Customer Reviews

Clapton's Guitar: Watching Wayne Henderson Build the Perfect Instrument

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Allen St. John's "Clapton's Guitar" is likely to be read primarily by guitar junkies, but here's hoping it quickly reaches a broader audience.

Although the book centers on the creation of two specific instruments - for one of the world's best-known guitarists, by one of its least-known luthiers - the book is really a leisurely and sweet meditation on elite craftsmanship and the passions that fuel it - both on the part of the craftsman, and on the part of those who hunger for his work. As such, persons who treasure such things as fine furniture, wooden boats, fine wine, even artisan bread, will find resonance in Clapton's Guitar.

Guitar maker Wayne Henderson emerges as a delightfully ordinary man with two extraordinary gifts - the ability to build magnficent instruments, and the ability to play them. He's revealed as the sort of down-to-earth chap you'd enjoy having as a neighbor (as long as you didn't mind that his yard might be less than tidy, or that he might not be particularly prompt in returning borrowed tools). It's Henderson's unique abilities to recognize the inherent qualities in raw materials and effortlessly utilize them that transforms him from regular Joe to magician.

St. John - and, obviously, Henderson - believes that vintage Martin guitars are the standard by which flat-top acoustic guitars should be measured. Some might argue that point, and it's intriguing that other than the uniquely shaped head-stock design Henderson uses, his guitars are essentially superb reproductions, while other artisan luthiers are exploring ways to make the instrument evolve. That's not a value judgement; rather, it's a reflection of Henderson's character.

One can race through the book, but that would be a mistake. Take time to enjoy the meanders and side trips. St. John leads us on many of them - and if they don't necessarily add much to the central story or give additional insight into Henderson's work, they're still enjoyable.

Essential read for guitar players, and strongly recommended for anyone who loves and respects true craftsmanship.

This is an astonishingly good read. It is meticulously crafted and casually presented, which is a perfect match for Wayne Henderson and his approach to his craft.

"Clapton's Guitar" is a delightful, first-person account of accompanying Wayne Henderson while he builds Clapton's guitar. For all who have met Wayne and played a Henderson Guitar - I met him a few years back in Nashville and played the Henderson dreadnought that he used in a spellbinding performance at the Chet Atkins Appreciation Society annual gathering - St. John captures the man and his instruments beautifully. In addition, you not only get to be a fly on the wall, or, perhaps more appropriately, an apprentice at the bench, in Wayne's shop, but you get a lesson in the geography and culture of the Appalachian region, a history of old time and bluegrass music, and, best of all, a history of Wayne Henderson.

In all, a delight to read. I really recommend this book highly.

I bought this book with a little skepticism as I thought it might be another techincal "how to" book about guitars. Boy was I ever wrong as I couldn't put it down once I started reading it! Allen St. John has written a very entertaining & interesting book about a master luthier/guitar virtuoso named Wayne Henderson of Rugby, Virginia, Population 7. It is a true story about Eric Clapton discovering one of Mr. Henderson's guitars at a studio and being so impressed he wants to get one, the only trouble being that it takes up to ten years to receive it. Mr. St. John tells us in a delightful & entertaining way the story behind Clapton's guitar & what it took to make it. You will learn about Wayne Henderson and the cast of characters that hang out at his guitar shop who not only want one of his guitars, but just want to see an "old world craftsman" perform his trade. Along the way you learn about Mr. Henderson, his family, friends, and the small town of Rugby, Virginia through the eyes of Mr. St. John as he aides Mr. Clapton's quest for a Henderson guitar as well as his own desire to own one. Mr. St. John's writing style is easy going with a blend of first hand accounts and little side stories along the way that keep your interest. He has a way of making you feel like you are there with him in rural Rugby, Virginia watching, assisting, and encouraging Mr. Henderson to make Clapton's guitar and becoming his friend along the way. This book has something for everyone from guitar afficianados to people who just like a good story. Buy it and you won't be sorry you did.

As a story goes - this is a great book. The astonishing thing is - this story is actually true. Yes, there are still folks in America that will share their amazing talents with us - without the hunger for financial gain. What a refreshing thought. But unknown to the rest of us, striving for a bigger house and a high paying job, these folks do gain something - they gain an amount of respect and friendship few of us can imagine. Wayne certainly has done this with his life. St. John's Clapton's Guitar captures the essence of who Wayne is in extraordinary fashion. Here is my story of Wayne.

