Adrian J Lucas began building guitars in 1990, originally building classical guitars. He added steel string acoustics soon after. He has experimented with and refined various design ideas over the years and have arrived at some unique and successful models.

Adrian Lucas was born in Lincoln, England in 1957 and began playing guitar at the age of fourteen. He later studied architecture, and left college with a degree and a sense of structure and form. A stint as a joiner reinforced his interest in working with wood, originally absorbed as a child in the environment of the family joinery business. Meanwhile constant activity as a musician deepened his understanding of the guitar from a player's perspective.

During his time as a guitar maker hs has illustrated a book on guitar making,   'Making Master Guitars' by Roy Courtnall (Robert Hale 1993). This has become something of a standard textbook in the field and was a real stepping stone in his own research and building methods. Subsequently he produced illustrations for 'The Art of Violin Making', by Chris Johnson and Roy Courtnall (Robert Hale 1999).

He am still active as a musician and play with 3-piece rhythm and blues band Slim-Line Papas.

Steel String Guitars

He came to steel string making via classical making and this is reflected in his approach. Besides being constructed in a similar fashion to classical guitars, with a Spanish heel, my steel string guitars are lightly built and have a responsiveness and openness of sound, which is informed by the subtlety of the classical sound. They are also finished in french polish; a finish that really allows the guitar to breathe and the subtlest of nuances to come through in the sound.

He currently has five steel-string models. The Pavilion is the largest and is an X-braced 'small jumbo' type; the Pavilion Baritone uses the standard Pavilion body with a 735mm scale for low tunings; the Arbour is a more compact guitar with dimensions similar to a 000 size; the Radial Steel is my contemporary design, radially braced and with jazzy vibe; and the Parlour is small-body, slotted head design based on Martin's 00 body shape with twelve frets to the body, well suited to fingerpicking.

He can fit acoustic pickup systems to the player's requirements.

Classical Guitars

He has two designs of classical guitar: the Radial, which has a big bold sound and a striking appearance and the Traditional for those who prefer a more conventional instrument.

A J Lucas' website: www.lucasguitars.co.uk