I was born in Lincoln, England in 1957 and began playing guitar at the age of fourteen and getting involved with bands soon after. In the late ‘70s I studied architecture, and left college with a degree and a sense of structure and form. A stint as a joiner reinforced my interest in working with wood, originally absorbed as a child in the environment of the family joinery business. Meanwhile constant activity as a musician deepened my understanding of the guitar from a player’s perspective.
​
I began building guitars in 1990 at an evening class under the tutelage of Roy Courtnall, learning traditional Spanish methods. Having set up my own workshop soon afterwards, I began exploring a wider variety of ideas from many other makers as well as developing my own concepts, and have experimented with and refined these over the years. I have always listened to feedback from the most demanding of players and simultaneously have become sensitised to what I am listening for in a great guitar.
​
In recent years I have become very interested in using reclaimed and local woods for my instruments.
​
During my time as a guitar maker I have illustrated a book on guitar making, ‘Making Master Guitars’ by Roy Courtnall (Robert Hale 1993). This has become something of a standard textbook in the field and was a real stepping-stone in my own research and building methods.

I have taught guitar making classes over the years, and I have recently finished teaching classical and steel string guitar making to degree level at Newark College in Nottinghamshire, England.