The Dutch MMM Vintage Guitar Show, in Veenendaal, The Netherlands, organized by Walter Nievers, is a great meeting place for guitar addicts. During this show, I had the pleasure of meeting luthier Daniel Slaman for the first time. Daniel had two of his stunning archtops with him. Unfortunately there was a lot of noise coming from other booths, so I was not able to check them out properly. But I was certainly impressed by the great looks of the instruments, and the superb craftsmanship of Daniel. About two weeks later, during a very interesting show, (in Dutch) "De klank van hout", which means "The sound of wood", I had the opportunity of meeting Daniel again. He displayed some of his classical and flamenco guitars and two of his archtops. There, I was able to play his archtops for an hour or so, and to my ears they sounded really great.
Daniel was born in 1957 in Gouda, the Netherlands, and lived in Rotterdam for some years, where he started playing the guitar at the age of twelve. For some years he played in Pop and Blues bands and studied classical and flamenco guitar, playing the well-known Bach and Scarlatti repertoire. He built his first solid body guitar in 1978 during his high school years, and looking for more inspiration, he found a book about the construction of classical guitars. Inspired by his father, who also provided all the necessary tools, Daniel built a classical guitar, which to his amazement sounded better than expected ! Daniel's first love is playing the guitar. His second love is wood. As he states, "The most fantastic material in the world.". Fascinated by wood, much of Daniel's inspiration comes from this wonderful product of nature.
After completing his law studies he worked as a social worker for some time. During that period, besides his day job, he spent much of his time playing, building and examining lots of guitars and reading every book about guitar construction he could lay his hands on. He also did a lot of repair work on all kind of stringed instruments. In doing so, he acquired a vast knowledge of guitar construction. During 1988, after approximately ten years of building one or two classical and flamenco guitars a year, all this besides his day job, Daniel decided to study with master luthier Jose Romanillos from Spain. He was able to attend a Romanillos Masterclass for two weeks, together with about fifteen luthiers from all over Europe. It was a very intense and inspiring experience. During the masterclass, Daniel also learned a lot from his fellow students. At the same time he studied the excellent and inspiring book about the life and work of the famous luthier Antonio de Torres, written by Jose L. Romanillos. From that time on his instruments improved considerably, and nowadays he, in my opinion, builds masterpieces - especially his archtops, which highly impressed me.
During the "History of the Guitar in Rock and Jazz" exhibition, in the Musical Instrument Museum in Berlin, Germany, in 1997, Robert Benedetto and Daniel Slaman both presented well-received workshops on the construction of archtop guitars. This interview took place in Daniel's cozy workshop, housed in the medicine room of an old hospital, located in the city of The Hague. During our conversation, Daniel showed me some of his guitars in different stages of completion. I took the opportunity to play a great sounding 18" non-cutaway archtop, the "North sea Orchestra" model, Daniel built for Jean-Pierre Lienard, a well-known Freddie Green style rhythm player, from Belgium.
AO...What are you aiming at, in terms of the sound of your instruments?
DS...That starts with a certain sound I have in my head. I strive for that sound in all my instruments. The sound differs a lot, when building an archtop, a classical or a flamenco guitar. For a classical guitar, I aim for a clear well-defined sound, like in a Hauser or Romanillos guitar. For an archtop, it depends on what the customer is looking for, and of course I always discuss the desired sound and all the other aspects involved in building an instrument with the customer.
AO...what do you think about the present popularity of custom-built instruments?
DS...More and more players discover, and appreciate the possibility of having an instrument built for them which suites their very personal needs. With a very high level of quality, and often much cheaper, compared to the so-called-top-of-the-line instruments offered by the big well-known companies the customer is better off buying a custom made instrument in my opinion.
AO...When did you build your first archtop, and what inspired you to build one?
