STEVE'S HANDMADE ACOUSTIC GUITARS AND THEIR VERY TALENTED MAKERS
Steve Reinthal "A while back I played the first guitar that Michael Palm ever built and I was immediately sold. I’ve played instruments by many of Australia’s finest luthiers and most of them make exceptionally nice instruments, but the Palm was singing to me in a seductive, mysterious and tantalizing voice that I had only heard in my dreams. The great thing about Michael’s work is that he just keeps getting better with every instrument that he builds.
My new cedar and Indian RW fingerstyle model is pushing me hard to try and find it’s limits…and challenging mine."
MICHAEL PALM - PALM GUITARS
Michael Palm's philosophy on guitar
building is to combine superior tonal qualities, and effortless
playability in a visually beautiful presentation, to ultimately produce
an instrument that delivers more than just the sum of it's parts. All
his instruments are hand built by himself only. That is, all processes
from design, construction and voicing, through to the hand rubbed
finish and final set up being carried out by his hands only.
A
marriage of Art and Science is what is required when a musical
instrument is created. Michael is an Art School graduate with an
extensive background in Engineering and Design, as well as a long
history playing guitar. This has provided an excellent foundation for
the development of the instruments that are produced at Palm Guitars.
He
has chosen to operate independently to assure artistic integrity and
consistent quality. He imports the highest quality tone wood from
overseas as well as utilizing some exceptional native Australian
species.
Contact Michael Palm.
www.michaelpalmguitars.com
Steve - "1979. I had a kind of a hankering for a Martin D28 or maybe an 18 so I
popped in to see my mates at The Guitar Factory in Sydney.
Hanging on the wall were two extraordinary handmade guitars that had
been built by a relatively unknown Australian luthier by the name of
Greg Smallman.
These guitars were unlike anything I'd ever seen or played, with Braz
RW back and sides and extremely thin cedar tops braced with an
innovative lattice bracing system.
Although dimensionally different from one another, a large bodied 14
fretter and a smaller 12 fret, they shared the characteristics of being
light, loud, bright, and balanced.
The sound was unique and delicious. I A/B'd (C/D/E'd?) these two against a couple of Martins, Matons, an
Ovation (yeah I know, but sometimes...) and maybe a Guild but in my
mind there was no contest. I carved my initials into the big one and took it home.
Smallman didn’t make any more steel strings. He concentrated exclusively on rethinking and improving the traditional construction methods of classical guitars. Soon afterward, with the endorsement of John Williams he turned the guitar making world on it’s ear.
I wonder where that 12 fretter is now…?"
