Classical Guitars - Kent Guitar Classics

Oren Myers

I studied English Literature at university, and as with many students, towards the end of my course I was forced to start thinking about what I wanted to do for a career.  Nothing especially appealed until I remembered that several years previously at school, at a time when I was particularly obsessed with guitar playing, I had for a short period wanted to make a guitar.  So, when my English studies finished, I converted my parents’ garage into a workshop and started to learn from a book.  I contacted Christopher Dean to talk about guitar making as a profession, and he sold me some wood to get me started.  He also made the mistake of telling me to give him a call if I got stuck – which I took him up on, frequently!  Then, after having made several guitars, I attended Jose Romanillos’ guitar making course in Spain.  This was a very memorable experience, and apart from learning a great deal about the selection of wood and methods of construction, it was fascinating to learn from someone with such a focused, clear view of what they wanted to achieve.

I find guitar making particularly satisfying because it combines music, craftsmanship and artistic design all in one profession.  Also, after a difficult decision as a teenager not to pursue formal studies playing the guitar, it was for me a nice way to get back into the world of music ‘via the back door’.

When I started, although I felt I knew the guitar quite well as a player, I didn’t have much knowledge of the different types of guitar that existed.  My first guitars were built on traditional lines simply because I thought that seemed the right place to start.  However, with a little experience – often gained playing the guitars passing through Miles’ hands when delivering the latest instrument to Kent Guitar Classics – I quickly came to see that it was that kind of sound, from the guitars of the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century, that I liked best.

Since then, by making very small changes to the thickness of the wood and dimensions of the body – never more than one or two factors per instrument – I have tried to evolve my guitars in the direction of my ideal sound; a sound which has vibrancy and balances projection, clarity, warmth, sweetness and depth.