DS...I built the first one about five years ago and I still have it. I always build inspired by the things I am interested in, and I also wanted to know if I was able to build an archtop,also because building an archtop is considered the "Non Plus Ultra" for a luthier. Besides, somebody asked me if I was interested in building an archtop for him. So I started doing a lot of research. I also discovered there was a growing interest in custom built archtops. My first archtop was a 17", inspired by the Gibson L5 model, and it was rather time consuming, cause building an archtop, in terms of construction, differs a lot from building a classical guitar. I had to devise a lot of things. From a technical point of view it was a good instrument, but I was not entirely happy with the sound. The second one, I spent a lot of thought and time on, was much better. Eventually I was satisfied with the third one. Later on, after doing more research, I found out about the Benedetto book, "Making an archtop guitar". I learned a lot from this book, and I am sure it has influenced luthiers all over the world.
AO...What models do you currently offer, and what are their prices?
DS...I named one of my archtop models "North sea". By the way, the name comes from the world famous "North sea Jazz Festival" a yearly event in The Hague. All my archtops have hand carved and tuned tops and backs, and are offered in the following models, the "Standard", "Natural", "Cello", the "7-string Swing" and the "Orchestra". All available in sizes from 16 to 18,5 inch, with or without cutaway, custom scale length and neck dimensions, solid ebony fingerboard, ebony or thuya pickguard and tailpiece, with or without pickup. Prices start as US$ 4500, including a Calton custom made case.
I also offer classical models such as the "Classical Access", with a special cutaway. Prices start at US$ 3000, including a Hiscox case. The flamenco models are offered as a standard model, and also available with the special cutaway, as the "Flamenco Access". Prices start at US$ 2500, also including a Hiscox case. Furthermore I offer my "Modele Jazz" European jazz guitars, inspired by the selmer design, also offered as the "Modele Jazz Patina", with the look of an old guitar, using original antique parts. Prices start at US$ 2500, including a Calton case. Of course custom features are available on any model at an extra charge. All guitars are finished in a hand-applied nitro-cellulose lacquer.
AO...How long does it take you to complete an instrument ?
DS...For an archtop it takes about six months, from scratch. It also involves a lot of talking with the customer, discussing every aspect of the instrument. It is not possible to work uninterruptedly on one instrument at a time, so I work on different instruments off and on. I also do repairs and customizing of instruments.
AO... How many instruments do you build a year, and do you perform all the work yourself ?
DS...I build some 10 to 15 instruments a year, and I love to do all the work myself.
AO...What hardware, tuning machines, fretwire etc. do you use ?
DS...For the tuners, I mostly use Schaller and Grover, as for pickups for my archtops, I prefer the Benedetto floating pickup, made by Kent Armstrong. Of course, I also discuss this with my customers. As for fretwire I mostly use Dunlop, the fairly wide no 6130. For tailpieces I only use wood, mostly ebony, sometimes with a thuya inlay.
AO...Are there any details of your instruments you pay special attention to ?
DS...Oh yes, I can talk for hours about this ! But to concentrate on one thing, besides a lot of other things, I pay much attention to the weight of each of the different parts of my guitars. Concerning the sound i consider weight a very important factor. My aim is to build as light a guitar as possible, without sacrificing the strength of the construction. For instance, I pay attention to the specific gravity of the woods I use, there are differences within the same sort of wood, depending on all sorts of parameters involved in the growing of a tree. Like the overall weather condition, the composition of the soil, etc. For every guitar I build, I keep records of the weight ratio, and the thickness of the different parts of my instruments. Of course, all these things go by comparison, because each instrument is different. The reason for doing so, is to try, within the multitude of parameters, to find possible pints of reference.
AO...Did you experiment with unusual woods, and what are your preferences concerning the woods you use ?
DS...I am fairly traditional, so I did not experiment that much. For my classical guitar tops, besides spruce I also used cedar for some time, but I stopped using it because I did not achieve the sound I was looking for. I my opinion, a cedar top sounds more flat, less colorful. With a spruce top the dynamics are much better. So for my classical guitar tops I only use top quality European spruce, and either Brazilian or Indian rosewood, cocobole or maple for the sides and back. for my flamenco guitars, I use European spruce or Western Red Cedar for a more percussive sound, and Spanish Cypress or rosewood for the back and sides. You have to deal with a lot of tradition, especially with the classical guitarists. They mostly do not accept other, non traditional, materials.
