About

An Italian luthier friend once said to me,

“Jimmy, being a luthier is not a profession, it’s a disease.  I always come back to it, I can’t stop.”

I have built enough instruments to feel the truth in that  remark, but I still enjoy it.

I have always loved music and art.

I built my first instruments for myself, and people wanted to buy them. That surprised me , since they were crude.

From that beginning, I became a luthier .

Since starting to build  in the early 1970s, I learned much of both the aesthetics and craft from working with master luthier Olivo Chiliquinga who could build all members of the violin family and anything with strings.

He used to say “People tell me I have golden hands . But hijo , it is my eyes who do the work , my eyes and my heart “.

From him I learned more than craft, and from many Spanish and Rom friends I learned also about the guitar and the culture from which it came.

I have built quite a wide variety of strung instruments.  Also I have worked as a restorer of art objects and  in other fields of the arts  which  influenced my building of instruments.

I now live on the island of Hokkaido in Japan in Sapporo, among forested mountains, next to a mountain stream, and I build primarily classical and flamenco guitars.

The climate here is good for building. I continue to build in the Spanish tradition that evolved during the Cafe Cantante era in which Torres and his peers developed the guitar.

I make all of my own bindings, rosettes and decor. I will welcome all inquiries .

James Frieson

2-1 , Fujino 5-9 , Minami-ku

Sapporo, 061-2285

Japan

Tel +81  (0)11-592-2600

This post is also available in: Japanese