Читать книгу Woodcarving Illustrated Issue 68 Fall 2014 - Группа авторов - Страница 27

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“

I love the feeling of

pushing a sharp gouge

through a piece of

hardwood

”

Doug Rowell traded making music for making musical instruments

By Kathleen Ryan

inspired by an article in

Boys’ Life

magazine

on carving neckerchief slides. In high school,

Doug discovered the works of Michelangelo

and Bernini. “I became obsessed with the

power and beauty of their work, and it’s still

my greatest inspiration,” he said.

Doug began carving guitars in 1969

when a Hollywood roommate offered to

pay Doug’s half of the rent for a month if

he would carve a design on a guitar. Doug

eagerly agreed and has been carving guitars

ever since. The price has gone up a bit over

the years—he now charges $700 to $2,000

or more, depending on the complexity of

the project, equipment options, and choice

of wood. He either builds the guitars from

scratch or carves into a client’s existing

guitar. Either way, the process usually takes

about three weeks from design to shipping.

Guitars can be carved in many varieties

of wood. Doug has used alder, ash, poplar,

basswood, maple, and even plywood;

walnut is one of his favorites. “But the detail

doesn’t show up on stage as well with the

dark woods,” he said. “Ash makes a very

nice palette for detail, beauty of grain, and

sound transmission. For my Dragon Den

Stratocasters I chose maple because it’s hard

enough to hold the details, transmits a crisp

sound, and is relatively inexpensive.”

To create his designs Doug uses grinders,

chain saws, files, high speed burs, a Dremel

tool, a Foredom, a Turbo Carver—anything

W

hen Doug Rowell

isn’t strumming

a guitar, he’s

whittling one.

Doug has carved more than 100

solid-body, customized electric

guitars for popular collectors and

musicians, including Russ Giguerre of

The Association, Mike Botts and James

Griffin of Bread, and the top Hollywood

studio guitarists Mike Deasy and James

Burton. He even carved a banjo for the

comedian and film star Steve Martin.

“Every instrument I make is functional

and playable,” Doug said. “Many of these

guitars are for collectors who are more likely

to hang them than play them. But it’s my

intention to make the best guitar I can.

I think it should be able to survive the

roughest roadie and even the occasional

bar fight.”

An accomplished musician, singer,

and songwriter, Doug had a varied

career that included starring in the

musical

Hair

, working as a stage

technician, and being head prop

man for several well-known

television shows. However, since

retiring in 2001, Doug, age 66,

has spent most days in his home

woodshop crafting guitars. “I

haven’t given up music. I still

play, sing, and write. But I do

focus more on carving these

days, because there are fewer

gifted guitar carvers than gifted

singers and musicians,” he said

with a chuckle. “I absolutely love

woodcarving and am always anxious

to step out into new adventures.”

Doug has been carving wood since

he joined Cub Scouts at the age of 8 and was