Kevin Almy ... Master Luthier

Kevin Almy was born in Plympton, a small village five miles from Plymouth, England, on the edge of Dartmoor. Working from his quiet back street studio in New Zealand's capital city, Wellington, Kevin produces a wide range of the finest quality instruments: from violins, violas and cellos to mandolins, mandolas and archtop guitars. Hidden away in a turn of the century building in Wellington's Cuba Street, famed for its cafes, curio shops and ethnic restaurants, his studio can be quite difficult to find. He is New Zealands only Master Luthier certified by the Martin Guitar Company as a guitar technician to carry out their warranty work. Kevin has also constructed flat top steel string acoustic and solid body electric guitars to order.

A growing interest in the theory and manufacture of carved top instruments, fuelled by an increasing demand for him to repair various members of the violin family, led Kevin to travel to the United Kingdom, where he was invited and privileged to attend a three year violin making and restoration course at the Welsh College of Musical Instrument Making. Following his graduation, Kevin accepted an offer to work for a highly respected French master luthier.
This was an extraordinary opportunity to work on rare and beautiful instruments, and to gain invaluable knowledge and experience in their manufacture and restoration. After three years in France, a strong desire to return to New Zealand saw Kevin Almy travel to Wellington where he established his present studio.

The archtop guitar shown in the montage above is a smaller bodied instrument specifically designed with the professional acoustic player in mind. International acoustic blues guitarist Mike Brosnan commissioned the first of these instruments. Considerable time and effort was expended developing an instrument with maximum tonal and dynamic range, as well as ease of playing and comfort. The tonal range, richness and clarity can only be described as 'awesome'.
Says Mike Brosnan"... I used to travel with three guitars to cover the range of sound I needed. This little guitar delivers them all, from Hot Slide to quiet Blues Ballads. I love it!" The top is carved from European Spruce and the back and sides from highly figured European Maple. The necks are shaped individually to specific client needs regarding neck width, profile, fret size etc. The pick up can be either an L. R. Baggs bridge transducer with the Baggs deluxe on board preamp, or a Humbucking fingerboard-end pickup.

Kevin Almy's Electric Model violin is an innovative and exiting instrument, unlike any other of its type currently available. Kevin has designed an instrument that is both state of the art in its amplified performance and futuristic in it's appearance, while using traditional luthiery techniques handed down from the time of the early Italian makers.
The tuning pegstock is either an open scroll or a modern guitar style. The neck, stop lengths, and neck elevations are identical to standard size violins, allowing the player to transition effortlessly between acoustic and electric instruments.This is without doubt the perfect instrument for today's electric violinist, combining eye-catching appearance with a rich and full-bodied sound when amplified. Apart from the Electric Model's striking lines, the range of sprayed lacquer finishes is almost limitless.