13 Fret Falstaff for Louis Campbell

Louis is a student at the Royal Northern College of Music with Craig Ogden for Classical Guitar, and is one of Martin Simpson's students for "The other stuff"

Louis has been used to playing 14 fret guitars, but Martin is a big influence, and Martin's Fylde guitars are 12 fret, so:

13 fret it is then. How many of you spotted that?

The soundboard is Swiss Pine, with lots of very fine "silking". The back and sides are Madagascar Rosewood, it's so dark that at one point I thought I'd used the wrong piece of wood, but careful inspection with a magnifying glass reassured me. The 13-fret neck join wasn't just a whim, it's a genuine attempt to find what Louis needs, and it wasn't my suggestion, it was a combination of Louis' thoughts with Martin's encouragement. It's difficult to say how much difference it makes to the sound as we can't make direct comparisons, and once again, words don't work very well, but I think it does have some of the fullness of 12 fret guitars, and some of the strength of tone of a 14-fret. We are all pleased, let's hope it isn't unlucky!

Louis is playing in Sam Sweeney's band, which is touring in May, and opening some of the shows with Owen Spafford.