b'More recently Ive taken part in a film about NicNevertheless, most of the work at Fylde is done Jones, and another about Davy Graham. Then theby hand, I currently have two excellent assistants, Hi Fi company Meridian Audio asked me to takeand usually we are at our benches, working on part in a promotional film about the craftsmanshipone stage of one instrument each. My designs in their products. I loved it, I even had to haveare proven, my client list speaks for itself and a make up girl.Ive done the joke about Seanmy timber stocks in comparison to the size of the Connery and George Clooney already, but recentlybusiness might be the finest anywhere. somebody likened me to Robert Duvall and thatSince the first edition of this book, I have been isnt a joke. Things are obviously going downhill! approached to make an ever wider range of After many years of relying on shops andunusual designs and had the opportunity to push wholesalers for most of my sales, now I am inmy own boundaries even further.the fortunate position of selling only direct to theI think my experience in guitar making is unique, customer. It is time consuming, but it is a lot moreand the list of other experience adds even more fun. Shops have usually been the way to maketo what I try and put into my products.With my contact with young hopefuls, but now I dont needsmall team we have the best of all possible worlds to be top of the search engines, and I dont needand I know that we make some of the worlds finest to advertise. Im reasonably sure that most ofinstruments for the cream of todays players. We my potential customers know about me alreadywork very hard and I am very proud of what we through word of mouth and my existing clientproduce.list, and more and more, those young hopefuls are coming to me directly. The acoustic guitar sits in your lap and lies in your I dont operate from a shed or a bedroom and Iarms just like a human child, and the fingers of the dont have a factory or a production line - it is ahuman hand fall onto the strings as if they were purpose built workshop with the best of humanmeant to be there. The guitar has a body, neck, skills. Ive been refining and investing in it for fortyhead and waist, it is the instrument best fitted to years, and it is now exceptionally well equipped.the human body and mind, and its tonal range is probably the nearest to the human voice. Its John Martyns 12 string Eric Bibb and his GuitaleleTheres only one 12-string that Ive ever played that I really liked, and that belongs to aEric says what a gorgeous little guitar chick named Bridget St. John. She wont give it to me!- its beautiful, I just hope he gets to That guitar was of course, a Fylde, and in 1979 John asked me to make him one. Itrecord with it as soon as possible, and must have been well used, or at least ab-used as it was salvaged from a pile of stuffthen sends me the album so I can tell thrown out of Johns studio when he moved to Ireland. The tuners had been removed,you about itthe soundboard was badly broken, and the neck was damaged. The work involved was only justified because it had belonged to John. I fitted a new neck, and we put the soundboard back together as best we could. 114'