Wednesday, June 01, 2011

Luthier Harvey Leach : H. G. Leach Guitars


About Harvey Leach and H. G. Leach Guitars from www.leachguitars.com

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Harvy Leach has been making guitars for around 37 years now, currently operating in a one man shop in Northern California. He is perhaps most famous by virtue of his Voyage Air travel guitar (which folds into half) or his superlative inlay work (long list of his former clients include C.F. Martin, Paul Reed Smith, Collings, D'Angelico, Warrior, Kevin Ryan, James Olson etc.).

Like most artists, there is a philosophical motive to Harvy's Luthiery career. He says, "I have been acclaimed by many as a "Master" luthier, but I'm not sure such a title exists or is appropriate. In life we master nothing, we just do the best we canto make it greater than it was before we started. I've always looked at it like this. I am a woodworker at heart and the greatest woodwork ever created is a tree, therein lies the great challenge... to take something that is already perfect and try to change it without losing the essence of that perfection. The best way I have found is to create something of beauty that can create music. The history of musical instruments is filled with examples of these same ideals. The trees that grew in the 1700's were just as magnificent as they are today but the lasting heritage of those trees is never more realized than when someone plays a Stradivarius violin."

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Harvy's multifaceted career is focused on three fronts, each reflecting a different aspect of his chosen field, viz. Guitar Making (H. G. Leach Guitars), Innovation (Voyage Air Guitar) and art (Cutting Edge Inlays). He specializes in guitar making with rare and exotic woods, collected over the years and of course, inlay work, while, Cutting Edge Inlay company was started several years ago to expand the boundaries of hand-cut inlay work and to make his skills (and my passion) available to other artisans/Luthiers. who prefer to outsource their inlay work. Cutting Edge Inlays focuses mostly on guitars but any "canvas" from a piece of scrap wood to a conference table is just as good for him.

Harvey's offerings are varied, and it's best to visit his beautiful sites for further info.

Additional Links from H. G. Leach Guitars

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