Bashkin Guitars
by Michael Bashkin and Karen Cannon
Karen Cannon played several of my guitars before placing an order. She wanted a guitar that was very responsive and powerful, but comfortable to play with a light touch. The guitar needed to have a clear, crisp low-end and complex treble character. With these goals in mind I choose Italian spruce for the soundboard and Sapele mahogany for the back and sides, all put together in my Placencia - OM model.
At first Karen did not consider the Novax© Fanned Fret SystemTM as an option. After playing guitars with and without fanned frets, however, she said "This is it! I want a Bashkin fanned-fret guitar."
The Novax© Fanned Fret SystemTM (http://www.novaxguitars.com/Pages/generalinfo_frame.htm) creates a tension gradient across the strings, applying more tension on the bass and less on the treble side. The increased tension creates more power and focus in the bass strings, especially useful for drop-tunings, and a more complex, richer high-end. On my guitars the difference in scale-length between the two strings is ¾?. This causes a moderate splayed arrangement of the frets that surprisingly requires no adjustment by the player. In fact, there have been times where I have had to remind people they were actually playing a fanned-fret guitar.
Karen has small hands and we adjusted the dimensions of the neck to her preferences. I also made a physical template of her existing guitar and hand-carved the neck to match it. She and I also worked together on certain visual aspects of her guitar. We both agreed the guitar should be visually balanced and maintain material and color continuity. The headstock and rosette of her guitar are symmetrical in nature, but the cutaway body shape, fanned frets and bridge are obviously asymmetrical. My goal was to achieve balance between these competing visual forces.
To achieve color and material consistency, the same Sapele Mahogany used for the back and sides was used for many of the detail appointments in the guitar. I used Sapele on the front and back of the headstock and in the rosette, for example. The rosette is inlaid with asymmetrical pieces of water buffalo horn, reminiscent of the bridge design, which is made of the same material used in the fingerboard position markers. The bindings and purflings are all made from the same plank of East Indian rosewood to ensure good color continuity.
I would appreciate the opportunity to make similarly appointed guitars for my readers. Please be patient. Once on my commission list, the current wait time for delivery is 2.5 yrs
Best wishes,
Michael Bashkin
Bashkin Guitars
michael@bashkinguitars.com
www.bashkinguitars.com
Artisan Meets Artist
By Karen Cannon
My Bashkin guitar is the first instrument I've commissioned. It was a wonderful experience working with Michael in tandem on the design elements. I must admit, however, that on my part the fan-fretting was incorporated for aesthetic reasons. Okay, I'm a visual artist and can't help it! Very little about the guitar's design is symmetrical, and the customary parallel frets would have stopped the flow cold.
As I understand it, the purpose of fan frets is to keep more tension on the bass strings, especially when playing in altered tunings, which I never use. Before I ordered my guitar, I had the rare opportunity to take home two identical Bashkin models, one with fan-frets, and the other with traditional fretting. Playing them back-to-back without looking at the fretboards, I could not tell which design I was playing!
Another luthier [Ralph Novak] holds the patent on the fan-fret concept, and Michael pays a royalty to use it. Most of Michael's instruments do not incorporate this feature, although he is beginning to receive more requests for it.
We have photographs of my guitar during every stage of production, starting with the arrival of the wood sets, and ending with the finished guitar. The African quilted mahogany on mine is spectacular; it looks like a relief map of the Rocky Mountains. The slash on the side is an intricate f-hole sound port. Michael contested using Sperzel locking tuners, but I enjoy those so much on my Parker Fly that I wanted them on my new acoustic, too.
Three of us got together recently and gave the Bashkin guitar a rigid workout; wow, what an incredible instrument! One of the fellows played it with dropped tunings and it was truly in its element. Being a fingerstyle jazz chord-melody player, I've never experimented with alternate tunings. But after hearing how that guitar takes to it, I really must.
My trusty Parker Fly Concert model is shown in the background, which became an important influence in choosing a custom builder. As you can see, my eye for design is quite unconventional, and Michael's guitar reflects that beautifully. My Bashkin is a pleasure to play, a treasure to admire as art.
I'm especially happy for the exposure of Michael's exceptional work. Brent and I took my guitar in for additional set-up work yesterday and visited with Michael. He truly is an insightful caring person and that clearly shows up in his craft, too. Some builders build for the builder -- Michael builds for the player.
Karen Cannon
About Michael Bashkin
The carved "X-Bracing" that you'll see beneath the sound hole of a Bashkin guitar reflects the builder's holistic approach to design. It's both an elegant visual signature and an innovative tool that provides more flexibility for balancing a guitar throughout both registers.
A former teacher of tropical forestry in Belize, Michael's design philosophy evolved during his studies with Harry Fleischman and Ervin Somogyi. "Wood is one of nature's most remarkable gifts," he says. "The ideal guitar allows the wood to fully express itself both visually and tonally, with every element in perfect balance. With a rich and complex voice, it also faithfully expresses the personality of its owner."
Michael builds hand-voiced, fingerstyle guitars in Colorado for players around the world. He has created several signature designs, all of which are available in a wide spectrum of woods. Michael especially enjoys building with woods that are certified by the Forest Stewardship Council.
About the Artist, Karen Cannon
Karen Cannon believes that music speaks a universal language of the trials and smiles of life.
Her artwork relays that with warmth and humor in a manner reminiscent of the legendary illustrator, Norman Rockwell.
An avid musician and guitarist as well as a fine artist, accuracy in the portrayal of instruments is a key factor in the popularity of her line of posters, greeting cards and mugs among fellow musicians. Her "Best In Show" award at the recent NAMM Show is evidence of the high esteem she is given by music industry professionals.
"Like many of you," Karen says, "I cut my musical teeth on Mel Bay books and all these many years later, it is a great pleasure to now have my line of music art cards and accessories represented by Mel Bay Publications."
Based in Fort Collins, Colorado, Karen and partner Brent Hawley take time from their busy work and travel schedules to play music together on a professional and "therapeutic" level. Tightly arranged guitar/mandolin swing instrumentals are their focus.
"Music is our life force. It's what holds us together, gets us through the tough times and celebrates our successes."
Karen's love of painting and playing music has been brought full circle in the images of Art Strings Publishing <www.artstringspublishing.com>. "May they bring a smile to you and your friends!"
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