A word about fine guitars from Ted Brown

I am a proud Canadian. I have put in my time, learned the craft, and now I enjoy every day in the shop, hand crafting instruments. If you want a truly good guitar, that will outlast the both of us, have a look at Blackwood.

I honestly believe these guitars perform better than any of the big name factory guitars. Why? Because I take the time to do all the little things along the way that make the guitars better. It starts with a superior design, that factories wouldn’t attempt because it takes too much time, to finicky. Our guitars have double walls for strength and sustain.

I tune the thickness of the the top, and it varies across the surface. I tune the braces by carving them down to be as thin and responsive as they can be, and yet still hold the guitar together under 200 pounds of string pressure. Carving the braces, and tuning by ear for a certain tap tone, a certain musicality is a key difference between factories and single bench luthiers.

I add things like a reinforced neck joint that will never need a neck reset. I add in carbon rods inside the neck on either side of the truss rod too. They add strength, stability, and sustain to the guitar.

I use premium Gotoh (Japan) tuners because they are creamy smooth, and they hold the string where you adjusted it to.

I put a wee bit of shellac inside the guitar to reduce the seasonal wood movement, protecting your guitar in the long term from cracking.

So, it comes down to a professional hand made Canadian guitar, or the ones the American Factories send up here.

Please drop by and try a Blackwood, you will see and hear the distinct difference, and then you will find out the hard case is also Canadian made, and we back you up on your new purchase for a full 5 years!

Blackwood, a fine Canadian instrument.

Sincerely, Ted Brown, Canadian Luthier.

About the Blackwood Guitar Company

Blackwood Guitar Company is a small shop owned and run by luthier Ted Brown. I make fine acoustic guitars and teach guitar making. We are located in a lovely maple forest just west of Brockville Ontario. Although our address says Mallorytown, we are actually 10km north of the town at 340 County Road 5. The school was custom built in 2021 for the purpose of guitar building. We have six student benches that are well appointed with hand tools and jigs you will use during the making of your guitar. We have a showroom at the front of the building where I display and sell my guitars. In the middle of the building is the bench room, and at the rear is the machine room.

My background includes taking a cabinetmaking course in Ottawa in the early 1990s, followed by an intense year spent at the College of the Redwoods fine woodworking program in California. I built a 3200 square foot shop in Almonte back in 2002, and taught hundreds of woodworkers in the shop until 2007. I studied lutherie under Sergei de Jonge in Chelsea Quebec, and later I studied under Michel Pellerin in Thetford Mines Quebec.

Since 2022 I have been teaching acoustic guitar making in this well-lit shop. Our class size is 6 maximum, so you will get a significant amount of 1:1 time during your build. When you look out and see the maple forest you know it is the right place to relax and create a wonderful instrument. We have had students from across Canada, USA and beyond that have come and enjoyed our 5-week course. All you need is a positive attitude and your basic safety equipment like safety glasses, dust mask and hearing protection. We supply everything else. We work daily from 9:30 to 4:30. The shop will be open in the evenings and Saturdays so you can do some extra work.

We offer rooms with shared cooking and bath facilities at a very reasonable rate for those that come from a distance. Please inquire when you register.

The 1000 Islands tourism district is a lovely place to explore while you are here. Just ask and we will direct you to all the facilities that you need.

I look forward to working with you.

Cheers, Ted Brown.

To register call 613-292-1985 or email us at info@blackwoodguitar.ca

Blackwood Guitar Company | (613) 292-1985 | info@blackwoodguitar.ca