Lance LITCHFIELD
Brisbane, Australia, 2002 Cedar soundboard, Tasmanian blackwood back and sides, Ebony fingerboard, 650mm string length. SOLD (archive)
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This guitar is a product of the modern Australian school of lutherie that began in the 1980s with Greg Smallman. The guitars are known for their power and clarity. The concept behind the school is to reduce the mass of the soundboard by significantly reducing its thickness and compensating for any potential fragility of a thin top by bracing it using carbon-fiber reinforced wood. The advantage of this approach is that, because carbon fiber is both light and rigid, the top benefits from these same characteristics. The back and sides, on the other hand, are considerably thicker and heavier than those of a traditional classical guitar to provide a stable platform for the innovative soundboard design.
This particular guitar has a western red cedar top, hand planed to a remarkable 0.8mm at its thinnest point. The back and sides are made from very attractive and figured honey-toned Tasmanian blackwood, an Acacia tree in the family of the Hawaiian koa species. As an instrument, it is defined by its power, expressivity and considerable sustain. It has been impeccably maintained and shows no signs of stress either from use or from age.
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Listen to an example of a Litchfield C900 played by young Astralian, Victor Matthews