At a meet-up this weekend, a Mumbai-based luthier will talk about how he makes acoustic guitars at home
Work in progress. Picsâu00c2u0080u00c2u0088courtesy/Samirâu00c2u0080u00c2u0088Karnik
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When you walk into Samir Karnik’s Grant Road workshop, you’ll be greeted by guitars in various stages of production, and sawdust resting on every surface. The 28-year-old works as an environmental consultant by day and as a luthier by night, holing himself up in the workshop he’s set up in his parents’ home.
A fretboard featuring three different types of wood — jackfruit stripe and teak-bound rosewood
This weekend, Karnik will be the speaker at a meet-up organised by Maker’s Asylum. His passion lies in building acoustic guitars, which he learned to make at a 15-day workshop in Goa a few years ago.
Binding the pieces together
His guitars are made not just using the traditional rosewood and mahogany, but also easily available wood from trees like mango, jackfruit and neem, as he believes this eases the stress on deforestation. Moreover, the environmentally conscious young man encourages people to purchase locally produced guitars, as this reduces transportation costs and, thus, our carbon footprint.
When he’s not making guitars, you will find him creating other wooden knick-knacks like music boxes for friends.
*Luthier: someone who builds or repairs string instruments generally consisting of a neck and a sound box.