Luthier Aaron Green : Aaron Green Guitars

About Aaron Green and Aaron Green Guitars from http://www.aarongreenguitars.com/

Like many luthiers, Aaron's first foray into guitar making was simply to acquire a guitar that he could not otherwise afford.

When Aaron was 16 years old, he had good fortune to meet Alan Carruth at a 3 day folk festival (NEFFA) conveniently held at the high school Aaron was attending. He was impressed by two things. The first was that Alan's guitars were the most beautiful things he had ever seen and the second was that, Alan took Aaron somewhat seriously (Though Aaron was just a kid). Alan radiated enthusiasm for instrument making and people in general and Aaron thought, he had never met anyone like him. On the third and last day of the festival, Aaron gathered courage and asked Alan to teach him to make guitars. Much to Aaron's surprise Alan said yes.

Aaron recollects, In those days Alan kept his shop in the basement of his home in Dedham MA. He called it his troll hole and that pretty well summed it up. His methodology in those days was largely devoid of the jigs or fixtures that most of us use to help us along in our guitar making. What may be seen as an obstacle to the production-minded luthier made me learn how to use hand tools and forced me to learn the patience necessary for doing good work. Alan can do more with less than most people and his ingenuity is a constant source of inspiration, even today. I would show up at Alan's shop on a Friday afternoon and work until dinner time. The three years I apprenticed under Alan contain some of my fondest memories. The best ones, though, are from that first year in his basement shop.

In the summer of 1992, when I was 18, Alan presented a lecture on guitar acoustics at the Guild of American Luthiers convention in Vermillion, South Dakota. I went along and this was my first experience with any luthiers other than Alan. Up until this point I was planning on making steel string and electric guitars. The first day of the convention I heard a guy playing Bach on a classical guitar that he built. I had never even thought about classical guitar until then but I made the instant decision that this was the instrument that I wanted to create.

Back in Boston Alan was planning on opening a luthier's collaborative with another Luthier they would call the Luthier's Workshop. I had decided that I was going to continue and stayed on as Alan's apprentice. This opportunity gave me the space and time to focus on classical and flamenco guitars. There were a lot more players coming through the shop and I was able to start appreciating their needs as musicians. I studied flamenco guitar under Roberto Rios who was my earliest supporter and patron. I studied classical guitar under John Bigelow whom I met through Alan. Both of these men guided my earliest attempts in classical and flamenco guitars and made me aware of the importance of having honest feedback from players. They also put up with my attempts to learn to play even when it was apparent that my efforts were probably better off being focused towards luthiery.

After three years with Alan, Aaron struck out on his own and opened his studio in Waltham, MA right up the street from Alan. This location is where Aaron has been for the last 10 years. He took up many side jobs to support his guitar making habit. He also realized that he needed to meet more players and joined the Board of Directors of the Boston Classical Guitar Society as the calendar editor. This brought him in contact with most of the local players and kept hm abreast of concerts and happenings in the Boston area.

In the spring of 1995, Aaron offered to give classical and flamenco guitarist Dennis Koster a ride from New York to a concert he was to play in Boston. It seemed to Aaron a great opportunity to meet a famous guitarist and sell him a guitar. Dennis was very kind to Aaron when he showed him his latest effort. He said it was very nice, but after some more insistence from Aaron, Dennis told him his real impression about the guitar. It wasn't pretty. Despite the criticism, Dennis was extremely encouraging, so much so that Aaron brought him his next guitar, which Dennis said was a big improvement, although.... And so the things went on. Aaron says, "To this day Dennis has seen and played just about every guitar I have made. He has become one of my closest friends in life and greatest mentors. The instruments that I have made for him have bloomed under his hands and have given me more insight into how guitars work and play in than I otherwise would have gotten. To this day we still talk about how to make guitars better and he encourages me in all I do."

Aaron offers three regular models along with his high end presentation series guitars.
Concert Classical | Grand Concert Classical | Flamenco

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