Handcrafted guitars by Rob Mitchell
Born in 1960 and originally from Fife, Rob Mitchell has been woodworking since the age of 6. With a life-long interest in trees, wood and its various uses, Rob gained his early woodworking skills by making a planked hull model boat. His first musical instrument was a staved back mandolin , closely followed by his first electric guitar at the age of 16. After these initial successes, Rob started making Clarsachs ( Celtic Harp ) and built his first acoustic guitar at the age of 21.
Since then, he’s been making a variety of musical instruments which include not only acoustic and electric guitars and basses, but also Dulcimers, Bodhrans, Psaltries and Pan Pipes. In addition to his skills as a luthier, Rob also offers guitar repairs in Dundee.
Making a Mitchell guitar
“Only the finest tone woods are selected to ensure each guitar is pleasing in both sound and looks. Each guitar
is hand-crafted, ensuring attention to detail at every stage of the process. Soundboards are crafted from narrow grain Alaskan Sitka Spruce to produce the highest quality resonant tone and sound quality possible. As standard, each neck is built from Honduras Mahogany. Head veneers are made from West African Ebony.
Solid Ash linings are used for internal construction. These are steamed and pre-shaped especially for each guitar. I believe this creates a solid platform for the soundboard, rather than using kerfed Willow or Lime. Similarly, I only use solid wood bindings which are steamed and pre-shaped for the contours of the guitar. In my opinion, wood bindings tighten the structure of the guitar far more than plastic. Fingerboards are handcrafted from Ebony with real abalone inlays.
Each guitar is hand sprayed with AC Melamine lacquer. Although this is a relatively soft coating it gives the wood more chance to move, thereby enhancing the sound potential. Despite this, it is still resilient and hard-wearing. After spraying, each guitar is allowed to cure for 6 weeks prior to hand polishing. This gives the lacquer time to fully harden.
Each guitar is polished by hand to ensure a quality finish.”
is hand-crafted, ensuring attention to detail at every stage of the process. Soundboards are crafted from narrow grain Alaskan Sitka Spruce to produce the highest quality resonant tone and sound quality possible. As standard, each neck is built from Honduras Mahogany. Head veneers are made from West African Ebony.
Guitars are available either from Rob himself or through selected retailers.
