By: Rick Landers
Adam Patterson of Appala Guitars (Kentucky) with the first guitar he built with Honduran Mahogany and Zebrawood top.
Working quietly in their homes, in small shops or rented work spaces there are hundreds of lone wolf guitar builders learning and improving the craft of guitar building.
We found builder, Adam Patterson, working deep in the heart of the Appalachian mountains, where he’s building his guitar business, Appala Guitars, a company he founded that’s grounded in the traditions of guitar building while looking for new and inventive ways to smartly grow his business.
Of course, the name Appala is an abbreviated reference to the mountains that surround Patterson’s company. And coincidentally, his initials “A” and “P” found their way into the brand.
Adam’s quest to learn his trade and build guitars of unique sound is reminiscent of those who’ve gone before. We recall that Leo Fender, Paul Reed Smith and others began their guitar building in humble surroundings, yet their vision, tenacity and ambitions fueled their companies to greatness.
To outsiders independent luthiers seem to carry Sisyphean loads, with their relentless ambitions to build a perfect beast. But, to those lone artisans it’s a journey that bears fruit often enough to inspire them to explore and discover new building techniques, unique tonewoods or a better complement of components for their functional art.
Adam Patterson works alone, a working situation normal for a luthier. The work is slow and can be tedious in its need for perfection, and demands patience. A single guitar can take a month or more to build. But, building guitars is his passion and brings him satisfaction well beyond what he’d find in a regular job or in the realm of corporate life. This is his chosen path and as difficult as it may be at times, it’s also liberating.
One of his most recent guitars uses a complement of Sitka Spruce, Mahogany, Rosewood and Timarand, a stunning figured wood indigenous to the African continent. A close look reveals an extended floating fretboard, a style made to expand the vibration field of the sound board.
At first blush, plucked with the touch of calloused fingertips, the guitar is soft and quiet. Grab a pick and the guitar opens up loud with a deep and resonant punch. A gentle strum produces shimmering high notes that slowly and gently fade away…delightful.
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Rick Landers: What path did you take in order to finally become a guitar builder?
Adam Patterson: I think it started with a deep curosity about how things work. From the time I was little I would take everything apart and examine what makes objects do what they do.
A little later I became interested in the arts; especially music. I developed a passion for guitar and, as with everything else, I had to know what makes them tick. It’s from there I began to study up on tonewoods and their unique properties.
I told myself “I think I can do this”, so I gave it a shot and the result was better than I could have imagined. My first guitar was finished in 2006 and I knew then what I wanted to do with my life.
Rick: Do you have access to tone woods locally or do you have to have wood supplies shipped to you?
Luthier Adam Patterson takes a break from his craft.
Adam Patterson: Limited access. I love working with local tonewoods like black walnut and maple, but for the most part I source my woods online.
Rick: Tell us about the first guitar you built, lessons learned and did it lead you to build right away or did it take you a while to reach a decision that you would become a luthier?
Adam Patterson: Many lessons were learned on that first guitar: How not to glue in a neck, how not to route a binding channel. I wanted it to be perfect,so the process from start to finish took almost two years of my weekends.
And a lot of that time was correcting mistakes made the day before. I knew after I finished my first guitar that I was just going to keep building.
Rick: In the world of guitars, there are those who are grounded in tradition and then there are others who are inventive and want to explore guitar building beyond the old methods. Are you a purist with respect to traditional guitar building or do you explore other paths to building?
Adam Patterson: I think I’m a little of both. I could be called a purist when it comes to the traditional body shapes and bracing patterns, but I love to explore when it comes to tonewoods.
I get tired of seeing Mahogany and Rosewood guitars. Not that there’s anything wrong with them, it’s just nice to hear and see something different from time to time.
Rick: In your opinion, what are the perfect woods for the perfect guitar? Or do you personally have a preference for your own guitar playing?
Adam Patterson: I believe that might be the wrong way of looking at it. There are cult favorite guitars on the market that many people view as the perfect guitar, such as the Martin D-28. While they sound fantastic you can’t help but feel like they have just been stamped out on an assembly line.
