My Guitar

I play a 2008 Alberico guitar made by Fabrizio Alberico of The Gibson’s, Vancouver, Canada. It is OM body style in sitka spruce and indian rosewood with cocobolo bindings.  You can check out some pictures of it in the Photo Gallery.

I have owned a few guitars in the past. My first good guitar was Martin 000-C1E which i still have. I have gone through Larrivee, Mcilroy, and a two Santa Cruz’s. All very nice instruments, but after a while i would end up selling what i had for something else. I would become disatisfied with body size, the tone of the treble strings, any number of other things. I think with my light touch and the fact that i play almost exclusively fingerstyle music i needed something built specifically for that.

In the summer of 2007 I met Fabrizio at the Swannanoa Gathering Guitar week. He was there as a student but had brought along his personal guitar. I remember a bunch of us were sitting in the basement swapping tunes and when his turn came around he pulled out his guitar and played something that sounded wonderful I played a tune on it when my turn came around and was immediately hooked. The guitar seemed to respond perfect to my touch, and had a great balance between all the strings. I played it some more during the course of the week and talked to Fab a bit about his instruments, but his prices were out of my reach at that point.

I kept in touch with Fab after camp and made a mental note to visit his shop as he was only a days drive away from Portland. Then in the Fall of 08 I had a financial windfall, and after taking care of some other things i realized i had enough left over for a guitar. I called up Fab, got on his waiting list, and not to long after that i found myself driving up to Vancouver to pick out some woods and discuss my guitar.

I spent a weekend at his place hanging out, playing some good music, and discussing what i would need in a guitar. He was able to sit and watch me play, and compare my sound on a few different instruments. We sifted through a bunch of spruce tops, with Fab testing each one and explaining the differences in tap tone, weight, etc. After Fab found the right top, back and side woods i chose cocobolo for the binding and headsock overlay. He grabbed a fingerboard, bracewood, fretwire, and some other parts and piled it all up on the workbench. It was pretty neat looking at all that and knowing it would soon become a guitar.

I really enjoyed this process, especially being to sit with Fab and discuss my playing. It was quite different from just buying an off the shelf guitar. Fab only builds 12 or so instruments a year. I feel fortunate i was able to be in the position to afford one, and that i could support such a talented craftsman.

Fab’s OM body style is slightly deeper than a normal one, so you get the comfort of an OM with added volume and tone. To my ear the guitar has a very modern sound. The mids are thick and rich, and the treble strings have a nice fat tone to them. When i picked up the guitar for the first time i was immediately impressed with its a playability. I think its a combination of the excellent neck and fretwork combined with Fab’s setup. It just feels rock solid, with the action not to low or to high for me.

It has a McIntyre pickup and i use a LR Baggs PADI and a small Ultrasound amp at coffee shop gigs.

My Flute

I also play the irish flute, though on a more casual level.  Usually at sessions around town or with friends.  I started playing classical flute when i was young, dropped it in high school, and then picked up the more traditional wooden flute when i started in irish music.  My flute is made by Jon Cochran.  Its a Rudall style, keyelss, and made out of blackwood. 

I enjoy playing flute.  Without keys its capable of most of the traditional tunes, its highly portable, and easily heard in a rowdy session.  It lets me play celtic tunes in the traditional manner which on a traditional instrument, which is alot of fun.