Andrew Glover

Paul Reed Smith (PRS) Santana E

This fabulous guitar was made in 2003. I bought it second hand in 2005 and I have had great use out of this wonderful instrument. If you want to sound like the great Carlos Santana himself then there is no finer guitar than this that is named after him. I have used it on numerous recordings, live it gives me the versatility that I crave. It is such an adaptable instrument that I can play any style I wish using this guitar but for me it really comes alive when it is in the blues and hard rock styles.

Handmade Electric Guitar

I made this guitar when I was 19 as I had little money and at that time it was always cheaper to make your own than buy one. The body is Utile with a Maple centre and Maple arm. The fretboard is Rosewood and the pick ups are DiMarzio. The whole instrument cost me about £60 to make. It has one hell of a heavy bottom end and a harsh full top end, especially when the double humbucker is engaged. Great for metal and blues.

Sharkbite EB550

This is an Australian made Sharkbite guitar. This was my main bass guitar for many many years. It has one hell of a bass end booming kick especially with brass strings on which I much prefer on a bass guitar. I have recorded many times with this and for performances it has been through hell and back but still is in great condition considering it is about forty years old now. This is a great one for progressive and metal music. If the settings are reset it is also good for jazz and blues.

Peavey four string Bass Guitar

This has become my prefered bass guitar with an extremely large wide range of timbres and textures possible. I have played live and recorded with this bass over the past few years of owning it. It looks fabulous and with its straight through arm gives the resonances that few other basses seem to have in this price range.

It is made of various exotic woods such as Koanga, Bilboa and some others I can't even pronounce. It has a sustain I have never come across before on any bass I have played and that includes expensive Fenders and the like.

Baglama (Saz)

The Baglama or Saz as it is more commonly known is the sound of Anatolia. It is is also known in countries such as Iraq and Iran and is one of the most ancient of instruments from this region. It has seven strings set in three courses. I use the Bozuk (black) tunning for performances but have used it in other keys. It has no fret dots like a guitar and you have to know exactly where you are at all times. It is tuned in quarter tones and this can be rather confusing when you first start out. This particular instrument is a long kneck model that was made in Turkey about fifteen years ago.

I have used this on many recordings and particular on "Symphony No.2: Byzantium". It has a very resonant sound box and this can be used like a rhythmic drum along side the beautiful twang of the metal strings. I use it as the main sound source on the work "The Walls of Constantinople" for both the strings and the sound box that I alter to make sound like a Dhoumbek drum.

I use a Barcus Berry contact mike for amplification and this has allowed me to experiment with this instruments varying sounds to a high level.

Handmade Anglo-Saxon Lyre

This copy of an Anglo-Saxon Lyre I made in early 2015 and am particularly pleased with. It is a cross between the famous Sutton Hoo and the Prittlewell Lyres.

The body is from a solid piece of American White Oak and the soundboard is Maple. The bridge, done like two Boar's heads, is oak and the tail piece is Walnut. The Saxon images of Woden's two Raven's Huggin and Munnin is pyrographed into the wood. On the reverse there is a stylised version of the Valkyrie wings, again pyrographed, and at the bottom an inlay of the Sutton Hoo purse image of King Radwald flanked by two Wolves. It has two copper straps to hold the soundboard onto the oak (traditional) and then tiny copper nails around the outside to hold the soundboard better than just the glue.

It sounds absolutley beautiful and I am now making these to commission order only with delivery and carry bag. For pricing just contact me. Remember most of the price is to cover the many hours taken up building and toning the instrument, not in the materials.

Other pictures of this beautiful instrument are below. Just click on the file to see them.

DSCF0323.JPG
Size : 3969.266 Kb
Type : JPG

DSCF0325.JPG
Size : 3571.573 Kb
Type : JPG

DSCF0322.JPG
Size : 2630.351 Kb
Type : JPG

DSCF0327.JPG
Size : 3861.654 Kb
Type : JPG

DSCF0318.JPG
Size : 2894.382 Kb
Type : JPG

DSCF0331.JPG
Size : 3669.947 Kb
Type : JPG

DSCF0332.JPG
Size : 4010.248 Kb
Type : JPG

DSCF0333.JPG
Size : 3664.313 Kb
Type : JPG

The above recording was made by Martin Mitchell in January 2018 using the new Extinct Audio BM9 Ribbon Microphone. The track is entitled "Children of Ing, (part I)" and comes from the CD/Album "Mead Hall: Laments, Lays and Idylls" and is part of the Anglo-Saxon Lyre Project. A new website is now up with further information on the instrument as well as this particular made instrument (Two Ravens) and includes playing techniques, history, soundfiles and Youtube links and just about anything that can be said about the instrument.

https://www.anglosaxonlyreproject.co.uk

Just copy and paste the URL into a New Tab and enjoy the journey.
You can also purchase the new Mead Hall: Laments, Lays and Idyls from the site or even get it as a digital or a CD copy from the bandcamp site at this address:

https://andrewglover-whitley.bandcamp.com/album/mead-hall-laments-lays-and-idyls

Just do the same....yes copy and paste!

Andrew Glover-Whitley