I agree with Rob - as you might expect, of course!

The other point to be made is that, if no-one ever took a punt and commissioned an instrument from scratch, the world of lutherie would be a pretty poor place. I think if you listen to the products of a luthier and are very careful about what you specify, there's a good chance you'll get what you want - and yet still be surprised, to some extent!

I've commissioned, in sequence, a tenor guitar, matching mandolin, parlour guitar and hollow-bodied electric from Ian. All have turned out as I expected - and all have pleasantly surprised me by having extra characteristics that occurred during the making process.

It's quite true, Gibsonboy, that a commissioned guitar could turn out differently from expected, but - if you take care in the specification and know the style and product of the luthier - that will be a rare occurrence. In the case of the lady who commissioned the guitar bought by Rob, there was a problem (for her) in the neck profile, which she hadn't expected. Her fingers were broken in childhood (stamped on by a horse), so she has very particular neck requirements. As far as I know, Rob has the same beautiful fingers he was born with, so the neck profile suits him fine!

When I commissioned the hollow-bodied electric, I wrote out a complete spec of what I wanted, down to the last dot on the fretboard. However, because the guitar is mainly to be played amplified, I left the choice of woods to Ian, specifying beauty rather than tone. He used English maple and cedar - and it looks and sounds great.

Chisholm No. 46