New Zealand Luthier Christian Druery Talks Guitars, Woods and Tone

Photo Credit: Christian Druery

One of the up sides to a down economy is that people tend to seek out the best value for their dollar when looking to invest in a new instrument. In better times many of us wouldn’t think twice about dropping several thousand, or more, dollars on a factory-built, name brand, guitar, but when money becomes tight guitarists of all backgrounds, tastes and abilities tend to dig deeper with their background research before they make such an expensive purchase.

While this may be bad news for high-end, brand name guitar makers, it is situations like this that have helped spawn the ever-growing number of small, privately owned, guitar making companies. This is good news for individual makers all over the world, as buyers are now becoming more aware then ever of the high-quality and sound investments that lie within the custom built guitar market. One of the luthier’s that is garnering much deserved attention of late is New Zealand based maker Christian Druery.

This proud Kiwi not only lives on the beautiful north island of New Zealand, but all of his guitars are built with local wood, drawn from sustainable resources and often from recycled material found throughout the island. With his unique rosette’s, inlays, guitar shapes and designs, Druery’s guitars represent everything that is great about owning a custom built guitar. They look great, they are made with care and delicate precision, and most importantly they feel and sound great right out of the case.

In this interview, conducted by Guitarblogstar.com writer Alan Robinson, Druery provides insight into the guitar making process, his choice of woods, how he got into the business and why he chooses to reside in New Zealand. Check out the article, then go check out one of his guitars, you won’t be disappointed by either.

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Alan Robinson: You’ve recently moved back home, do you want to share a bit about that and how that decision relates to guitars and your luthier business?

Christian Druery: My wife and I shifted up from Christchurch in the South Island of New Zealand to the beautiful Bay of Islands, in the Far North of the North Island about eighteen months ago. There wasn’t much strategy involved, although it’s the home of the Mighty Kauri Tree from which I build my instruments. As a creative person, I draw a lot of my inspiration from my surroundings, and nature is always the best source for that inspiration.

Alan: Yes, I think anyone living or visiting New Zealand can’t help but be drawn into the feel and beauty of the natural surroundings. I just love the Kauri forests up there. It’s an incredible experience standing next to Tane Mahuta, the great King of The Forest. Tell us how long you’ve been playing guitar and how you got your start on the instrument?

Christian: I began properly playing guitar at age sixteen. Wow, that was seventeen years ago. I was no virtuoso, but I loved to work out songs that were playing on the radio at that time. Unfortunately, by the time I could play them they were ancient history. Nevertheless, from listening intently to those songs I developed a good ear for tone and sound.

I then went on to study Art at school, including design and sculpture. Funnily enough, I hated woodwork. Making a wooden mallet and tool box really didn’t appeal to me, yet I began to use wood in my sculpture, bending it and shaping it in a way that seemed quite impossible. At age twenty-one, on my way home one day from a leisurely afternoon playing all the guitars in every shop I could find, I happened to come across a book at the library called How to Build an Acoustic Guitar.

“Hmmm, how hard could it be?” I asked myself, to which three months of painstaking labor intensive, mentally challenging energy was the answer. But, I loved every minute of it. What a feeling to finally string up your very own creation, and to strum it for the first time. That was that, I was hooked.

Alan: Another man whose life changed because of a book. Do you also collect guitars as well as build them?

Christian: I don’t really collect guitars, or anything for that matter, I’m not the collecting type. I’m passionate about them. I just don’t want to own a whole lot of them. I mean, I only have one set of hands with which to play, so just the one guitar at the moment, of course, one of my own creations. I do have great respect though for the pioneers of beautiful modern day acoustic guitars, and I would love to strum a guitar from the “Father” of my craft, Antonio Torres.

My secret is one you have witnessed many times, and one that I can’t leave to posterity because it must with my body go to the grave, for it consists of the tactile senses in my finger pads, in my thumb and index finger that tell the intelligent builder if the top is or is not well made, and how it should be treated to obtain the best tone from the instrument. -Antonio Torres

Photo Credit: Christian Druery

Alan: It’s great to have mentors. What influences helped you in your decision to become a luthier?

Christian: I can’t remember ever making a conscious decision to become a Luthier, I just pretty much fell into it. Luthierie certainly combines all my passions; Music, Guitars, Wood, Art, Design, Nature, New Zealand and the Environment. I think few people ever get to do what they’re passionate about as a career, so I consider myself very blessed. It’s an incredible art.

Every guitar has its own voice and is unique because of the many variables that influence the making of that voice. One variable is that there are over fifty different species of timber used in guitar manufacturing, and every piece of wood is different because every tree is different. The combination of those timbers together in a guitar is very carefully considered indeed. I love the challenge of finding just the right combination.

Alan: There is a huge amount of skill involved in what you do. Can you tell us more about working with the Ancient Swamp Kauri?

