Richard Heeres Guitar in the Making

Richard Heeres is one of the esteemed luthiers we have the pleasure of working with here at Fine Archtops. He is native to the Netherlands, and about 50% of the guitars he creates are custom requests by archtop lovers around the world. He specializes in archtop guitars, but also creates Flamenco, Nylon Jazz and Classical guitars. You can click here to learn more about Richard Heeres' guitars.

Richard Heeres Guitar Photos

In a recent update from Richard Heeres, we received some exclusive photos of Heeres crafting an archtop guitar. We wanted to share those photos, and a little background, with you.

It all starts off as raw materials. It's hard to believe something so simple will eventually become such a masterpiece. Pictured below are two pieces of wood that will be used in the creation of this archtop guitar.

Truing the materials used in the guitar making process is important to the finished product. Taking some time to make sure everything is level and even in the beginning can help in the long run. In this photo, Heeres is truing what will become the back of the guitar. 

Finally, the guitar starts to take shape! In these photos, Heeres has begun to roughly cut out the pieces of the archtop guitar. In the first photo, Heeres is cutting out the shape of the guitar, and in the second photo, the piece is on a carving machine for further refinement.

Next, the use of a finger plane helps put the "arch" in archtop guitar. Due to the fact that it's so small, it can do some very intricate work. Talented luthiers, like Heerse, use the finger plane to touch up aspects of the guitar by hand.

If you're looking for more information about Richard Heeres and archtop guitars, please visit our website!