Luthier Jimmy Foster
By: Ted Ludwig
Jimmy Foster is the most celebrated luthier in the New Orleans area. For the past thirty three years he has made
guitars for many of the finest players around the world. What makes Jimmy special among his contemporaries is that he
is a brilliant 7 string guitarist as well as a wonderful luthier. He has been playing weekly gigs in and around New Orleans
since he was a teenager. His experience as a professional musician coupled with his intuition as a fine woodworker has
helped Jimmy Foster create some remarkable instruments.
TL: How did you get involved in making guitars?
JF: I spent a lot of time with my dad who was a body and fender man and could make anything out of a piece of metal
or wood. Making things with my hands was something that always interested me. Being a guitar player since I was 11 years
old, guitars had always intrigued me. I always knew that I was going to build guitars someday. When I opened my first shop
I called it Foster's Custom Finishes and Repairs. I was doing body and fender work while taking some guitar repairs. I had
two business cards made for that business. One had a picture of a guitar on it and the other had a picture of a car.
TL: Did your experience with painting cars help you to develop some of the rich finishes that you use on your guitars?
JF: Sure, painting cars did help me to develop my skills. Also when I was a kid, about 15 years old, I was doing guitar
repairs and refinishing work for many of the local music stores. My dad would drive down to the music stores and pick up
the repair jobs for me. I would do the repairs and would spray the guitars in a booth that I made in my backyard. When I
got my first shop I did work on both guitars and cars and it got to the point where the guitar repair work overtook the
car repairs. Back then there was no one in New Orleans doing guitar repair so I got called to do warranty work for Martin,
Gibson, Ovation, and Fender. That was when I decided to just do guitar repairs and refinishing.
TL: Did you do any work on some of the hand built custom guitars like D'Angelicos or Strombergs?
JF: Just about every kind of guitar that I can think about came through the shop. Being in a musically rich city like New
Orleans, I have had players from all over the world come into my shop for guitar repairs. I have gotten to work on some of
the finest guitars in the world. When I would work an instrument that was especially good sounding I would find out what it
was that made that particular guitar so great. There was no one here to teach me how to build archtops, so I used the knowledge
that I got from doing repairs.
TL: So you learned how to build guitars from examining other great guitars.
JF: Yes, For example I had several old Gibson L 50 guitars come in the shop. These guitars sounded so good. They were
16" guitars that didn't have an elevated fingerboard like an L5 or a Johnny Smith. No one wanted an L 50 because
you couldn't get a floating pickup to fit on it, but it sounded great acoustically. I realized that because the
fingerboard fit directly onto the top that there was more of an angle on the neck which put more downward pressure onto the
bridge and the top. On my guitars I use an elevated extension with a floating pickup but I increased the neck angle to put
more downward tension on the top of the guitar. This gives the guitar more volume. I have seen a lot of archtop guitars out
there that have really high fingerboard extensions. By lifting the fingerboard extension it will decrease the angle at which
the strings cross the bridge. This greatly reduces the tension on the top which also reduces the volume of the guitar.
TL: The first time I sat and played some of your guitars I noticed that your necks felt so comfortable. What are some of
your philosophies on how a neck should be made?
JF: I have always liked a thinner neck than what is used on most archtop guitars. Being a 7 string player, I found that a
large neck was detrimental to my playing. Of course I have built many different size necks over the years. I tried wide necks,
fat necks, and skinny necks and came to a conclusion of what works best for me. On a 7 string I feel that the neck should be
between 1 15/16 inches and 2 inches at the nut. The neck profile should be crescent shaped and not round. A totally round shaped
neck with the increased width of a 7 string results in a baseball bat. I do however make larger necks for players who insist on
it. But, after a while they usually come back to me and ask for a smaller neck. Another important aspect contributing to the
playability of the necks is that I join the neck to the body at the 15th fret. I also extend the cutaway slightly deeper than
most archtops. This coupled with the extended neck joint ensures better access to the upper register of the fingerboard.
TL: Do you also make 6 string guitars?
JF: Sure I do. I make six strings with various size necks. The customer usually will tell me what size they want there necks
to be. My standard sizes are between 1 11/16 up to 1 7/8 at the nut.
TL: What percentage of your orders are 7 strings?
JF: They account for about 80% of my total orders. I build about 20 guitars a year and about 15-16 of them are 7 strings. I
tell customers that the 7 string guitar is really a 6 string with a bonus. You can do everything that you could do on a 6 string
and more. Unlike many of the other luthiers, I do not charge extra for a 7 string. It takes the same amount of time to make a
7 string guitar as it does a 6 string. We are only talking about an extra tuning key.
TL: I noticed when playing your guitars that I didn't find any wolf tones or dead spots on the fret board. Many of the
guitars that I have played over the years have one or two weak notes on the fingerboard that do not sustain. How do you make
your guitars so that they do not have dead spots?
JF: Many years ago I built an archtop guitar for myself. This guitar had some dead spots on the fingerboard. I tried to figure
out how to fix this problem on my guitars. I noticed that on other guitars, whether factory or handmade, that some sounded
great and some did not. I wanted all of my guitars to sound great. I realized that the guitar that I built that had the wolf
tones was tuned to the note C. This made the body of the guitar absorb the string frequency of the note C. But, it also made
the dominant and subdominant notes weak. So, on this particular guitar the C note was dead and the G and F notes were both
weaker than the rest of the notes on the fingerboard. I then tuned my guitar strings down a semi tone or half of a step.
