When Dennis MacPherson, owner
and founder of MacPherson Guitarworks in Ringwood, NJ, began working at the
Oscar Schmidt company in 1978 among his first jobs was tuning marimba blocks. That
experience--of shaping tone by shaping wood—served as a “grad school” of sorts
and taught him what would become an invaluable skill for a luthier making his
trademark “Black Pearl” guitars, as well.
The work done shaping blocks
of wood to produce a specific note is painstaking and centuries old, as is the
luthier craft. And when done properly, each can produce a breathtaking tone.
MacPherson, a man with a ready smile and a workshop full of hand crafted
artworks, said that his passion for woods and woodworking sprang at least in
part from his experiences at Oscar Schmidt building not just xylophones and
marimbas, but flat top Harmony guitars as well.
