Larry Welker
EL Welker Guitars

 

I’ve been involved in lutherie since I moved here back in the eighties. Before that I’d spent the previous ten years playing guitar in California. It gets hectic in California, and I welcomed the change of coming to New England’s more laid back lifestyle. It’s so much easier to focus when you’re not surrounded by freeways…

           

I was working happily in my historic eighty foot barn until it burned down in 2004. I literally lost everything and had to rebuild  from scratch. It was around this time that I started developing the prototypes of the arch top guitars I am building today. I’ve relocated my shop to a three story building where I have made the facilities to build arch tops from rough lumber up.

           

Today I am building laminated and carved top arch tops, and am the most proud of the leather wrapped laminated arch tops I’ve developed. “Leather covering on a finely crafted arch top ?” Everyone says, but once they’ve heard the sound of the leather guitar, they become believers. To see one of my leather guitars and some of my other models log on to my website elwelkerguitars.com. Bill Fender from Legato Guitars was hesitant to take a leather wrapped arch top guitar, but once I sent him one he joined my ever growing flock of believers.

           

I’m not strictly involved in leather guitars, and welcome requests for other types of arch tops. Currently I’m working on a hand carved arch top, and before that I was working on a leather fretless bass. I’m glad to be joining the New England Luthiers group, and also very happy to be helping promote the art of lutherie in our region.

The New England Luthiers is an association of professionals and amateurs brought together by a common love of making stringed instruments