Christian: It’s a very unique timber because of its age. Kauri, botanically and by nature, is a soft wood. However, because the Ancient Kauri has been buried underground for thousands of years, its cell structure is significantly altered. The figured grades are very dense and often very difficult to bend. It’s quite a skill to bend a set of highly flamed whitebait Ancient Kauri. There’s only a small percentage of Ancient Kauri that’s suitable for making instruments. When highly polished, the true chatoyant nature and beauty of this timber comes to life. I feel privileged to have the opportunity to create instruments from it.

Alan: Kauri really is spectacular. I love it. You have people from all over the world buying your guitars. What has been the most satisfying thing happen between you and a guitar buyer?

Christian: I would have to say the two guitars commissioned for the Musical Instrument Museum last year. Essentially, I was asked to design and build two guitars that best represented me, my craft and my country New Zealand. It’s pretty much the dream brief. It was a thoroughly enjoyable experience working with the curators of the museum, and I look forward to visiting them in Arizona soon.

I also enjoy the nature of building for individuals. One particularly memorable response is from another passionate Kiwi. This is what he wrote:

A big thanks again for that bella-beautiful guitar! Can’t help but admire your handiwork everyday (how do you do that from a lump of wood) and having just been to piano traders music shop to pick up some gat strings, I sidled over to the very expensive Martins for a comparison pluck (as you do). Just reconfirmed my purchase decision all over again as their top end models sounded like deadwood from a ring-barked watties heinz can after yours.

It’s been an enjoyable experience, and what has added value is getting to meet the craftsman, his story and the personality, smell the fresh lacquer still lingering which has far more heart and soul than plucking a dusty labeled brand-name off a rock shop shelf pass the visa over and walk out with a piece of axe plucked from the ether! Love to keep-in-touch with all your developments.

Photo Credit: Christian Druery

Alan: Nice work. What do you recommend for someone looking to buy a handmade guitar?

Christian: There has to be a connection between the player and the builder. Both parties will have to work harmoniously together in order to achieve the desired instrument.

Alan: Yes, that’s a luxury really, you wouldn’t want to miss it. What plans do you have for guitars in the future?

Christian: I have many idea’s bouncing around in my head, the problem is finding the time to explore them all. There’s an innovative bracing system, which I hope to complete final testing on this year and obtain a patent for.

I’m also launching a limited edition mid-priced guitar to allow Kiwis (Note: New Zealanders’ refer to themselves as “Kiwis”) to afford a guitar of real quality from their own land, and will be working on some new Maori Art inspired soundhole-soundport designs.

Alan: I think there’s going to be a lot of happy faces having read that. Tell us about some of the challenges and fun you had as a luthier?

Christian: One of the initial challenges was making the considerable number of jigs used to build instruments. I’ve some what refined my collection these days to suit the way I build. Sourcing materials was tricky too. Quarter-sawn Spruce, Ebony and Rosewood weren’t readily available in New Zealand and I knew nothing about these timbers. After a couple of years I abandoned the idea of using exotic timbers altogether .

It made sense to start using timbers native to New Zealand for many reasons. I had a wealth of knowledge and experience using Kauri, Rimu, etc from making furniture that I could apply to guitar building. Also, I couldn’t control and the quality of timber I ordered from overseas and wasn’t comfortable using timber from logs that obviously weren’t from forests that had been sustainably managed.

I’m very proud to say that all of the timber I use is now one hundred percent from New Zealand, and all but the Ancient Kauri is recycled from other sources. This can actually be a big advantage, as the timber is very old and perfectly seasoned. For example, the Kauri I use for my tops came from a builder in Lake Hawea near Wanaka. He recovered the timber from the basement of an old Dunedin bank built in the early part of the last century. The Kauri had been carted all the way down to Dunedin from Northland (1700km) and was from trees that were around nine hundred years old, so quite a history and journey to it. Furthermore, and most importantly, this timber yields amazing sounding guitar tops.

Photo Credit: Christian Druery

Alan: Cool story, New Zealand has some great ‘old wood’ if you know what you are looking for. What do people love most about your guitars?

Christian: Probably the uniqueness, connection with nature reflected by the designs , and love of my country that inspires the creation of each instrument, it’s the sound of New Zealand

Alan: New Zealand does produce some unique sounds from their musicians and instruments. How about some tips for anyone out there wanting to learn the guitar or wanting to become a luthier?

Christian: Well, you can never practice enough, but with lots of practice your fingers can suffer. So a good tip is to dip your fingers in methylated spirits, it removes the oil from your tips and toughens them up. My road to Luthierie was a long and winding one. I think very rarely is it a first choice career, probably because there isn’t a specific path to become one. Well, certainly not where I live.

If you’re passionate about guitars, look in your local library for books on Luthierie. At first it can make very daunting reading, but hopefully you can decipher it all and pursue it further. I would strongly suggest taking a woodwork class at school or an adult night class. It’s a great way to get started without spending a small fortune on woodwork machines.

Here you can learn the necessary skills to select and machine timber, and if you’re confident enough begin building your first guitar. Alternately, if there’s a Luthierie school nearby you could enroll and get specialized hands-on training from an expert tutor. Most of all, you must have the passion and patience to overcome the challenges you face.