We have seen Solidwool used in some interesting projects over the years, from knife handles to sunglasses frames, but we were taken aback to see Solidwool take form as a guitar through the creative mind and skilful hands of Richard Waddell of Uberfrank guitars. Richard singlehandedly builds unique, heirloom quality instrument in Somerset, UK, favouring sustainable materials where possible.
We caught up with Richard to deep dive into the project, and find out more about the process of making the Solidwool Spellbinder.
What is your background and how did you first get into making guitars?
My background is originally in painting and sculpture, but I came to guitar making after a long period of working as a creative director in the digital world. I was delighted to find something I loved doing that combined my passions for of music, design and woodwork (and didn't involve sitting at a desk all day!).
Photography by Jim Holland
How did you discover Solidwool and what inspired you to use it as part of your work?
On moving from London to the South West, I studied at the Totnes School of Guitar Making in Devon. It was here that I first came across Solidwool where I saw it being used for furniture making. I was struck by how it felt warm to the touch and how each piece was completely unique in appearance, in much the same way as wood.
A lot of my early guitars were made from very old stock seasoned lumber that I had been gifted or wood I had reclaimed, but as these stocks dwindled, I hunted for alternative solutions. I love working with wood (and will continue to do so), but started questioning the ethics and sustainability of relying on it so much, particularly tropical tonewood.
Photography by Jim Holland
“I was struck by how it felt warm to the touch and how each piece was completely unique in appearance, in much the same way as wood. ”
How did you find Solidwool to work with?
It machined really nicely with minimal dust. Hand carving it was hard work though, taking much longer than a similar guitar made from wood.
How does the Solidwool Spellbinder compare to a more traditional wooden model, in sound and weight for example?
It's a fairly heavy material so I made the decision early on to chamber the body for weight relief. The finished guitar weighs 3.5kg, which is around average of a guitar of its type. It took longer to decide whether or not to use Solidwool for the neck though. This the most structural part of a solid body electric guitar and as the material is not as stiff as wood I reinforced it with carbon fibre rods.
Taking the decision to carve the neck from Solidwool led me to the idea of avoiding the use of wood entirely for the build. In keeping with the sustainability theme, the fingerboard is made from bamboo and the black body binding from cork. Plastic parts are made from recycled acrylic and the hardware is reclaimed - the metal volume knob came from a car boot sale.
Sound wise, the tone of an electric guitar is far less influenced by what it's made from than an acoustic instrument, the pickups and electronics having the most influence. However, how long any guitar sustains for is a good measure of it's quality and I'm pleased so say it sustains really well, in part due to the weight and density of Solidwool. The vintage style gold foil pickups give it a fairly bright tone, not at all 'wooly'!
Photography by Jim Holland
Have you had feedback on the Solidwool Spellbinder? Have you found the guitar community to be receptive when it comes to using sustainable materials?
Feedback on the guitar has been really positive, and it makes a real conversation piece at shows. The guitar building community have been very receptive indeed to the project and whilst guitar players are generally a pretty conservative bunch there is definitely a trend for exploring exciting alternative materials.
Our hope has always been that innovators like Richard, will see Solidwool as a creative material full of opportunity. It holds so much potential, and we are excited by all the ways in which it can be used – we look forward to seeing the journey that Solidwool takes and the forms it finds itself in. Here’s to the next project.
Images provided by Jim Holland and Richard Waddell