Michael Sanden Interview

Written by Rob Sandall on November 11, 2010

We caught up with Michael, who builds

exquisite acoustic guitars from his workshop

in Sweden, to find out what makes him tick.

What is it about the guitar in particular

that fascinates you? Was there a specific

moment that you knew “this is for me”?

We always had a guitar standing around at

home when I grew up, but I started by

playing the piano. But when I was twelve I

had a friend who had started to play

the guitar, and I learned a few chords, saw

that the girls were looking at me and then

there was no turning back.

How much of a guitarist are you? Did you jump in as a luthier early on, or play a lot

first?

Well I played first, mostly for myself, but in1989 I joined an irish band in my home town and

played with them for about fifteen years. The building side of things came in to my life

around 1980, as that was happening.

Which guitarists have inspired or influenced you?

The first one I can remember was a Swedish player called Jojje Wadenius - he was in a group

called “Made in Sweden”, he then moved to the states and played with Blood Sweat and

Tears, Simon and Garfunkel, Steely Dan and a lot of other well known acts. He now owns

four of my “Sanden guitars”.

Did you take a course to learn your craft, or did you decide to teach yourself?

In 1982 I was reading a lot of guitar magazines, and in one I found a builder who took on

apprentices. I applied for one of his classes and got in. This guy was called Bozo

Padunavac, lived in San Diego, and was very well known. Among his customers were Al Di

Meola and Loe Kottke. Then in 1984-1986, I went to study for a Swedish classical guitar

builder called Georg Bolin. So, I have more training in building classical guitars, but 95 per

cent of my work today is with steel-string guitars.

Did you own other guitars yourself? Which did you think were well designed?

One guitar maker that inspired me very much in the beginning was Gurian guitars. They were

the first to make more of a boutique guitar, and had a bigger output. The designs were

different – the shapes were more like big classical guitars, and they had a neck that was not a

dovetail joint but a tenon, and there was a different bracing pattern. When I started to build

guitars myself, I owned one of Gurian’s guitars and everytime I finished one of my own I

compared them to it. Finally, I had to sell

that guitar because I could not surpass it.

Very frustrating. That’s how good it was!

Being a luthier must have been quite

expensive to initially get into – is it a

gradual endeavour? Yes, and I had to build my workshop

gradually. I started in a very small space in

our house, building most of the machines

and jigs and molds myself. Everytime I sold

one guitar, I bought something I needed for the shop.

When did you realise you could turn your craft into a profession, and have you sped up

the building process to make for a more efficient business?

I probably haven’t realised that yet! I am very thankful that everyday I can go to my

workshop and think, I am doing exactly what I want for yet another day. But if you are going

to survive you have to be very eager to learn, and as the years go on you automatically

move your processes forward all the time.

To be quite frank, today the process is more important then the finished guitar. Don’t get me

wrong - I still love every guitar that I make. But the challenge lies in the process - if the

process is 100 per cent then what comes out is also 100 per cent. That’s my challenge today.

Which woods do you prefer to work with

and why?

When I studied with Mr. Bolin, he always

used German spruce tops and Brazilian

rosewood back and sides (he had about three

cubic meters in the basement!) and I

thought it was very boring to build with the

same wood all the time. I wanted to

experiment and try everything there was - see

what kind of sound I could get. I guess that’s

normal when you’re just starting up. If you

look at my production today, I would say that

95 per cent of what I build is guitars with

sitka spruce tops and East-Indian rosewood back and sides, just because that makes the best

sound for me.

How much time goes into creating a single guitar?

Normally I build four guitars at a time, and that takes me about six weeks. That is divided up

into two weeks of building, one week of lacquering, one week of drying and one week of

setup. But when I get to lacquering on the first batch I normally start up a second.

Do you feel as though you’ve achieved the peak of your guitar design work, or are there

any other tweaks that you’d like to make down the line?

This is a constant process. I am very pleased with the model range I have and that would

probably not change, but within that, the design might vary a bit, depending of the material I

have available.

About Rob Sandall

Rob Sandall has written 399 articles on this blog.

Having spent his life changing strings in guitar shops, writing and editing news

and reviews of the latest music gear and gigging in admittedly-short-lived

bands, Rob's particular passions lie with all things six-string and the bodger's

world of home production. While he is perhaps not hugely rock and roll, his

efforts as a biographer of those who are allow him to at least live a little

vicariously through them, which is almost as good. Feel free to drop him a line

for help, advice, or just to chat, but be warned: he does go on a bit.