pursued at the expense of musicality. Quite often guitars which are particularly loud close up do not project well in a concert situation and produce a sound which is unbalanced and lacking in purity.

Players often comment that my guitars are very easy to play. The design and method of construction contributes largely to this but spending a little extra time polishing the frets can make all the difference.

I have always believed that quality comes before quantity and this is evident in the fact that my output is between ten and twelve instruments only per year, usually working on three concurrently.

Building guitars is very satisfying and I consider it a privilege in this age of 'fast fixes' to be producing something of the highest quality that I hope will give enduring pleasure to players and audiences alike.

I use European spruce for the soundboards and Brazilian or Indian rosewood for the backs and sides, though I personally prefer Brazilian for its superior density and visual beauty. I have also used flamed maple and bird's eye maple as an alternative to the rosewoods which apart from being very beautiful when finished, produces a slightly dryer tone in the completed instrument.

Necks are Honduras mahogany or cedar and the heads are fitted using the traditional 'V' joint. The heads are faced with ebony or Brazilian rosewood and the centre joint is often inlaid with strips of decorative veneers to match the rosette.

The head angle to the neck is, at 7 degrees, fairly shallow but combined with a slightly thicker soundboard, creates the ideal string tension which contributes to the ease of playing and allows the notes to 'breathe'.

For my standard concert guitar I have adopted a traditional strutting design derived from Torres. In 'La Suprema' the lower harmonic bar has cut outs which allow the outer fan struts to run up to the sound hole reinforcement. The top linings are made up of separate blocks and the bottom linings are of bent spruce. The instruments are constructed and in a controlled, dry atmosphere using only the finest and carefully selected seasoned tone woods.

Inlays are made individually and usually differ from one guitar to another, though there are decorative themes running throughout such as the fine wheatsheaf herringbone reminiscent of Torres. I tend to prefer natural 'woody' inlays though I have been known to splash out with colour now and then!