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Bruised Bros Who Love to Make More Than Music.
Kim, Alan and Greg have discovered the satisfaction and joy of building their own guitars - in fact we have found it becomes a bit of a passion!
We'd like to share a small gallery of the various projects and a brief story of how each project came into being.
Kim Pritchard
Kim is a pro and a fan of the twelve-string guitar. The beautiful, rich melodic sound of the twelve-string guitar really adds a bit of class to the Bruised Bros sound, and along with Kim's enthusiasm and musical skills, Kim has the talent to build his instruments to perfection.
Kim came to the band with his acoustic-electric twelve string built in the traditional style and has now completed his new semi-hollow guitar, beautifully finished with our New Zealand native rimu timbers, a masterpiece.
Kim will love to talk about his guitar with any of our audience when we take a set break!
However, let Kim tell his own story...
"Back in 1987, while on a sailing trip in the Mediterranean, I got inspired to build acoustic guitars featuring a tear-drop shape. This style was among the ancestors of modern guitars, and were known in England as Citerns, and in Spain as Lauds. I have always preferred the full, harmonious sound of 12-string guitars, and have built a number of these over the decades. My latest build is a hybrid 12-string, which looks like a hollow-body telecaster, but carries pickups that can produce both acoustic and jangly 60’s sounds. With so many guitars around the house now, like Greg I have had to promise my wife this latest hybrid will be my last build!"
Kim Pritchard - Guitar Luthier
A lot of painstaking, meticulous planning goes into making a masterpiece!
Kim has recorded for us a gallery of photos recording the progress of his latest achievement, an instrument that he is justifiably proud of.
Well done, Kim we think it sounds great, a fabulous range of tone!
Greg Gascoigne - Bass Guitar
When the Bruised Bros Band was first formed, Roger, our lead guitarist asked Greg if he could play a bass guitar.
"No, but I could give it a try" said Greg!
So Greg invested a few dollars in a Cort bass guitar, made in the Philippines. As with any guitar purchased in a store, they need to be set up for an individual player. The luthier Greg visited was working on a homebuilt guitar which raised Greg's curiosity - "Are they any good?"
"Usually, better than what you will buy in the shop" was enough for Greg, so having been a cattleyard builder, Greg started.
Greg's latest creation (of many - Greg promises 'no more!') is a Joe Dart Musicman bass built out of American Swamp Ash with a torrified maple neck. Joe Dart is bassman for Vulfpeck funk band - not that Greg is into funk music, but Joe's bass is a 34" scale bass and is relatively light and great to play!
Sports a Delano handmade pickup...
Below are photos of the build...
Cuttin in the Truss Rod
Shaping the neck
Cutting fret slots
Pressing the fret wire
Swamp Ash Body Blank
Cutting out the Body Blank
Shaping the Pickup Pocket
Shaping the body
Applying and Drying the Nitrocellulose Finish
The Finished Joe Dart Bass
Alan van Niekerk - Rythmn/Bass Guitar-Vocals
Alan is the most recent bro to join the esteemed brotherhood of the Bruised Bros Band.
Alan hails from South Africa, moving to New Zealand 15 years ago, owning his own business for 12 years.
Alan has lived in Johanesburg, Orange Free State and also that fabulous place to visit, Cape Town, home to the famous Tabletop Mountain.
Joining the Bruised Bros, Alan is demonstrating his great talent with the guitar adding lead breaks on his acoustic guitar, supplementing Roger's leads another bonus for the band. Not only that, Alan has found a new skill in building his guitars as well! Wonder why...
As Alan puts it...
"Unlike Greg and Kim I can’t claim to have extensive experience at guitar building. I have always had an appreciation of fine craftmanship, having watched my grandfather produce beautiful furniture as a cabinet maker and my father repair watches and clocks. I pursued a different career path building bridges and roads instead but always wanted to try my hand at something which requires patience and fine motor skills. Meeting Greg and Kim and listening to their stories I thought I would give guitar building a shot. I have taken the conservative approach and purchased 2 kits to finish and assemble.
I highly recommend this pastime as it has taught me patience as well giving me the satisfaction of a “cool” sounding end product. Who knows, I might try my hand at a hollow body guitar next!"
"Building bridges or cattle yards, it doesn't seem to matter really - put your mind to it, you can do it!" says Greg!
Below are photos of Alan's superb build...
