| I first met George Gray in the 1980s
when George was doing most of the advanced warranty work for Martin guitars;
replacing tops, neck resets and refinish work. The quality of work and
the apparent ease with which George tackled these challenging repairs and
restorations left me in awe. I was spending much of my time working in
our own Twelfth Fret spray booth and George’s finesse with lacquer was
truly amazing to see.
I learned that George was one of the original "fab-three"
luthiers who accompanied Jean Larrivee in his move from Toronto to Victoria
just before I opened The Twelfth Fret in 1977. Along with Luthiers Linda
Manzer and Tony Duggan-Smith the Larrivée shop settled in Victoria
for several years then later moved to Vancouver.
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Clockwise, from top: Dave Wren, George Gray, Michael
Jones, Tony Duggan-Smith, Linda Manzer, Michael Schreiner, Jean Larrivee,
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Note: Dave Wren stayed in Toronto and opened Wren Guitars which he
operated until he became my partner at The Twelfth Fret in 1990. Gordon
Barry joined Larrivée Guitars in 1980 in Victoria then returned
to Toronto to start G. W. Barry Guitars and joined the Twelfth Fret repair
and restoration workshop.
In 1980 George returned to Ontario and began his work for
Martin guitars as well as finish work for Timberline Guitars. On occasion,
George did finish work for the Twelfth Fret as well. He was also building
his own guitars during this time. George became known throughout the guitar
building fraternity as the ne-plus-ultra Maestro of guitar finishes.
In the 1990s George switched careers but fortunately for
us, he recently “retired” and returned to guitar making. I was thrilled
to see him again after all these years and especially happy to see his
first three guitar models. Typical of George, the joinery and wood-grading
quality are AAA throughout… and it goes without saying that the finish
quality is superb. George has switched to the new environmentally responsible,
water-based lacquer that is becoming popular in modern guitar making. It
is a crystal clear finish that is much more resistant to yellowing and
cold-checking than traditional finishes and it is very thin which serves
to
minimize any tonal effects.
Though George built thousands of guitars with Larrivee,
he modestly claims to be a relative beginner since he has been out of the
business for so long. But contrary to his claims, I find his guitars to
be as well made as any guitars I’ve seen at any price !! And tonally they
are huge sounding…large, full, round bass tone with lots of treble clarity,
evenly balanced and volume throughout the range.
George Grays guitars are lovely to look at and lovely to play and very
reasonably priced.
George.... it is great to have you back !!
Grant MacNeill,
Pres. The Twelfth Fret
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