|
|
Making a Sound Difference
|
Meet Norman Haight
from Arizona Gourmet Living
Spring 2007
Norman’s been playing guitar since he was a child, and one day he decided that he wanted a better guitar – a really good guitar. He couldn’t find one. “He went everywhere,” [his wife] Sharon says.
What he found instead was a book about how to build a guitar. He started reading. And then he found another book about how to build a guitar. His reading and studying went on for some time and then, one day, his wife came home from work and noticed something amiss in her home.
“Something caught me as weird; there was wood soaking in my bathtub,” she says “So I asked him about that and he announced, ‘I’m making a guitar’. He’s been building guitars ever since.”
What he found instead was a book about how to build a guitar. He started reading. And then he found another book about how to build a guitar. His reading and studying went on for some time and then, one day, his wife came home from work and noticed something amiss in her home.
“Something caught me as weird; there was wood soaking in my bathtub,” she says “So I asked him about that and he announced, ‘I’m making a guitar’. He’s been building guitars ever since.”
Experience the joy of playing a work of art
Instruments crafted by independent luthiers differ from “custom factory” and “factory handmade” instruments in the time the luthier spends tuning the wood components of the instrument, striving to get the very best sound the wood wants to give. The bracing in string instruments, thickness and shape of the sound box, make the difference between a good instrument and a great instrument. Taking time to listen to each piece of wood and tuning it (adjusting thickness and placing the correct bracing in the best location) is the sign of an instrument made with love. After all, music comes from nature and we’ve never seen or heard two trees or pieces of wood that were the same.
Three types of players
Through his work with various artists over the years, Norm has discovered that there are three main types of guitars preferred by professional and pleasure players:
~ First is a tank used by heavy hitters such as bluegrass players who like to yank the strings off their guitar. This requires a stronger bracing so the guitar will hold up over the years and still be able to respond to this strong approach.
~ Second is a conventional guitar braced to hold up and withstand the test of time while still giving good response to medium string stress. These guitars are popular because they travel well, giving a satisfying response during continued use.
~ Third is a guitar built very lightly, giving good response to very minimal input. This is popular with beginning players and people with hand issues.
~ First is a tank used by heavy hitters such as bluegrass players who like to yank the strings off their guitar. This requires a stronger bracing so the guitar will hold up over the years and still be able to respond to this strong approach.
~ Second is a conventional guitar braced to hold up and withstand the test of time while still giving good response to medium string stress. These guitars are popular because they travel well, giving a satisfying response during continued use.
~ Third is a guitar built very lightly, giving good response to very minimal input. This is popular with beginning players and people with hand issues.
How is tap-tuning doneWood has the wonderful property of producing music. Have you ever heard a marimba? The marimba uses different sizes of rosewood to produce different musical pitches and has a wonderful, warm quality to the music it makes. Spruce can be tuned by removing material until a desired resonant pitch is reached. Extreme care is taken so that a perfect balance between resonance and strength is achieved.
What else is special about a Haight Guitar?The first thing most people say after playing one of my guitars is, “Wow!”. Then they notice that this great sound and volume came from a fairly lightweight instrument. This is the result of using techniques and materials that support the function of the guitar and not overbuilding the instrument.
|
|