I like something that’s unique. That’s what I shoot for. I like every guitar to have its own personality.
Rick: A recent build of yours looks very traditional with a Sitka Spruce top and a shape similar to a Taylor Grand Symphony guitar. Yet, when one takes another glance, the guitar suddenly turns dramatic with the use of a highly figure Tamarind wood. Where do you get your ideas for wood choices?
Adam Patterson: If it’s something that I’ve never used before, I start by reading up on the tonal properties of that wood. If it sounds like something I’d be interested in trying, I buy it. If I like the sound of the wood I pair the backs and sides to a top according to their tonal properties.
An Appala guitar with a Sitka Spruce top, African mahogany neck and African Rosewood fretboard and bridge. The sides and back feature Tamarind tone wood. Photo courtesy: Appala Guitars
Rick: You’ve also employed the use of an extended floating fret board that rings back to the days of Stauffer’s parlor guitars, as well as archtops and some classical guitars. What are the advantages and is the floating fret board design easier to build or more challenging?
Adam Patterson: The biggest advantage to a floating fret board is that it leaves the soundboard completely untouched by anything but the bridge. This way it’s completely free to do its job. It’s no harder to build than any other method. It’s always surprised me that more guitar makers don’t employee this method.
Rick: For those who may be interested in a career building guitars, what kinds of suggestions do you have for them?
Adam Patterson: Just go for it! Start with research and when your confident dive in. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes, You will, and you will learn from them.
Rick: What kinds of investments are involved in terms of money, space, supplies and equipment should a new builder anticipate needing in order to be in a position to build guitars for a living?
Adam Patterson: That can be tailored to the individual. As long as you have a space to work, a few basic tools and a passion, you’re set. I remember seeing an interview with Robert O’Brian where he talked about working out of his bedroom and storing his supplies wherever he could. If you love what you’re doing, you will grow with time.
Adam Patterson at his Appala Guitars workshop cutting some custom inlay.
Rick: Beyond guitar building, you have to be someone who has some business acumen and skills. These things tend to draw builders away from the thing that they’re passionate about, to the mundane. Does business come naturally to you or is it a necessary drudgery that you have to force yourself to commit to, in order to make everything work?
Adam Patterson: I’d have to say it’s the business side of the job that I find mundane. I’d much rather be spending my time building, but it’s part of the job and it has to be done, so I grudgingly do it.
Rick: Some builders like the idea of working alone, while others enjoy the hustle and bustle of having others around them who enjoy their passion. What’s your preference and how do you see Appala guitars changing over the course of the next five or ten years?
Appala guitar with zebrawood back and sides – photo courtesy: Appala Guitars
Adam Patterson: I almost always work alone, but I love bounching ideas off of other people in similar lines of work. One in particular, a local drum maker, Johnny Harris Jr., I can think of one instance in particular in which a guitar I built and a snare drum he built were made from the same tree. We sometimes source our materials together.
Rick: What guitars do have around the house that you play?
Adam Patterson: I’m a fan of underdogs. Years ago I bought a guitar for less than $200 made by a company called Mitchell. I’m not sure if this particular guitar was a fluke, but it was amazing. Great volume, sustain and a tone that was to die for.
But, if you’re going to make me choose amongst the big guys I’d have to say I’m a Gibson guy for electric guitars, Les Paul, and Taylor for acoustics, Grand Symphony.
Rick: I understand that you’re ready to begin building another group of Appala guitars. How do you go about determining the best guitar to build for any given client and are there any interesting guitars that you’ve got planned to build this year?
Adam Patterson: Most of the people who come to me with custom build ideas have the guitar already planned out in their head. It’s my job to take that idea and bring it to life.
If they know what they want one to sound like, but leave the tonewoods to me, I usually go with what has worked for me in the past to produce that particular tone.
And yes, I just sourced some beautiful Oregon Myrtle, Chechen, Black Acacia, and Black Limba that I’m looking forward to using. Should be fun.
