B.G

My instruments are played world wide by musicians such as Dan Spitz (Anthrax),  Henry Kaiser, David Lindley, Mark Seymour (Hunters and Collectors), lilt, Barefoot Truth, Fred Kinbom, Lloyd Thayer. At Burgin Guitars we go all out to get our instruments made on time and within the agreed budget. Usual waiting time can be a couple of months, and mostly - no deposits (unless it's something really different). We send pics of the build and can chat any time too - I'm at paddyburgin@gmail.com or via facebook. I have played music all my life and have been making instruments more than twenty years. I have exhibited at guitar shows in Montreal, Healdsburg, and Newport, Rhode Island. If you can get to a David Lindley concert, chances are he'll have at least one of his Burgintwangers on stage. My instruments and some discussions about them are also on Facebook.

I took up instrument making (lutherie) in the 1990’s after many years of journalism, making furniture and playing music.

After two months at his school making instruments I returned to New Zealand and started building guitars and bouzoukis, as well as playing them on stage in several bands.

Slide instruments were later added to the catalog, a move inspired by the playing of David Lindley and by my father’s home built electric slide guitar dating from 1946. Over the years I have exhibited and played at many art and music festivals around New Zealand as well as the Healdsburg and Newport Guitar Festivals in the United States.After making around two hundred guitars, weissenborn style guitars, bouzoukis, citterns, mandolins and harps I find the allure of turning wood into sound undiminished.

While some parts are made en masse by myself each instrument is assembled one at a time on the workbench overlooking the vegetable garden outside. (I can keep up with the weeding while the glue dries) As parts are bent, shaped, tapped, carved, fitted and glued the instrument gradually takes on a life of its own until the exciting moment when its stringed voice is finally heard for the first time. At that point I can easily find an excuse to sit down in a sunny part of the workshop and play a few tunes, then a few more as the instrument gradually opens up. It’s a nice perk of the job. The other bonus is getting to correspond with so many musicians all over the world. Many of them send me their music, sometimes played on an instrument I have made.

Every two years we get a dozen students together for three weeks to build their own guitar. So far about seventy people from Belgium England, Australia and New Zealand have completed their own instruments in downtown Wellington. It’s a great way for us to pass on some of what we have learned and keep the craft of lutherie alive.

Gotta go now and get back to scraping, sanding and bending some guitar sides. Thanks for reading this, and please feel free to ask any questions.