A new approach to a traditional skill
- Tom creates responsive steel-string acoustic guitars
- He worked as a cabinetmaker before becoming a luthier
- He established his workshop in North Yorkshire in 2017
Having studied product design at the Glasgow School of Art, Tom Sands worked as a cabinetmaker and created bespoke high-end furniture before deciding to move into making guitars. He trained under Ervin Somogyi, who has been at the top of his field for 50 years, before setting up his own studio in Yorkshire. He is learning to master what’s known as the ‘voicing’ of the guitar in the methods of his mentor. Fundamentally, the acoustic guitar hasn’t changed since its first Spanish iterations, but Tom is developing new methods of construction and decoration. He takes inspiration from contemporary product design, modern architecture and automative design as well as the teachings of Bauhaus.
Interview
- Why does guitar making appeal to you?
- It’s an all-encompassing practice allowing you to utilise all kinds of skills – making something aesthetically beautiful, ensuring it is ergonomically successful, while manipulating its sonic qualities to become a frictionless vessel for self-expression.
- Tell us about your first experience of guitar making.
- When I was 17 I helped a friend with a project to build an electric bass guitar, and before this I had never even considered it was possible to build your own instrument. I found the whole process deeply fascinating and exciting, and later in life when I learned you could earn a living from the craft I didn’t hesitate.
- What’s new about your methods?
- I am working on new construction methods to make the guitar perform better and be easily repairable, modular and long-lasting. I am introducing digital design process into the decorative elements, and incorporating metals and resins in ways that haven’t been done before.
- What are your thoughts on the future of your craft?
- There are always going to be mass manufactured alternatives, but I think people are increasingly starting to re-acknowledge the value in something that has been handmade.
Tom Sands is a master artisan: he began his career in 2015 and he started teaching in 2018
Where
Tom Sands