I went with my father to the Masters Of The Steel String Guitar concert at Victoria Theater in Dayton Ohio in 1991. I was but 22 years old at the time. I wanted a good guitar but couldn't afford a $2500 Martin guitar at the time. I saw Wayne come up on stage with an older guitar (#57) but it sounded great. The MC announced that Wayne built the guitar. I knew there would be a long waiting list, but I was determined. Thus my journey for a Wayne Henderson Guitar began.

I talked to Wayne after the concert and every weekday for about 18 months...Yes, I called every single work day - I let Wayne rest on the weekends. Anyhow, in 1992 I took possession of # 135. At the time my parents picked up the guitar, Wayne didn't have the nice shop that St. John speaks of in the book.

Since my guitar has been built, I have only seen Wayne 1 time. Despite his growing popularity he remained the same gentle humble soul he was the first time I met him.

Anyhow, I couldn't imagine writing a book that captures the essence of who Wayne is or what his guitars are all about, better than St. John did in Clapton's Guitar. Wayne doesn't really know me, I am not a great guitar player but he poured his talent into my guitar the same way he did for Eric Claptons. My guitar sounds great and I wouldn't sell it for any amount of money. When I open the case and the woody smell surrounds me I am reminded of the individual, and what he stand for, that made this "Perfect Instrument!"

Great book!

BLKeller

This book helped me bridge the generation gap. My sons are aspiring musicians, and I wanted them to appreciate the art and labor which goes the instrument they love so much. After they read the book, they went out and listend to the music of Eric Clapton and other great guitarists of my era, which helped bring us together. Highly recommended.

This is a wonderful story about a talented and interesting luthier and his work. There is literally something fascinating on every page, and you'll find it compelling whether you're a picker, a guitar collector, a music lover or just somebody who enjoys a great story. Wayne's way of building quality instruments speaks directly to hand-crafted quality, attention to detail,a love of wood and a boundless admiration for the joys of music and how it affects all sorts of people. This book is superbly crafted by a skilled writer. As somebody who knows Wayne, I think it's an outstanding tribute.

This book is delightful, a journey through the craft that precedes art. It reads like Chuck Berry said Johnny B. Goode's guitar sounded, "like a ring in a bell." I can't wait to hear Wayne Henderson play.

Mr. St John puts you right over Wayne Henderson's shoulder as he takes a pile of wood and removes everything that's not a guitar. A wonderful read for anyone whether you have a passion for guitars or just good books.

I'm not a musician, and I wasn't sure about reading a book not just about guitars, but about a specific guy's custom-built guitars. It sounded extremely insidery.

But it turns out this is one of those good books that bring you inside a whole, complex, self-sufficient world you didn't really know existed and suddenly it all seems very, very important and fascinating. The book's got craftsmanship, obsession, Applachia, a bit of history and a bunch of music in it.

There's this oddball cast of characters who hang out and watch Wayne Henderson build guitars in his little backwater workshop, hoping to eventually get one (or three) of the instruments. Then the writer seems to start morphing into a member of the oddball cast of characters--and his own mission in life seems to be to acquire one of the guitars. It's a kind of obsessiveness about a perfect object that seems like a real guy thing to me.

I was starting to think I had to own one, too by the time I finished...and I don't play music and had never heard of Wayne Henderson before. Weird.

Anyway, bottom line: Good, quick read. Strongly recommend it.

As "Soul of a New Machine" did with computer development and "Friday Night Lights" for high school sports, so "Clapton's Guitar" pulls the reader into the world of high-end flat-top acoustic guitars and the people who build them. Like those books, this one is definitely not just for people who already know and care about the subject matter.

Allen St. John makes the technical aspects of guitar construction understandable and interesting (not easy to do!) and paints a vivid portrait of master guitar builder and guitarist Wayne Henderson, a truly unique individual. I think the "side trips" to a guitar dealer, a wood expert, an auction house, the Martin Guitar factory, a baseball game (trust me), etc. and a mini-portrait of T.J. Thompson, another skilled guitar builder and repairman, add to the reader's understanding of Henderson and of what makes the best acoustic guitars, old or new, so special. Highly recommended!