A Melville Guitar
It starts with understanding what the full potential of the recipe is and then aiming for something more”
Whilst many professional artists have commissioned ‘a Melville’, they are often discovered by lovers of the instrument, when they find themselves at the workshop, looking to either repair or improve the guitar they are currently playing.
The first thing they hear in a ‘Melville’ guitar is the extraordinary level of sustain and harmonic richness expressed with real clarity and volume. There is no sacrifice of one quality for another and all are achieved with superb balance. The next revelation is how easy and effortless they are to play. Every ‘Melville’ owner tells of how much more they play, simply because the instrument encourages them to.
Chris has always aimed to build guitars with as much dynamic range as possible, consistently and reliably delivered. Add to this the skills of a fine detail woodworker, you have not only a truly unique instrument but also an exquisitely beautiful one. A true master luthier with over 30 years experience, Chris has “pretty much seen, played and worked on, most of what is available. His critical and uncompromising approach to guitar repair and restoration work has also provided a broad understanding
A “Melville” is a guitar for life. One you will continue to discover year after year.
Video Demonstration
The purpose of this demonstration is to show the following characteristics of all of Chris Melville’s guitars: long sustain and wide dynamic range. To better experience the sound of this beautiful instrument, we recommend that you listen to this recording using headphones.
The Guitar
The top is Italian Alpine Spruce; the back and sides are Australian Blackwood; the neck is of Brazilian Mahogany, and the customer’s request was for “a bit of bling”. This request was fulfilled with the border of solid New Zealand Paua shell and with the signature rose inlay on the fingerboard.
The Recording
The audio recording was achieved with an M/S pair comprising a Neumann KM184 cardioid condenser microphone and a Cloud JRS-34 ribbon microphone. A Cloudlifter was employed to buffer the ribbon mic and to provide 25dB of gain. An AMEK Rupert Neve Dual Mic Amp was used as the microphone pre-amplifier and also as the M/S decoder.
No audio processing of any kind (equalization, compression, limiting, reverberation, noise reduction, etc) has been applied to the stereo recording of the guitar. The only “processing” is due to the limitations of video delivery over the internet.
After a decade or two of staring wistfully at a guitar, I finally got serious and started taking lessons and digging in to my daily practice in 2017. I played a nylon string initially, and soon started looking for a steel string. Once I picked up a Melville, I knew then and there I absolutely had to have my own. A true Goldilocks moment! It is amazingly comfortable to hold and the tone is simply exquisite. My Melville was a gift for my 40th birthday and I look forward to decades of ageing gracefully and musically with this incredible instrument. I love the fact Melville guitars open like a fine red wine over time – I’m excited to think of handing this on to my children. I can’t thank Chris enough. His attention to detail is second to none. This is a stunning guitar and a true testament to a highly skilled craftsman. I highly recommend meeting Chris in person – geeking out over wood and specs was a brilliant experience. He also makes a mean coffee (* I’m from Melbourne and take coffee seriously) My one regret is not discovering the world of beautifully crafted acoustic guitars much earlier!!
A Melville Guitar
Whilst many professional artists have commissioned ‘a Melville’, they are often discovered by lovers of the instrument, when they find themselves at the workshop, looking to either repair or improve the guitar they are currently playing.
The first thing they hear in a ‘Melville’ guitar is the extraordinary level of sustain and harmonic richness expressed with real clarity and volume. There is no sacrifice of one quality for another and all are achieved with superb balance. The next revelation is how easy and effortless they are to play. Every ‘Melville’ owner tells of how much more they play, simply because the instrument encourages them to.
Chris has always aimed to build guitars with as much dynamic range as possible, consistently and reliably delivered. Add to this the skills of a fine detail woodworker, you have not only a truly unique instrument but also an exquisitely beautiful one. A true master luthier with over 30 years experience, Chris has “pretty much seen, played and worked on, most of what is available. His critical and uncompromising approach to guitar repair and restoration work has also provided a broad understanding
A “Melville” is a guitar for life. One you will continue to discover year after year.
Video Demonstration
The purpose of this demonstration is to show the following characteristics of all of Chris Melville’s guitars: long sustain and wide dynamic range. To better experience the sound of this beautiful instrument, we recommend that you listen to this recording using headphones.
The Guitar
The top is Italian Alpine Spruce; the back and sides are Australian Blackwood; the neck is of Brazilian Mahogany, and the customer’s request was for “a bit of bling”. This request was fulfilled with the border of solid New Zealand Paua shell and with the signature rose inlay on the fingerboard.
The Recording
The audio recording was achieved with an M/S pair comprising a Neumann KM184 cardioid condenser microphone and a Cloud JRS-34 ribbon microphone. A Cloudlifter was employed to buffer the ribbon mic and to provide 25dB of gain. An AMEK Rupert Neve Dual Mic Amp was used as the microphone pre-amplifier and also as the M/S decoder.
No audio processing of any kind (equalization, compression, limiting, reverberation, noise reduction, etc) has been applied to the stereo recording of the guitar. The only “processing” is due to the limitations of video delivery over the internet.
After a decade or two of staring wistfully at a guitar, I finally got serious and started taking lessons and digging in to my daily practice in 2017. I played a nylon string initially, and soon started looking for a steel string. Once I picked up a Melville, I knew then and there I absolutely had to have my own. A true Goldilocks moment! It is amazingly comfortable to hold and the tone is simply exquisite. My Melville was a gift for my 40th birthday and I look forward to decades of ageing gracefully and musically with this incredible instrument. I love the fact Melville guitars open like a fine red wine over time – I’m excited to think of handing this on to my children. I can’t thank Chris enough. His attention to detail is second to none. This is a stunning guitar and a true testament to a highly skilled craftsman. I highly recommend meeting Chris in person – geeking out over wood and specs was a brilliant experience. He also makes a mean coffee (* I’m from Melbourne and take coffee seriously) My one regret is not discovering the world of beautifully crafted acoustic guitars much earlier!!
