David Dart : "I don't usually copy instruments that I make. My Hawaiian guitar is not a copy of a Weissenborn. There were numerous brands of Hawaiian Slide Guitars in the 1930's and Weissenborn was only one of them, not the only one. I designed my Slide to suit myself and to sound the very best. I make them both plain and very fancy but the sound is the main thing for me.

Ben Harper has one of my first Hawaiian Slide Guitars — a style 1 made of Koa wood. He played it on Glory & Consequence on the CD The Will to Live.

Ben's style-1 has a rosewood bridge. I used the light colored boxwood only for my own personal guitar although I would use it if someone wanted. It has a good sound similar to ebony."

interview by Emmanuel Rivet/ swer.net

Photos © 1 and 2 (left) by Todd Burke : Diamonds On The Inside, recording session, 2002 - source benharper.net | Photos © 3 and 4 (right) by Jesse Savath : There Will Be A Light, recording session, 2004 | click on thumbnails

Creation process : original article and photos by Peggy & David Dart
"A new guitar was invented and made, through a collaborative venture. Dave made many forms and even a gauze and glue mock-up body before he made the body in wood. David tried a variety of shapes..." | read article

In may 2003 David Dart built a second Bowl-Back for Ben Harper. It was delivered at Christmas time 2003 as an instrument to take on the road | photos

David Dart

"I began taking guitar lessons from Dorothy Chase when I was 10 years old. This was in 1958. She gave lessons at their house in Claremont and there were a group of us that all took a lesson at the same time. We would all get in tune together and then she would teach us the basic chords and many right hand strums. We learned many different styles of strums for accompanying singing but no lead guitar playing.

It was the time of the Folk Music Boom with lots of good music and songs that were being collected from rural areas. This was true roots music and Dorothy Chase taught us songs from all over the world as well as just good old folk songs that we all knew. We learned old Blues songs and Charlie Poole songs, Jimmie Rodgers, Hank Williams...

Mrs. Chase (I called her that because I was 10 years old) knew lots of songs and the family store (the Folk Music Center) specialized in getting old recordings of Roots music. There was lots of music around. At the store they would let me play the different guitars and we could take them out to the patio and jam. The Folk Music Center was a true center for the playing and learning of music. Dorothy Chase held classes in their house for a while and then taught from the store. Other people would also give lessons at the store.

After I had taken lessons for several years I decided to get myself a better guitar by getting a nice old one that needed repair from Charles Chase at the store. I decided on an old Washburn guitar that was fancy but needed lots of work to restore it. Mr. Chase helped me when I needed it and I came out with a workable guitar. Since he'd seen that I could learn to do instrument repair, Charles let me work for him when I got out of High School. I started on my path as an instrument maker and repaired all kinds of stringed instruments for Charles Chase. He had me make quite a variety to sell in the store and I also began making Instruments for people on my own. Charles and Dorothy Chase have been a very large influence and support for my music and my work as a Luthier.

I met Charles and Dorothy's daughter Ellen when I was at there house for my guitar lessons. She was a year older than me and so we weren't really friends at school but we always knew each other and occasionally played music together at some gathering along with a lot of other people. I moved away from Claremont in the early '70s and only came to Claremont a few times a year to see my parents and I would always go by The Folk Music Center to see the Chases. I lived and worked in Claremont again in the early '80s and at that time Ellen was playing music in a band with several other friends of mine and we played music together various times.

Ben was of course growing up around all this music and in and around the store which was filled with instruments of all kinds. Ben began learning to repair instruments and would pick my brain whenever I came to visit. There was so much music around at the store. Real music, the music that real people play and sing and dance to. Good musicians coming in all the time to have their instruments worked on or to see if there were any new guitars that had come in. The Chases also had small concerts at their house when good musicians would come through town.

Charles Chase was a poet along with being the head of the store. He had a post that stood out on the sidewalk in front of the store that was for poetry. He'd put a new one up every day and the post was covered with poems for anyone to read who passed by. He was also a man who spoke his mind and was vocal in standing up for the rights of all people. I'm sure that Ben got much inspiration and learning from it all. He grew up submerged in all this music and poetry and instruments and conscience. Ben's music is a true reflection of the energy of The Folk Music Center. He is the perfect ambassador to spread that good feeling of music and learning which can touch so many people."

Article written by David Dart for swer.net, february 2004