Excerpts from Just Jazz Guitar's Interview with Steve Grimes

Steve Grimes is an accomplished archtop guitar luthier who some might say is living the dream. Originally starting his business in Washington State, Steve relocated to Kula, a small town situated 4,000 feet above sea level in Maui, Hawaii. This higher elevation and more consistent climate helps keep his shop dehumidified, which benefits his guitars tremendously.

Just Jazz Guitar asked Steve a little bit about his work in Maui.

JB: For your archtop bodies, what woods do you select for the top, sides, and back?

SG: For thirty-five years, I've been making archtop instruments almost exclusively from spruce and maple. Recently, hwoever, I've been making archtops with koa sides and backs. Koa is a very wonderful tonewood, with great variety in sound-producing characteristics.

You can read more from Steve's interview in the August 2007 issue of Just Jazz guitar magazine. And if you're interested in learning a bit more about Steve on the Web, you can visit his archtop luthier page on the Fine Archtops website.