What you can say about Tom Ribbecke is that the dynamic individual marks everything about him.

He is writing a novel that he hasn't disclosed to me the subject matter. What this has to do with guitar building is the same as the predisposition to be anal. The anal adds to the overall quality of the guitar, a passion for perfection and the attention to detail.

The fact that Tom is writing a novel is that he has to express himself. Self-expression in wood is quite a bit different than words on a page but it is self- expression and the luthier's art adds to self-expression in wood a need to design an instrument that forwards the art by being innovative.

Tom Ribbecke opened his first luthiere business in San Francisco in 1975. After 10 years and thousands of guitar repairs and guitars Tom closed the store to concentrate on fulfilling orders.

Tom moved his operation to Healdsburg, CA and ever since the demand for his guitars have steadily increased, although he still builds his guitars by himself the demand has necessitated that he has a trained crew to take over some of the aspects of finishing and fitting his handmade guitars.

Also Tom has started The Ribbecke Guitar Corporation to produce the Halfling guitars and basses.

On the Halfling concept Tom explains that the traditional way of looking at the soundboard dictates the concept of either a flat thin top as in the Martin style steel string guitar, or the arched top for Jazz like the D'Angelico or Gibson instrument. We have combined the best of both worlds for the contemporary guitarist whose literature now crosses over into both worlds.

This is the logical conclusion of years of research and development beginning with the "Sound Bubble" guitars in the 80's and when Paul Szmanda gave me the opportunity to build something that I always wanted to do. The first Halfling was created.

I am not a bass player but I have noticed that the acoustic bass guitar is a strange beast. There seems to be a reason that this instrument is a relatively new development in the guitar family.

Putting aside the technical reasons that the acoustic bass guitar doesn't work I can say with all certainty that they just don't sound good. I have never heard an acoustic bass guitar that sounds. Period.

New Millennium Guitar specializes in the guitar and not the acoustic bass guitar or the electric bass. Because the Ribbecke Halfling is the only game in town, that is, the only acoustic bass guitar that sounds good we decided to invest in the Bobby Vega Halfling Bass.

The bas output of the instrument was the first noticeable difference that the BVHB has. There is that feeling in the chest that this instrument fosters.

Sustain and even response is pronounced and there are virtually no dead spots on it. The scale is full so as we know the string length is primary to the bass response and also sustain and the BVHB is imbued to the fullest in these characteristics.

I can't think of an acoustic bass guitar that even comes close to this instrument. You'd figure that the violin family, the orchestral or upright bass would be a great point of departure and in the sense that the Halfling bass has a partially arched top and it blows out plenty of bass response.

Tom is plenty busy and in order to pin him down for a little talk I had to drive to his Halfling shop in Healdsburg, right next to Allied Luthiere Supply.

He splits his time between the Ribbecke Guitar Corporation shop and his private practice in the country outside of Healdsburg.

He spoke just a bit about his life.

"I started building guitars because as a player since the age of 12 I always had to tinker with the things and I refretted my first Bruno conqueror when I was 14 or so.

Just always had the drive to work with my hands and felt I could improve guitars so it was that combined with the life on the road as an early 20s guy after graduating from Syracuse University with degrees in Music and film and TV, I tired of the drug issues and all that "on the road stuff" and would always would return to building guitars and repairing them as I did put myself through college with this.

I spent 6 months in the library devouring all three books at the time I could find and then just did it. I was bold as a monkey at that age.

The Halfling grew out of the original sound bubble project as I felt that the original design had great promise but was unrealized, I had two commissions one from, Paul Szmanda for the guitar and from Bobby Vega for a bass.

These guys were great and gave me free reign so we talked about the tradition of asymmetrical design.

I have been playing since I was 12 so maybe 41 years AAAAAGGGGHHHH!!!!! I should be a better guitarist.

I jam every now and then when time allows and giggling maybe 4 to 5 times a month but time is mostly eaten up with the new company and my older private practice. I routinely have 12 to 14 hrs days so I do not have much time.

The new corporation is stock held by 10 or so individuals who have invested to help bring the Halfling to the public.

Len Wood is CFO I am CEO with a 5-person board.

I wanted this to always be separate from private practice, which has 4 year wait at the moment and 40 or so slots left in my lifetime."

The Halfling acoustic guitar will be out in June, we've ordered and I'll update you when this and the classical guitar bass Tom is researching is done.

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