Nick Branwell

Luthier Profile

This profile traces the path of a self-taught luthier whose hands-on approach began with building two electric guitars for a school band in 1964. The instruments were playable, and the following decades were spent primarily as a player, listening closely to how guitars respond. After fifty years of performing on many types of instruments, from affordable models to high-end pieces, the maker defines quality by ear: how a guitar can or should sound.

Musical Background and Approach

After leaving a philosophy course at Bristol, the focus moved to music: bands with original material and covers across rock, blues, folk and singer-songwriter traditions. Livelihood came from practical trades such as carpentry, construction and later landscape gardening, alongside writing gardening articles and a book on organic gardening. The method remained craft-oriented, valuing precision over spectacle and consistent, repeatable results over improvisation.

From Carpentry to Fine Work

Unlike many guitar-makers with art, engineering or cabinet-making backgrounds, day work was fast and on-site rather than bespoke. Yet close attention to detail developed early, from building miniature clipper ships with rigging and gunports to approaching songwriting and recording with a measured, workshop mindset. Transitioning to tolerances within a tenth of a millimetre came naturally.

Training and Mentors

Formal learning began with an evening class at London Metropolitan University with Nick Pyle. A week in Wales with Pete Howlett demonstrated professional pace: a tenor ukulele was built, finished and strung in five and a half days. Two part-time years at South Thames College with Mike Hobbs followed, focused both on building and on correcting mistakes. Further intensive study came through month-long courses with Richard Osborne in Wales, concentrating on steel-string guitars and mandolins, and with Pablo Requena in Málaga, constructing a classical guitar. Each teacher used distinct methods, all of which informed the current practice.

Tools and Methods

Hand tools are preferred and freehand work is used wherever practical. Jigs and routers are applied only when they are the most effective option, given the risk to completed work. Early instruments were almost entirely hand-tooled; today a band saw and sanding machines remove some of the more laborious steps while preserving a tactile approach to carving, fitting and voicing.

Workshop and Location

The workshop is situated above the studio of sculptor Almuth Tebbenhoff in a converted church hall in Southfields, South London. The setting supports a steady rhythm of work, with space for traditional bench techniques alongside modern machinery.

Additional Context

London Metropolitan University runs guitar-making short courses, and luthier Nick Pyle is noted among its associated makers.

Ukulele builder Pete Howlett is based in Wales and is known for the Revelator design and long experience in handcrafting instruments.

Luthier Mike Hobbs offers guitar-making, repair and courses from workshops in Epsom, Surrey.

Richard Osborne builds acoustic guitars, mandolins and bouzoukis and runs instrument-making courses in the UK.

Pablo Requena, a Spanish luthier from Málaga, builds traditional Spanish classical and flamenco guitars and teaches small group courses.

Sculptor Almuth Tebbenhoff established her Southfields studio in a former church hall in 1981, aligning with the workshop’s location noted above.