I found that these dead spots disappeared. I also tuned my strings up a half step and had the same results. The solution
was to carve the re-curve so that when I tapped the body of guitar the resonant frequency would fall between two pitches.
Every guitar has a different tap pitch depending on the density of the wood or the size of the body, but if I carve the top
and back re-curve, then the pitch of the guitar will drop. As long as that pitch is a semitone between two notes in 440, the
guitar will not have dead spots. This also helps to reduce feedback when used electronically. That is why I feel that my
guitars are so consistent.
TL: You have a really beautiful assortment of tone woods in your shop. Every piece of maple that I looked at had extraordinary
figure. All the spruce that you use has tight straight grain. What is your philosophy on tone wood?
JF: Well, I feel like all of my guitars should have beautiful wood. Making a guitar takes a lot of time and effort. I
don't mind spending $100.00 or $200.00 more on buying higher quality tone woods. When I have wood delivered to the
shop, I like to pick the best pieces for my guitars and ship the rest of it back. I think that the customer will appreciate
the beautiful woods that I use. Of course I do put the most figured pieces on my higher end models. As far as the types of
wood, I have a variety of different woods that I use to get different results for the customers needs. I like Sitka Spruce
for the tops. I feel that it is the best wood for the 17" guitar. I do use European spruce as well but I think that
the Sitka makes a better sounding guitar. I use Western Cedar for my 15" models because it makes the smaller bodied
guitar sound fat and warm. For the Backs and side I use Mahogany on the 15" and the entry level 17" archtops. I
believe that Mahogany is an excellent tone wood for the backs, sides and necks. I use highly figured or quilted maple for
the backs and sides of my 17" higher level archtops. I use Macassar Ebony for the fingerboard, bridge, tailpiece and
pickguard.
Great tone woods are an essential part in making a great guitar. But, it is the way in which the maker carves and works
the wood that determines how the guitar is going to sound. Benedetto said it and I think it is well stated. Every piece of
wood has different characteristics about it. The way a guitar is going to sound can be adjusted by the thickness of the top
and the way in which the braces are shaped. If the wood for the top has hard tight grain, then I like to make the braces tall
and slim like a wedge shape and make the top slightly thinner. If the wood is softer I usually leave the top slightly thicker.
In general I use wedge shaped braces made from Sitka Spruce. The types of bracing also will determine how the guitar will
sound. I use X bracing and parallel bracing on my archtop guitars. On the parallel bracing I tilt the bass side out more than
the treble side. This gives the guitar a punchy bright high end while retaining a warm low end.
TL: What types of pickups do you use?
JF: I use Kent Armstrong pickups. Kent is a great guy and I think that he makes the best pickup on the market. I used to
use the same pickup that Kent was making for Benedetto and I was having a problem with the B string being too loud. Kent said
that he would make me a pickup if I designed it, so I had him make me a 6 and 7 string pickup with adjustable pole pieces. I
had him put the screws to match with the string spacing that I like to use. I have gotten such enthusiastic responses from
customers about these pickups that I decided to begin selling them individually.
TL: Do you make other types of guitars besides archtops?
JF: Sure, I make solid bodies, flattops, and electronic nylon string guitars. All of my guitars are available as a 6 or
7 string.
TL: How has being a player influenced your guitar designs?
JF: Being a player has been the most important asset to my guitar building. It helps me to be in tune with other players
needs. I have learned to make a guitar that has less feedback and no dead spots. I know how to make a guitar feel great
to a player. I have learned how to make my guitars sound great electronically as well as acoustically. Most importantly
I have learned how to make a guitar that will last a lifetime and will hopefully give a player a lifetime of enjoyment.
TL: Who are some of the players that use Foster Guitars?
JF: Paul Simon, Howard Morgan, Fred Fried, Clint Strong, Steve Masakowski, Hank Mackie, Pat Practico, Alan DeMause, Ron
Escheté Ted Ludwig, David Mooney, Rob Block, Todd Duke, Bill Solley and Jim Lichens.
TL: You have several different archtop, flattop, and solid body models to choose from with prices ranging from $2,800 to 18,000. Can you tell us
about some of your models?
JF: Sure, I have models to fit a large variety of budgets. First of all I would like to say that all of my guitars are
hand carved. I do not use plywood on my guitars. My base model is called The St. Charles Ave. This model is
available in 15" and 17" body widths and has a large variety of options to customize your guitar. The base price
is $4,200. My standard full size archtops are called The Crescent City models. I have three different trim
levels and a variety of options and inlay packages for these guitars.
♠ The Crescent City starts at $5,200.
♠ The Avalon starts at $5,800.
♠ The Crescent City Classic starts at $7,100.
♠ The Crescent City Elite starts at $8,900.
I also have two premium models which are made from the most highly figured woods and possess many of the premium
appointments available.
♠ The Fleur-de-lis Elite priced at $11,000.
♠ The Royale priced at $19,000.00. (Only one made every 2 years)
All of my guitars come with a Kent Armstrong pickup and hard shell case.
The Standard models come with a TKL 3 ply case.
The Premium models come with a Custom Cedar Creek 5 ply Case.
All Foster guitars come with a limited lifetime warranty to the original purchaser.
Anyone interested in one of my guitars can feel free to give me a call at (985) 892-9822 or toll free at 1-888-317-4146
from 8:00AM to 6:00 PM CST. I have brochures and a free 30 minute video that shows my guitars and my shop. You may also
purchase one my CD's for $15.00. My website address is www.fosterguitars.com.
TL: Thanks for sharing some of your time with us Jimmy.
JF: It was my pleasure. |
