Sneak Peek: Jake Fuller's new guitar constructed during a lockdown.
Staying at home is not easy for any of us, however during difficult times like these we all have more time to ponder and dedicate extra time to the tasks that we love. British luthier Jake Fuller has reached out to us and shared with us what he’s been doing with his time inside – some sneak peek photos of his newest guitar which is soon headed to GSI.
Jake comes from a family with long traditions of wood crafting. His grandfather was a wheelwright and made almost anything you can imagine out of wood. Unfortunately, Jake never had a chance to meet his grandfather as he died fairly young due to complications with the loss of a leg at Ypres during World War I. However, family traditions about him have played a very important role in Jake’s everyday life and work. Even nowadays Jake cherishes his grandfather’s tools that he inherited. Before being passed on to Jake, the tools were also used by Jake’s father who made toys for a living. These long-time family traditions and love for creating things out of wood have resulted in the highest quality guitars that Jake has been building in his workshop. Since Jake’s workshop is located in his house, he is able to work during the pandemic lockdown. But even so, Jake told us that constructing this guitar during this unusual time brought about strong emotions. These anxious times have given him a new perspective on doing what he loves. He always browses through the Torres book before starting a new guitar. Jake admitted that he particularly admires Torres’ ability to keep going through tough periods during his life; for instance, times of financial hardship, being away from his family and times when he wasn’t able to make guitars. Jake said that Torres’ life was very much in his thoughts when he was making this guitar.
The maple used in this instrument was given to Jake by a violin/cello maker who was retiring. This maker said that he bought it at the beginning of his career when he was young, so it is very old and of a quality which is getting much harder to find nowadays! The newest guitar features spruce for the top, Honduras rosewood bindings, walnut head veneer and bridge, lightweight laminated fingerboard, and strutting designed to give extra stability to the guitar and increases the bass frequencies. The guitar weighs 1200g and the resonance is set around D#-E
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