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Robert Ruck’s need for a quality instrument for his classical guitar studies instigated a career that has spanned four decades, produced over 700 guitars, and established him as one of the world’s most respected luthiers. In the mid-’60s, after playing a series of low-end instruments, he had a guitar custom made by a fine woodworker in his hometown of Miami. The finished product was less than what Ruck had hoped for, but his regular visits to the shop while the instrument was under construction gave him much insight into the basics of guitar building. Ruck was learning metalwork at the time. "If you have fundamental woodworking and metalworking skills, a short tour in a guitar maker’s shop is all you need to gain a fundamental understanding of guitar construction," he says, "although you don’t pick up the techniques and subtleties." A few years later, at the age of 20, Ruck built his first guitar, which he sold to a friend, and he has worked exclusively as a luthier ever since.

Initially Ruck was influenced by the designs of the great European makers, such as Fléta and Ramírez, and he was particularly impressed by the sound of Segovia’s Hauser. "It registered in my mind as the ideal guitar sound," he recalls. "But I never felt it was acceptable to take someone else’s design and simply copy it. You have to give it your own personal stamp." So while his early guitars were favorably compared to Ramírez instruments in terms of volume and responsiveness, Ruck’s personal stamp evolved out of trying to eliminate the shortcomings he felt were inherent in his designs. Thus began a long (and continuing) process of experimenting with a wide variety of design ideas. "Too often, words on paper are treated as fact by people without hands-on experience," says Ruck. "Something I’ve tried to teach is to get the thing itself in front of you and learn about it. All the preconceptions about building can really just get in the way."

According to Ruck, these preconceptions filter down to guitar buyers as well. He cites players’ insatiable appetite for Brazilian rosewood as an example. "They have this idea that a fine guitar has to be made out of Brazilian rosewood," says Ruck. "They get so channeled into this thinking that they overlook other things that might serve them better. Would John Williams be any less of a player if Brazilian rosewood wasn’t available? Would you enjoy his performances any less? I don’t think so. Some years ago I just ceased offering Brazilian rosewood, and my life as a maker is a lot better because of it. I don’t have to struggle to use the dregs, which is what’s out there today."

Ruck’s latest design breakthrough is the addition of two extra soundholes in the top side of the guitar’s upper bouts. The idea began with a discovery he made while building his first instrument. Impatient to hear it, he strung it up while the top was temporarily fastened to the sides with tentellones, devices used to clamp the top and back to the sides during the gluing process and before binding. Despite the instrument’s poor materials, Ruck recalls, "the sound was incredible." More than 30 years later, Ruck heard about similar experiments being carried out by other builders (see "The Holey Grail," February) and recalled this incident. He began cutting 20-millimeter, reinforced holes into either side of the neck heel. "The player hears the guitar in a richer, more balanced fashion," he says, and the experience of playing is enhanced. Ruck has built 13 guitars with multiple soundholes and feels that the popularity of this feature can only grow. He has also licensed a classical guitar design that incorporates these "acoustic ports" to Kenny Hill of La Mancha guitars. La Manchas are produced in a factory in Paracho, Mexico, along with classical guitars based on the designs of Fléta, Ramírez, and other famed makers, and they’re sold at lower prices than hand-built classical guitars.

Robert Ruck now lives in Hansville, Washington (Robert Ruck, 37676 Hood Canal Dr. N.E., Hansville, WA 98340; www.maui.net/~rtadaki/ruck.html), and builds his guitars in nearby Poulsbo. Despite his prolific output of 25 to30 guitars per year and a four- to five-year waiting list, his construction process is far from an assembly line. "As I bring more and more experience to the process, I find there are more details to attend to than ever before," he explains. "I discover some new relationship that was always there, but I hadn’t seen it before. It’s a never-ending source of stimulus."

Excerpted from Acoustic Guitar magazine, October 1999, No. 82.

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