For my archtops, I prefer European or Sitka spruce for the top, and maple for the neck, sides and the back. I do not have preferences for European or American grown woods, although there are differences. For instance Sitka is often very closely grained, but softer and less rigid compared to European spruce. Good results can be obtained with different sorts of spruce. The same goes for maple. The choice of wood is important but, in my opinion, less important than many people suppose. It is by no means axiomatic, that when a certain wood is used, it will render a particular sound ! When handling it, craftsmanship is of paramount importance.
AO...Earlier, you mentioned "Thuya" as a wood you use. Where does it come from ?
DS...It is a beautiful looking coniferous wood from North Africa. Parts of the root are stunning. By request I use it as an option for the pickguard or to decorate the tailpiece, and/or headstock.
AO...Speaking about wood, is it difficult to acquire the quantity of fine woods you need ?
DS...It is not easy ! Because you spend an enormous amount of time building an archtop, it is only worthwhile using the best available woods. A great deal of time is spent on finding the proper woods, especially for the large 18,5 inch archtops. You have to maintain good contacts with your suppliers, so they know exactly what you are looking for. Hence, I am gradually building a "wood network". Often I show my instruments to the wood suppliers, so they can see for themselves what I made with "their" woods, and they always love to see them, so the next time I buy, they hopefully will have kept their best wood for me. Fortunately I do not need vast quantities, but because I prefer to see, feel, tap and "hear" the woods before buying, I have to visit the dealers. This is rather time consuming.
AO...Do you hand carve the top and backs ?
DS...Of course, I carve the tops and backs of all my archtop guitars. In my opinion it is the only way to make a properly sounding instrument. Usually I start, removing approximately 80 % of the wood with a machine, and the remaining 20 % with little violin planes. There is a well known saying we use, that is, the first 80 % of the wood you remove in 20 % of the time, and the last 20 % you remove in 80 % of the time.
AO...What can you tell us about the difference in top bracing between a flattop and an archtop ?
DS...In my opinion, sometimes there is to much emphasis on bracing. To me, the most important factor concerning the sound production of the top, is the distribution of the thickness of the different areas of the top. With the bracing patterns I use, the fundamental sound and characteristics of the top, flattop or archtop, will not be altered.
AO...So, if I understand you correctly, you carve the top to the thickness suited for optimal sound production, adding bracing to make the top strong enough to resist the forces of the strings ?
DS...Exactly, I do not use bracing to alter, or add something to the characteristics of the sound.
AO...But, concerning archtops as far as I know, different bracing patterns are used, e.g. x-bracing or parallel bracing. Does this not make sense ?
DS...The usual opinion is that parallel bracing renders more projection and x-bracing a sweeter sound. But with my archtops so far, probably because I am European, I have chosen for, and exclusively apply parallel bracing. This type of bracing enables me to make sweet and warm sounding guitars, but also really properly projecting guitars, with a great tone, depending on what the customer asks for. So, I do not see any reason for me to use x-bracing. Perhaps I will use x-bracing, as soon as a customer asks for an archtop with a built-in pickup. In this configuration the bracing is not in the way of the pickup. In conclusion, I can only say, the bracing system, although necessary for the construction and strenght of the top, is not that important for the sound production of the instrument.
AO...Have you ever experienced, that an instrument, after having been finished, differs from what you, or your customers expected, in terms of sound and finish ?
DS...Nowadays, my instruments appear to be very consistent, and of course in terms of finish there is no excuse for flaws. If you find them you simply start all over again, and fix it. Some years ago, sometimes it was difficult, especially with the classical guitars, because there are so many possible nuances of sound. So far, all my archtop customers are very satisfied with their instruments.
AO...How, in your opinion, do your instruments compare with instruments built by well known, e.e. American "Big Name" companies and luthiers ?
DS...Mmm. Tough question ! What I would like to say is that my customers love the guitars I have built for them and according to me, they are worth every penny paid for. In fact, all my craftsmanship goes into building my guitars. What more can I say ?
