SETH BACCUS GUITARS

Seth Baccus built his first guitar in 2004, but by that time, he’d already been part of the guitar industry for seven years, working in Manson’s guitar shop. His stepfather is master luthier Andy Manson and so Seth’s formative years were set against the background hum of crafting guitars – it’s no surprise, then, he has ended up in his own dedicated facility near Falmouth in Cornwall, turning out some world-class instruments.

If you caught our review last issue, you’ll have seen we awarded his Nautilus Classic a Guitarist Choice badge, with a score of nine out of 10. It was well deserved, too; the instrument was fabulous in every respect. We paid Seth a visit to find out more about what led him to make instruments under his own name, and discover more about his creative process.

When did the guitar-building bug bite?

“I’d been doing one day a week with Andy while I was at college, and was making the tea, sweeping the floor and generally getting in the way. I always