Jim Redgate – Australian Luthier
Jim Redgate was born in London in 1963 and moved to Australia with his family in 1966. Influenced early on by his father, who was a skilled craftsman, he developed a strong foundation in woodworking from a young age.
At 19 he built his first guitar. During this period he studied music and theory at college, which prepared him to enter the Certificate of Music Performance program. He completed the course in 1985 and was accepted into the Elder Conservatorium of Music, where he finished his Performance degree in 1988 with excellent results. Throughout his studies he performed regularly in solo and ensemble settings on guitars he had built himself and received a study scholarship for his work.
His background as a guitarist enables him to evaluate instruments from the player’s perspective, an essential skill for creating refined concert guitars. After completing his studies he chose to dedicate himself fully to lutherie, initially supporting his craft through teaching before becoming a full-time guitar maker in 1992.
Redgate mastered traditional construction techniques and later explored new materials and designs. Over the years his instruments have earned an international reputation, sought after by leading performers for their artistic quality. Working from his home workshop, he builds around 20 guitars each year.
The sound of his instruments is characterised by long sustain, warmth and richness of colour, with strong presence in the middle register. Jim Redgate builds two versions of his Double Top model: the standard Double Top and the “Wave” Double Top, which features a slightly arched soundboard. Both versions are regarded among the finest contemporary Double Tops.
Artists playing Redgate guitars
Pepe Romero (Traditional), Ana Vidovic (Lattice), Meng Su (Double Top), Ralph Towner (Double Top and Traditional), Slava Grigoryan (Wave Double Top), Leonard Grigoryan (Double Top and Traditional), Odair Assad (Double Top), Wolfgang Muthspiel (Wave Double Top), Karen Schaupp (Wave Double Top), Aleksandr Tsiboulski (Double Top), Bertrand Thomas (Lattice), Jeff Young (Lattice), Gareth Koch (Wave Double Top), Emmanuel Rossfelder (Lattice), Hucky Eichelmann (Lattice), Phillipe Mariotti (Lattice), Andrey Lebedev (Double Top), Ben Dix (Double Top).
