Wayne Henderson (luthier)

Wayne in his shop

Wayne C. Henderson is an American luthier who specializes in the crafting of handmade, custom acoustic guitars. He also occasionally makes other stringed instruments, such as mandolins and banjos. He is based in Rugby, Virginia, population 7, in Grayson County, in the rural southwestern part of the state.

Henderson's guitars are inspired by the great pre-World War II guitars of C.F. Martin & Company. His guitars are exceedingly rare (and therefore valuable) as he hand builds every guitar himself. As of October 2007, exactly four hundred Henderson guitars have been constructed.

Henderson's attention to quality and detail, as well as the long wait time for one of his instruments (as much as ten years), are the stuff of legend among upscale acoustic guitar aficionados. In a 1995 White House ceremony, he was awarded a National Heritage Fellowship in recognition of his extraordinary instrument-making. Nonetheless, Henderson is virtually unknown to the general musical public. He did, however, gain a measure of renown through the publication of Clapton's Guitar: Watching Wayne Henderson Build the Perfect Instrument in 2005. The book outlined the process by which Henderson built a guitar for legendary guitarist Eric Clapton.

Along with Eric Clapton, Wayne has also built guitars for Tommy Emmanuel, Doc Watson, Peter Rowan and Gillian Welch.

There is a post thread about him, and his guitars on UMGF.com

References

• St. John, Allen (2005), Steel String Theory in the Heart of Bluegrass Country