AO...Did you ever build any unusual instruments ?
DS...Yes, I just finished a funny semi-acoustic with a concave back. A customer asked for this feature to hide his pot belly. Also, I built a huge 18,5 inch archtop for the well-known French guitarist and collector Laurent Bouyer. Laurent and I are also discussing the construction of a nylon string archtop. And because I wanted to have one for myself, I built a seven string archtop. Right now I am working on guitar no. 136, a "North sea Natural". This particular guitar is my 20th Anniversary model, as I built my first guitar in 1978.
AO...Is there an instrument that you have not built yet that you would like to make ?
DS...Oh certainly, I would love to build an acoustic non cutaway 16 inch archtop, inspired by the first Loyd Loar L5. I would like to compare it with the 17" and 18" models I built before, and I am very interested in its performance in terms of sound.
AO...Sounds interesting, perhaps I will ask you to make one for me in the future ! Is there a well-known guitar player that you would like to build an instrument for ?
DS...Nor really. I like to build guitars for customers who put their trust in me, well-known or lesser-known.
AO...Do you attend many guitar shows ?
DS...Definitely. I try to visit about four to six shows a year. twice a year the MMM Vintage Guitar show in Veenendaal, the Netherlands, and once a year the Brosella Show in Belgium. I hope to attend a show in Great Britain and probably one in Sweden. And hopefully, I will be able to attend one of the American shows in the future. A thing I did enjoy very much, was the wonderful exhibition in the Berlin Musical Instruments Museum, organized by guitarist and collector Rainer Kordus from Germany. Rainer is a great and very knowledgeable guy. He invited Bob Benedetto and me to give presentations on archtop guitar construction. During the exhibition I was glad to meet Bob, a man who inspired me tremendously, and a great guitar builder. At a recent show in Holland, my guitars won the first prize for creativity and craftsmanship.
AO...Do you consider tour work an art or a craft, or perhaps both ?
DS...Both ! It evidently is a craft, but in my opinion there are also elements of art involved, perhaps not plastic art, strictly speaking. But to design, to make, to create an instrument for musicians, who are artists themselves, renders it a form of art. My ultimate goal is to continually broaden my horizon, remain creative by working closely together with my customers, and spend the rest of my life creating musical instruments which are really worth making, for people who appreciate them, and love to play my guitars.
AO...Do you think there are any secrets of the trade involved in building archtops ?
DS...In my opinion there are no real secrets. Like Jose Romanillos told me, it is all in your head and your hands. We all use the same tools and materials. This also applies for example to the late Dutch painter Van Gogh. He used the same stuff, paints, brushes, etc. that everybody could buy at the shop around the corner. It ia a succesful marriage of craftsmanship and art, and of course you must be obsessed, and have a passion for it. All this, besides a lot of patience, self-confidence, self-discipline, and also some talent.
AO...Thanks Daniel for your hospitality. I am sure we could continue our conversation for hours. I very much enjoyed meeting and interviewing you, and I wish you continued succes and inspiration.
About the author
Aad Overeem was born August 4, 1941, and is currently working as a laboratory-coordinator at the Hogeschool van Utrecht (School of Higher Professional Education), department of Electronics/Telematics. He started at the age of 10 playing guitar and clarinet, and then studied clarinet formally. Aad played and recorded with Dixieland bands during the fifties, and later on added other single reed instruments and flute, then switched to more modern jazz forms. During the sixties, he played reed instruments and guitar professionally and recorded and worked as a studio musician doing workshops and clinics. He decided about 1970 to concentrate on a career as an electronics engineer, but was also a very busy part-time jazz player on various reed instruments and guitar, playing in small groups and big bands in Holland. He also worked as a composer/arranger. He did not play much guitar during the 70's, but around 1980 he became a guitar addict again and started collecting archtops and playing jazz guitar in small groups. Recently, besides his day job, he plays guitar, reed instruments and flute in local jazz groups and big bands.
You can contact Aad at e-mail : a.overeem@et.fnt.hvu.nl