About

               Pete Rigg Luthier

Whilst playing my Hammer Dulcimer one night at a local session, I became aware of two things. Firstly, my instrument was coming apart and secondly, that I took up a lot of space in the pub. Having trained as a design engineer and spent my career in mechanical engineering, I decided to make myself a replacement in a smaller, pub friendly size.

 A friend, Andy Brown, recommended that I attend the short course in Making Musical Instruments at West Dean College near Chichester, home to the Edward James Foundation, with an international reputation for its many and varied courses. 

That was in 2003, and I have attended several years since then to make different instruments and hone my luthier skills.

Instruments I have made with guidance from the college tutors  are;

Hammer Dulcimer

Hurdy Gurdy

Instruments I have researched and made partly at the college and partly in my own workshop are;

Paraguayan Harp

Chromatic Nyckelharpa

Mariachi Bass Guitar

Celtic Harp

5-string Fiddle 

Mandolin

Octave Mandolin

Other instruments made at home are;

Several Bowed Psalterys

Bass Banjo

Citole

Kit Fiddle

Moraharpa

Silverbasharpa

Several Harps

Portative Organ

Several Chromatic Nyckelharps