Will Cann
~ man of strings
​​Musician, Singer-songwriter, Troubadour, Multi-instrumentalist, Entertainer
​Click here to listen to 'Back to the Woods' while viewing Will's collection of instruments
The older of my two bouzoukis, this design from Roger Bucknall's Lake District company dates back to the mid 1970's and has a deep, flat-backed body and a fixed bridge, giving it a warm, mellow tone. I acquired it from a Bristol-based former musical colleague in 2004 and subsequently had it fitted with a Headway pickup at Waghorn Guitars, also in Bristol. It is tuned GDAE an octave below a mandolin, ideal for chord work but with a scale length short enough to allow me to pick out a tune.
The brand name of luthiers Martyn Banks and Gordon Hewson, Oakwood are renowned for their use of exotic and attractive timbers. This professional quality instrument is made from ebony, cocobolo and birdseye maple, while the fingerboard and headstock are inlaid with abalone along their entire length. The sound is similarly exquisite; for stage work it is fitted with a Schatten Design pickup. I bought it new from the Oakwood stand at the 2007 Sidmouth Festival, directly from the makers themselves.
The ultimate indulgence, and evidence of complete musical instrument addiction! I abducted this this Love-at-first-strum looker from Sidmouth Festival in 2014. She has a spruce soundboard, zebrano back and sides, a 64cm two-octave scale (24 frets in total) and is strung with thicks and thins on the G and D strings, rather than unison pairs. A Fishman undersaddle transducer produces a sparkling amplified sound when required, but the acoustic tone is sweet and full. And it's all thanks to Oakwood!
The older of my two bouzoukis, this design from Roger Bucknall's Lake District company dates back to the mid 1970's and has a deep, flat-backed body and a fixed bridge, giving it a warm, mellow tone. I acquired it from a Bristol-based former musical colleague in 2004 and subsequently had it fitted with a Headway pickup at Waghorn Guitars, also in Bristol. It is tuned GDAE an octave below a mandolin, ideal for chord work but with a scale length short enough to allow me to pick out a tune.
