Greg Smallman

John Williams playing his Smallman in 2005

Greg Smallman is an Australian luthier known worldwide for his innovative guitar designs. Although his guitars are in outward appearance similar to a traditional Spanish classical guitar, there are numerous innovative differences. Among them is the use of a high, arched and carved back for the guitar, which is considerably thicker and heavier than a conventional guitar. The back is typically made of Brazilian rosewood, while the top is almost always made of Western Redcedar. The extreme thinness of the top combined with Smallman's unique system of bracing gives the guitar its high levels of volume and resonance. The top of Smallman guitars is braced using a "lattice" framework composed of balsa wood and carbon fibre. By contrast, most traditional classical guitars use struts made of cedar or spruce arranged in a "fan" shape.

A number of leading players around the world have used Smallman guitars; the best-known is the world-renowned classical guitarist John Williams.

In 1999 the Greg Smallman label changed to Greg Smallman & Sons Damon & Kym. Based for many years in Glen Innes, New South Wales, in 2002 the Smallmans briefly relocated to the Mornington Peninsula outside Melbourne. The Greg Smallman and Sons workshop is now located near Esperance, Western Australia.

Greg Smallman is admired for the open way in which he shares his ideas. He does not hide them from fellow luthiers, nor has he patented them. A large number of luthiers worldwide have incorporated Smallman's design innovations into their own guitar designs.

Quotes

"The Australian luthier, Greg Smallman has been responsible for a minor revolution in guitar design, bringing some subtle but important changes to the classical instrument that have had a more profound effect than those contributed by any other modern maker."

—Tony Bacon

"What I find interesting and wonderful about Greg's approach, is that he starts from admiring the traditional - not knocking it, but wanting to know if it's possible to improve it in some way. He has quite clearly done that for me. Basically, he is making the guitar a more musical instrument."

— John Williams in 1993

Gallery

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  Smallman Rosette

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  Smallman Label Until 2002

See also

• Classical guitar making

External links

• Name's Greg, not Jose - Guitar Maker Greg Smallman Interview with Greg Smallman, John Williams and Craig Ogden (28 November 2009; Robyn Johnston and David Le May; ABC Radio, IntoTheMusic) audio interview