INSTRUMENT DESIGN
RESPONSE
The focus of my instruments can be expressed in a single word: responsiveness. Responsiveness concerns how well the instrument reacts to everything that you, the musician, ask it to do. A sublimely responsive guitar accomplishes this task so well it feels like a true extension of its owner. Once you experience a Steinbock guitar, there's no going back: it responds to your touch the way the ideal musical partner should. Each of my instruments is crafted to maximize response across its entire range: from sweet, piano-like trebles to well-structured, strong bass with a complex midrange in-between. All of the design elements I discuss below compliment the concept of a truly responsive guitar.
ACTIVE DESIGN
Because I select only the highest quality tonewoods from around the world to construct my instruments, I design my instruments to maximize the wood's character:
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the tone (comprising the character of the fundamental and the overtones),
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the projection,
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the attack, sustain, and decay.
This has led me to develop and refine an active bracing system that is capable of accomplishing all this.
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My soundboard bracing allows me significantly more control over the tuning and voicing process than other bracing methods, and also provides the soundboard a considerably more even brace structure—allowing the most delicate adjustments to be made, which are required in order to reach the soundboard's full potential.
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To complement this, I build active-back guitars. Instead of the back serving as a reflecting plate, my backs are very thin and braced to move, making them an active part of the "air pump" system of a guitar's body. This not only results in a much more responsive instrument, but also means that the back tonewood selection has a much more significant role to play in the instrument's overall tonal structure than on a non-active guitar.
INTIMACY OF EXPERIENCE
Each Steinbock instrument is designed to provide a unique, intimate experience for the musician. These instruments truly become an extension of the artist themself.
Each features a soundport on the side of the guitar, the size of which varies from model to model due to its primary purpose as a vent for the main soundhole. However, it also functions as a monitor which encourages the formation of a unique musical bond. Additionally, I use a traditional French Polish shellac to finish my instruments. Finishing an instrument in French Polish results in an extremely thin and beautiful finish, furthering this intimate experience between artist and instrument. Each detail of my instruments is carefully designed to create incomparable artistic unity.
BALANCING TRADITION & INNOVATION
The instruments I build are a summation of tradition in lutherie and innovation. I believe the two neither can nor should be separated: to dismiss tradition is to dismiss a rich legacy of instrument-making and styles, but to adhere to traditional methods only without space for innovation would be stifling.
I seek to marry the traditional with the modern in my design elements and processes. I primarily use traditional hand tools in my shop, as I value the tactile response from working each individual piece of wood. I also employ traditional joinery methods such as the dovetail, and finish every instrument with French Polish shellac—a traditional finishing method prized for its thinness, flexibility, and warm luster. These are a few traditional methods I use, combined with modern design elements such as redesigned, active bracing on the soundboard and back. My bridge and saddle system is another example of modern elements on my instruments: I use a considerably thicker saddle, set very deep into the bridge, to maximize energy transfer from string to soundboard. The front of my bridge is arched to be as stiff as possible to dissipate as little energy as possible, and weight relieved in the back to aid responsiveness. These are but a few ways in which I reconcile tradition and modernity in lutherie.
AESTHETIC QUALITY & DESIGN
Besides being a tool for making music, a high-quality instrument also possesses inherent value as a piece of art. It is the luthier's responsibility to draw on this attribute as well. To this end, I spend a great deal of energy designing my guitars to be not only useful, but also beautiful.
One such trait that I find especially beautiful is the curves in the instrument's body. The lower bout curvature, upper bout curvature, and waist—when designed well—provide an attractive base in which the rest of the instrument is contextualized.
Additionally, an instrument should look like a single person has designed it. By that, I mean that every element—back inlay, end graft, headstock design, rosette, fretboard inlays...even the insides of the guitar—should work together and all look like they belong. This can be achieved by matching design motifs, inlay materials, and styles. This need for unified design extends beyond inlay. The curves of the body, headstock, bridge carving, neck volute, and heel/heelcap all must match for a guitar to feel cohesive.
