- Guitars for Ullapool
- The Ullapool Guitar Festival
- The 2023 Ullapool Guitar. A Satinwood Ariel – SOLD
- Used Falstaff for sale – SOLD
- Nic Jones. Hamburger Polka
- Progress on 50 years Video Project
- Guitarist Magazine. Walk on the Fylde Side
- A romantic view of guitar making
- Bert Jansch’s’ Fylde Guitar
- Clive’s tour
- John Smith and Katherine Priddy
- Remi Harris
- Peter Green and Antonio Forcione
- Ben Robertson. The King of Bohemia
- Fylde Guitar collection.
- Ritchie Blackmore
- Fairport Convention: Fylde Mountain Time and Roger Bucknall’s Polka
- Biréli Lagrène
- Robyn Hitchcock. Live at The Current in Nashville
- Two of a Kind
- The Crooked House
Guitars for Ullapool
It’s been an unusual year, trying to mark fifty years of Fylde Guitars in various ways, keeping up with the orders and at the same time, prepare for Ullapool. We aren’t going to have as many guitars there as we sometimes manage, but we will have some rather fine “50th Anniversary ” instruments. all with the appropriate celebratory label.
Don’t they look good!
There will be more details in due course, and there will be a few more guitars.
The Ullapool Guitar Festival
Get your tickets now while you still can. We will have a very important guest with us. You don’t know him but he’s very special to me. Clue, he’s almost as old as I am.
The 2023 Ullapool Guitar. A Satinwood Ariel
A deliberate attempt to make a guitar with special timbers in aid of a special weekend. A “special” guitar for a special event, sale proceeds will go the Ullapool Festival. Ideally, I’d like to sell it to a regular Festival goer, but I think most of them already have a Fylde. Nothing wrong with buying another one!
The back and sides are made from Satinwood, the wood that your grandparent’s bedroom furniture was made from. Similar in density to Mahogany, strong and stiff and very delicately figured. Just what is required for a guitar.
The top is Yellow Cedar from Alaska, a lovely piece just big enough for an Ariel.
The neck is African Mahogany, quite common for Classical guitars but less so for steel strings, simply because the modern steel string guitar’s history has been in the USA. It’s laminated with ebony to match the bindings and fingerboard.
I’m hoping to get somebody to record a video of this guitar soon. The sound is “big”, lively, impressive.
I’m not overcharging for this, it needs to go to the right person, not the richest person.
For Sale at £3,600 – SOLD
Don’t forget – it’s for a very good cause.
Used Falstaff for sale
Made in 2010, it’s been played a lot but is in excellent condition, I can’t see any marks on it at all, which is astonishing considering its age. We have refretted it and given it a full set up, which it didn’t really need. Quite remarkable really. If you are going to buy a second-hand guitar, this is what you should look for. Properly looked after, but “played in”, mature sounding, and fully checked over. You won’t find a better Falstaff.
Lovely Rosewood back and sides and top quality Englemann Spruce soundboard, fine even grain with lots of cross grain silking and just starting to darken to a lovely honey colour
For sale at £3800 ono – SOLD
Nic Jones. Hamburger Polka
I’m sure someone will tell me if I have used this before. I probably have but I don’t have time to check, and I don’t care. Nic was known for playing unexpected and unusual tunes, probably to lighten the mood in amongst all those murder ballads and songs about hunting Whales.
Progress on 50 years Video Project
“Topsy”. Something that has grown quickly without being noticed. Not quite fair I suppose, because we’ve certainly noticed.
In addition to the videos mentioned last month, we now have contributions from Martin. Simpson, Richard Hawley, Clive Carroll, Will McNicol, John Smith and Troy Donockley.
The individual efforts to make this happen have been extraordinary, it’s been very hard indeed but also massive fun for everybody. We’ve even had a kiddies party along the way.
It’s not over yet. There are four more video sessions planned with ten more artists plus a lot of external contributions. It’s a massive blow that we can’t get to everybody who wanted to take part, that’s mostly down to my arrogant assumption that train and plane timetables, tour schedules and family life would all bend and move to suit me. To a large extent they have, I’m incredibly pleased and grateful. And tired. Drinks will be bought. Some already have.
Guitarist Magazine. Walk on the Fylde Side
From David Mead’s phone interview with me a few weeks ago. My part was transcribed by one of these new BOT things, hilarious if it wasn’t so important, but we did check everything and it worked out fine. Thank you, David.
I’m rather worried that the next world war will be started by a spellcheck error. Buy your Fylde Guitar now before it’s too late.
Guitarist Magazine Facebook Page
A romantic view of guitar making
Tony Husband’s impression of what I told him- I’m sure every guitar maker gets comments like this.
