JESSE MOORE LUTHIER
"In myself I find a craftsman with a strong artistic aesthetic and deep passion for beauty and function.
Every instrument begins as an image in my mind, then a technical drawing, a design.
Inspired by traditional aesthetic and modern innovation.
Considering only the highest quality materials,
I work to release the aesthetic and acoustic potential of every unique piece of wood.
It takes time, focus, infatuation....
Attention to detail at every intricate step of the way."
Journey
A Luthier with over 20 years experience, I have lived my whole life working and exploring as an instrument maker and professional musician. I have had the honour of working along side some of Australia's leading makers, each one contributing to my wide depth of knowledge, skills and understanding of acoustics, fine woodwork and aesthetics. Now, after 10 years pioneering and hand building a family home, I create out of my own workshop on Bandjalang country, in Northern NSW. Here I continue to hone my craft, alongside building natural and beautiful spaces whilst raising up our two boys outside of school and homesteading with my artist wife Dalee.
Mentors
I'm eternally grateful to of had the opportunity to work alongside and learn from these incredibly inspiring humans.
Simon Marty - I've had the pleasure of working alongside Simon Marty for the past 7 years. I feel incredibly blessed to of had the exclusive honour of learning his world renowned classical guitar design, built on extensive acoustical physics research and 30 years of experience and commitment to his craft. His instruments maintain traditional aesthetic with clean balanced proportions outside, whilst inside featuring a host of modern innovations, producing a powerful balanced sonority while retaining classical tonality. Here I have refined all aspects of acoustic instrument making and nitrocellulose lacquer finishing. Simon has taught me allot about refinement, accuracy and consistency and how every aspect of the build contributes to the whole.
Stuart Newman - Starting in 2011 I worked for a couple of years predominately running Stuarts repair shop in Byron Bay, NSW. Stu is a maker of limitless imagination who is known for his uniquely engineered, artistically beautiful designs and incredible inlay work. It was a pleasure to be able to experience the diversity of working along side him in the repair shop on thousands of guitars, plus every other type of stringed instrument from sitars to cellos. Some of the biggest takeaways from my time with Stu were the development of more diverse skill sets around using carbon fibre and in metal fabrication for custom made tail pieces and tuners. The gifts of the repair shop came from working with many different musicians and taught me the minutia of instrument set up, learning how this varies from player to player. The invaluable knowledge gained from repairing instruments during this time, connected me deeper with the diversity of instrument construction and has given me a broad understanding of acoustics and material function in instrument design.
Perry Ormsby - In 2009 I worked alongside Perry in his guitar warehouse in Fremantle, Western Australia. Here I got to dive into all the aspects of modern lutherie including specific experience building custom electric guitars with fan frets and inlay. I also gained knowledge with building hand wound pickups, lacquer finish and repair work. Working with Perry was such an inspiring experience, he is an incredibly driven, creative and talented craftsman and a leader in the industry.
Les Dorahy - I built my first acoustic instrument with Les whilst I was studying a Bachelor of contemporary music at southern cross university in 2003. Les had just retired from lecturing in the art department at the uni and was building acoustic guitars and mandolins out of his home workshop in Dorroughby, Northern NSW. This was the beginning of a beautiful friendship and my first deeper steps into Lutherie.