The Australian School of Lutherie : origins and achievements

The acoustic guitar is the most popular instrument in the world because of its price, size and ubiquitous presence in popular music in the media and on the Internet. Most beginners purchase Asian-made instruments at the start, graduating to better guitars as they become more advanced. One possibility is obtaining an Australian instrument, either factory-made or hand-made. The Australian guitar industry is very small compared to overseas markets, and the custom industry is even smaller. Many Australians eschew the home-grown product in favour of an exotic import, but in the classical guitar world, Australian guitars have become highly desirable and very expensive due to the original construction technique of using lattice bracing and carbon fibre. This paper discusses how this technique has created a relatively new school of Australian lutherie, which has finally come of age.