Welcome to my website
My
father was a carpenter. No-one could have known my father and not seen
his regard for craftsmanship skills and striving for
perfection. But,
as a grammar school boy, I was expected to be something 'better' so
I took a BSc. Botany degree at London
University in 1968 and went, through
a post-graduate year, into biology teaching in 1969.
Increasingly,
through the years, woodwork became a very useful hobby ~ sometimes
a paying hobby ~ and led me into writing about
woodwork. I submitted
articles to magazines and found this rewarding and lucrative. Writing
about my projects had the effect of urging
me on to always be pushing
myself and trying something new. So,
over a number of years I have had experience of many aspects of
woodworking... then I tried guitarmaking...
That was over twenty years ago now ~ I found it! ~ I don’t need to
move on.
Recuperation
from illness allowed me some time to concentrate on building my first
classical guitar as a piece of therapy.
I was surprised at how well it
worked out; so I made two more and entered them into a competition.
The
chief judge was a well known instrument maker so I wasn’t expecting
much more than constructive criticism.
What I got was a silver medal and
a gold medal and a great deal of congratulations.
On
this evidence of some talent I gave up teaching and became a full time
Luthier at the end of 1994.
I suppose I might tell you of the master builders
I have studied under but the fact is that I am completely self-taught.
Never mind that, I am hidebound by no master's prejudices, the instruments
speak for me.
News ~ May 2013
Fret Dressing
I have added a guide to how to dress frets, should this be required, and it can be found on the 'adjustments' page.The procedure is quite straightforward but, as always, let me know if you need help or clearer instructions.
Inflation
Over the years, I have bought timber as economically as I could, including taking what advantage I could find in exchange rate differences.However, tonewood timber prices are still going up, not least due to increased affluence in the Far East.
I am aware of the logic that I should price timber pieces not on their original cost but on their current replacement cost.
I recently accepted a guitar commission for which replacement costs of raw materials exceeded £600 and this has caused me to stop and think.
My prices have been consciously set to keep hand-built instruments within the reach of most enthusiasts in all walks of life as far as possible but they have had to go up.
New timbers
I am pleased to announce that
two timbers have now aged sufficiently for me to offer them alongside
my existing options. These are Flamed Mango and Macassar Ebony.If you are not familiar with the grain pattern on these, either try Google images or, if you can't visit, ask me for a picture.
I also have some African and Andaman Island Padauk, which is brightly coloured and is exceptional acoustically.
As far as fingerboards go, I shall soon be offering Bog Oak, which is as black as the best Ebony but adds an Oak medullary ray figure.
Please Note:
Apart
from my (all too) rare holidays, I always reply promptly to all e-mail
enquiries.
So, if you do not receive a prompt reply, please 'phone me
(on the number below) as I have reason to suspect that some of my
messages have been going astray in this cyberspace thingy!
For existing owners
If
you use the MENU bar on the left to visit the 'adjustments' page, I
deal with some of the issues you may encounter while playing one of my
guitars in your own personal style.
This page also carries information on
cleaning your guitar and some comments on the strings I use, and why ~
which may help those of you who do not have a strong, personal
preference but enjoyed the original sound of the guitar.
Whilst the information may help you on its own, owners of my guitars
(or prospective owners) should always feel that they can contact me to
discuss any issues or make comments.
Additionally, if you own
one of my guitars, you might like to register your address and serial
number with me as a security back-up.
The contact information is at the bottom of this page.
Over to you ...
For
better than a quarter century, I was a secondary school biology
teacher, so I spoke to some 150 people a day, shouted at
some of them
and had intellectual conversations with others.
Now, I work alone in my
own workshop. It's a bit like being a hermit. So, not surprisingly, I'm
pleased when people get in touch.
Imagine my delight at getting e-mails
out of the blue, like the unsolicited testimonials at the end of the 'my approach' page.
So please feel free to e-mail me with your thoughts on my guitars,
guitars in general, music, art, politics, religion ~ the Cosmos!
Guitarist Profiles
Michael Martin
"Rik's guitar is a dream to play!
Made from Spruce and Rosewood I happened upon it by chance.
One dark
and stormy afternoon in January 2007 I took refuge in the Spanish Guitar
Centre Bristol.
I decided to play a few concert guitars.
I picked up Rik's guitar never having heard of him.
About three bars
into Una Limosna (by Barrios) it struck me that this was an exceptional
box.
I decided to pay Rik a visit.
He showed me a variety of guitars.
Some were made of very exotic
woods and there certainly was a characteristic 'feel' to his
instruments for the left hand.
The attractive appearance
was a bonus because that aspect means little if the sound won't
work for you!"
His < website > enables you to hear him play and hear the sound of his Middleton guitar.
Colin Chettle
I constructed a guitar to order for Colin Chettle who, in addition to
other requirements, needed a left-handed guitar.
Colin visited me on a
number of occasions during the construction of the guitar and took
pictures.
I felt that it would be interesting to hear what it feels
like to witness a guitar being made especially for you.
So I asked him
to write an article to go with those pictures and the result is < here >
Matthew Sear
“My
Rik Middleton guitar is my main guitar and has been since I was
introduced to the Middleton range in 2002.
The ease of play is superb
and the guitar helps me attain the kind of expression I need when
performing.
The subtlety of tone is rich and warm and the dynamic range
extremely responsive.
I am proud to be associated with Rik Middleton
guitars.”
Visit Matthew's website < here >
Listen to 'S.L Weiss - Fantasie in C minor' played on a Middleton guitar < here >
Roger Montgomery
Please remember that the sound you hear is somewhat limited by this method of presentation and the often moderate quality of a computer's sound system.
How to contact me
E-mail me at: rikmiddleton@tiscali.co.uk
Telephone
me on: 02477 677964 (UK)
International: +44 2477 677964