Don Greenough - Guitar Maker
2023 | Eugene, Oregon
Photography by Tatie B
Tell me about your art and the inspiration behind it.
I don't know if I would call it an art; in my mind it is more of a precision craft. Art would perhaps be designing a new guitar, but the making of it is craftsmanship.
Music has always been an important part of my life: being around musicians, involved in helping put on concerts, working the sound boards, and managing a band. Alas, I am a lousy guitar player and an even worse singer; apparently my parents had any talent surgically removed at birth.
Being good with my hands was always my strength. A 20-year career in stained glass followed by several years of building my house, along with much of the furniture and all of the cabinets, introduced me to working with wood. Wood-working quickly evolved into guitar restoration, then making guitars and repairing them.
The three most important aspects of guitar building are sound, playability, and finish. Of the three, the first two are far and away the most important. The sound it produces makes people want to play it, but if it is not playable no one will play it no matter how good it sounds. But no one will even look at it unless it looks good.
It is a constant balancing act between sound and strength. To get the sound and resonance from the guitar, the top and the braces that hold it together must be thinner and lighter. If the guitar pulls itself apart the braces are too weak. Too thick, and it kills the sound. Those thin strings must vibrate the top and deliver all those intricate notes to a piece of wood that wants to resist movement.
