About..

I am Dale Pirie, owner and operator of Pirie Fine Instruments. Unlike many luthiers who came into the craft because they were talented players wanting to build instruments, I came in because I love to build things. Yes, I do play guitar and have for many years, but I never got much beyond campfire chords and only used my trusty old D-35 to accompany myself singing.  

After a 35-year career as a geek with a major computer company, I decided to retire and see if I could parlay skills learned from a lifetime hobby of building models and furniture into construction of acoustic stringed instruments. I began by reading books, watching training videos and building a few kits. My initial attempts were successful and as my experience developed (and my collection of tools grew!) it became clear that building instruments from scratch was infinitely more satisfying than building from kits. I now craft by hand everything wood except rosettes, purflings, and kerfing.  

Attention to detail and a feel for working with various woods is paramount to lutherie and skills honed over 50+ years of model building have proven to be invaluable as I learn the craft. In ten years nearly 40 instruments have been constructed.

Since I am but a single worker, each instrument is hand crafted,  one instrument at a time. No assembly line here and not much multi-tasking either! This way I can devote all my concentration to one particular instrument making each creation distinctive and unique.

 Please revisit this site from time to time and see what's being built and...thanks for stopping by!

Dale