Gregory Byers is an American classical guitar maker based in Willits, in Northern California, who has been building guitars since 1981. A former research biologist, he is known for his scientific work on guitar intonation and for his own lattice bracing, and his guitars have been played and recorded by David Russell, David Tanenbaum and John Dearman of the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet.
Gregory Byers at a Glance
- Workshop: Willits, California, USA
- Building since: 1981
- Influences: José Romanillos (workshop, 1981) and John Gilbert
- Known for: his intonation research (nut and saddle set individually for each string), his own double-fan lattice bracing, elevated fingerboards (since 1993), French polish
- Played by: David Russell, David Tanenbaum, John Dearman (LAGQ)
- Featured in: Orfeo Magazine No. 10 (2017)
From Biology to Guitar Making
Greg's path to the workbench was anything but direct. He started college at UC Berkeley as an architecture student, spent time as a stoneware potter, and then went back to study biology, eventually earning a PhD in ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of Arizona. In 1979, while doing field research on hummingbirds and flowers in Puerto Rico, he met a local guitar maker, and the idea stuck. Back home, and already a capable woodworker from building furniture (and even his own house), he finished his first guitar in 1981. That June he attended a week-long workshop with the great José Romanillos at the Guitar '81 festival in Toronto, and the advice and encouragement of John Gilbert were also important in those early years.
A Scientist's Approach to Intonation
Greg is known among luthiers for his research into guitar intonation. With the help of the guitarist Cem Duruöz, he developed a mathematical model, tested with careful measurements, that sets the nut and saddle positions individually for each string, taking into account how strings stretch and how stiff they are. He presented the work in a lecture at the Guild of American Luthiers convention in 1995, published the following year in American Lutherie.
Fan Bracing and the Byers Lattice
Greg's earlier guitars were fan braced, often with an asymmetrical pattern and a treble bar. He later developed his own lattice: stretched, elongated braces that are actually two overlapping sets of fan braces. Compared with "typical" (i.e. Australian) lattice-braced guitars, it gives a more traditional sound, with an open, loose and warm quality to the tone – and plenty of power. Since 1993 he has built his guitars with an elevated fingerboard, and besides the standard scale he also makes shorter-scale guitars. His purflings are a signature too, with alternating leaves and ears of wheat in the rosette, back seam and head strip, and every guitar is French polished.
Byers Guitars on Stage and on Record
Several notable players have concertized and recorded on Byers guitars, including David Russell for his album of the music of Torroba and David Tanenbaum for his album "Great American Guitar Solo". In 2007 Greg built a custom 7-string for Grammy award-winner John Dearman of the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet, who played it in concert and on the LAGQ album "Interchange" (with Rodrigo's "Concierto Andaluz" and Sergio Assad's "Interchange"). In 2017 Greg was one of the makers featured in the West Coast issue of Orfeo Magazine, which looked at his extensive and unique research into guitar making.
Gregory Byers Guitars at GSI
Several of Greg's guitars have passed through our doors over the past 40 years. Currently available: the 2011 Gregory Byers "630 Lattice" SP/MP, a short-scale lattice-braced guitar with tiger maple back and sides, and the 2007 Gregory Byers 7-string SP/AR (ex John Dearman).
Frequently Asked Questions
Where does Gregory Byers build his guitars?
In his workshop in Willits, in Northern California.
What bracing does Gregory Byers use?
Both fan bracing (often asymmetrical, with a treble bar) and his own lattice, made of two overlapping sets of fan braces.
Who has played Gregory Byers guitars?
David Russell, David Tanenbaum and John Dearman of the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet, among others.
What is the Byers intonation system?
A method of setting the nut and saddle individually for each string, based on Greg's mathematical model. He first presented it at the Guild of American Luthiers convention in 1995 and published it in American Lutherie in 1996.