Bert Jansch’s' Fylde Guitar
This is a title
As fate would have it, this guitar has come back to me, fifty years after I made it in the basement of a Gents Outfitters in St Annes in 1973. I met up with Gordon Giltrap to deliver it to Bert at a drinking club in London, and of course, the story didn’t stop there.
I don’t think Bert ever played it much, the story I have is that he passed it to his roadie, who then sold it on to its long-term loving owner who recently passed away.
I’ve been asked to help find it a good home.
It was very delicately built, it’s had some repairs, and it shows its age, so one question is whether I should rebuild it, or leave it as it is. I’ve discussed it with many of Bert’s friends and fans and they have given me some ideas, but if anyone has any suggestions, feel free to mail me, I’ll do my best to respond but no promises.
John Smith and Clive Carroll are particular fans of Bert’s (and John Renbourn’s) music, in fact they have been known to perform as “I’m Bert. He’s John.”
While Sam English was filming for the 50-year project, they managed to get video of Clive and John each playing this guitar. Both times were rather special for me. And for them!
Will McNicol recorded a track as well. We are keeping that, and Clive’s track for a future project. There will be more. Be excited.
John Smith has posted his venture on his Patreon Site. We might show it here one day, but not yet- join up with John in the meantime, it’s well worth it.
Clive's tour
Clive is touring his John Renbourn project, with Dariush Kanani, starting very soon.
Remi Harris
Remi is due next week to record his contribution to “the Project”, can’t wait.
And you MUST get to see his Peter Green tour.
Peter Green and Antonio Forcione
I’ve heard from the man that bought Peter Green’s Fylde at the recent Bonhams auction. He was a friend of Peter, and once took him to watch Antonio Forcione, causing Peter to contemplate a change of career!
I’ve told Antonio who is suitably flattered and amused. It’s wonderful to be able to pass these stories around.
Ben Robertson. The King of Bohemia
Ben plays several of Richard Thompson’s songs. His Oberon is sounding good and it’s a lovely arrangement.
Fylde Guitar collection.
Sent to me by a very regular customer, who has two more Fyldes which are not shown here.
This isn’t all that unusual. I know one guy and his nephew who own more Fyldes than this.
Ritchie Blackmore, Eric Bibb, Gordon Giltrap, John Smith and probably lots of other artists are all “contenders ” for the MFO badge. Martin Simpson and Richard Hawley together must come close as well. For some of them just one more would be all that’s needed to win the coveted prize. Massive hint.
I’ve just had a T shirt idea.
Ritchie Blackmore
From 2004, but only published a few weeks ago. This must have been the first instrument Ritchie bought from me, the first of many. I remember a series of frantic phone calls in an attempt to get it delivered overnight to somewhere in Germany.
Fairport Convention: Fylde Mountain Time and Roger Bucknall's Polka
I’ve seen “The Boys” play these tunes a number of times, each time with a different story.
Chris Leslie’s tune was originally named Roger Bucknall’s Fancy, and I had to point out that I’m not.
Peggy’s story about having some “some stuff on me” from our days in Birmingham is not true. None of it. Not even a little bit. Honestly.
Where shall I send this free bouzouki Peggy?
Biréli Lagrène
I will have one of this model of guitars on show at Ullapool. Biréli seems to use his for many different style of music, I would have expected him to use a Selmer/ Maccaferri style guitar in this situation, but perhaps he is trying to find a distinctive voice.
Robyn Hitchcock. Live at The Current in Nashville
This is the way all interviews should be done in Nashville, holding a Fylde guitar throughout.
Two of a Kind
I’m trying to think of a way of telling this story without having to name names. There’s nothing nasty in that, no bad behaviour etc, just a massive coincidence.
Within two or three days, I had separate enquiries from two people with exactly the same name, each asking about the same instrument. The names are very distinctive, which makes it even more intriguing and the two have no connection other than being the same nationality. It has caused a certain amount of confusion, I didn’t realise they were two different people for a while, sort of a Two Ronnies sketch “answering the wrong question” I now have to mark them as xxx 1 and xxx 2 in my emails.
What an interesting life we lead. Complicated, but definitely interesting.
The Crooked House
Many years ago, Keith Beardmore and I had a project. We would take a tour of interesting pubs. Keith would take lots of pictures, I would write the stories with hardly any exaggeration, we would publish a very successful coffee table book, and become slightly rich.
Four of the pubs we knew best have now disappeared. The Crooked House was almost my local for a time, a place where you really should not get drunk, it was difficult enough to stay upright even when sober. A lot of people are rather angry about what has happened.
I’m looking for Shakespearean quotes about leaving things too late, not having enough time, or just couldn’t be bothered.
I love pubs, even if I’m not drinking.