Description
Built in Schomberg, Ontario during 1973, this Darryl Williams classical guitar largely follows the Hauser style and has a very large amount of hand work in its construction. The Cedar top was hand-profiled, braced and tuned by Darryl Williams, the Cherry sides and back were prepared with steel hand scrapers, the Mahogany neck was shaped with rasps, files and sandpaper.
The finish is nitrocellulose lacquer, sprayed on then wet-sanded and hand polished. Current builders would use French Polish rather than spray lacquer.
This guitar evokes many memories for me, because I had just started working for Darryl Williams at the time this guitar was built; in late 1976 I moved to Toronto to join The Twelfth Fret.
Darryl Williams built classical guitars, baroque and renaissance instruments such as lutes and vihuelas at his shop in, and then at a new shop near Schomberg, Ontario just northwest of Toronto. As well, he was a film professor at the then-named Ryerson University. As a builder, he was acquainted with many other builders like Bruce West, Edgar Mönch and Jean Larrivee and built instruments for many advanced players. Darryl Williams passed away on January 23, 2002.
His shop had some fairly hefty equipment and he did some preparation of log sections for instrument construction, the resulting blanks being used by himself and other builders he knew. I can tell you that resawing ebony logs is not in any way a tidy proposition.
This guitar dates to 1973, before the Williams shop had moved from within Schomberg itself to a rural property a few kilometers out of town. Areas like Schomberg are surrounded by many 'ghost' communities that by now may be only intersections of secondary roads, with names like Pennville that are remembered by only a few older people.
Williams guitars are built in the traditional Spanish style, meaning that the neck blank is built first and the heel carved and finish sanded. The neck has a pair of slots, and the sides are hand bent over a hot tube, placed in a mold, and then the upper ends of the sides fit into these slots. The tail block and solid linings are added and the back and top are installed then trimmed for binding.
The fingerboard and frets are added and the guitar is then sent for finishing; the bridge area is masked off, and the last steps are installing the bridge and setting up the guitar. The top is likely Red Cedar, the sides, back and head plate are local Cherry, and the fingerboard, nut, saddle and bridge tie-block trim are ebony. The bridge and body binding are Brazilian Rosewood - at this time, many smaller builders had old stocks of this material. The top bracing is Cedar, the back bracing a mix of Cedar and Mahogany, and the linings are solid and steam-bent with the sides, not kerfed. The label is signed Darryl Williams and dated 1973/3.
This guitar is in decent playing condition and has had a number of repairs over the years. There are cleated back cracks and seam repairs, and the bridge has been removed and reglued. The finish, being hand polished is not high gloss. It plays well and has a full, open, rich tone.
A 'lite' rigid foam blue hardshell case with carrying straps is included.
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There are no refunds or returns on used items unless authorized in advance by a Twelfth Fret Sales Associate at time of sale. View Our Full Terms Here |
DETAILS:
- Instrument Model: Nylon String Classical Guitar
- Instrument Manufacturer: Darryl Williams
- Instrument year: 1973
- Instrument Finish: Amber Tint Nitrocellulose Lacquer
- Instrument Class: Used
- Instrument serial number: Signed and dated 1973/3, built during 1973 in Schomberg, Ontario
- Country of Origin: Canada
- Instrument Condition: Fair
- Right-handed
- CITIES Documentation Required: Yes
- Case included: Yes
- Case original: No
- Case Type: Rigid Foam Light Weight
- Instrument Weight Imperial: 4.4lbs
- Instrument Weight Metric: 2 kgs
- Scale Length Imperial: 26.378 in
- Scale Length Metric: 670mm
- Nut Width Imperial: 2.23 in
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Nut Width Metric: 56.7mm
- Items in Case: N/A
- Consignment: Yes
- Product ID: 189958
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There are no refunds or returns on used items unless authorized in advance by a Twelfth Fret Sales Associate at time of sale. View Our Full Terms Here |