When you build handmade acoustic guitars every day, most instruments begin with a clear destination. A model is defined, materials are selected with purpose, and each step follows a refined process developed over years of experience.
But occasionally, something different happens.
A striking piece of timber arrives in the workshop. A new bracing idea emerges during testing. A tonal combination sparks curiosity rather than certainty. These moments don’t always belong inside a structured production range, yet they often lead to some of the most inspiring work a luthier can create.
At Fenech Guitars, those moments became the foundation of the Maker’s Choice Series — a collection of limited edition acoustic guitars shaped entirely by the instincts and creative decisions of the people who build them.
When Craft Moves Beyond a Model
As a boutique Australian guitar builder, our standard instruments are carefully designed and consistently refined. Every model exists for a reason, balancing tone, playability, and reliability for musicians who depend on their instruments.
Yet guitar making has always been both craft and art.
Under the guidance of Master Luthier Aaron Fenech, the workshop is constantly exploring subtle refinements in bracing patterns, tonewood pairings, and structural design. Many of these explorations influence future instruments, but some ideas stand on their own and deserve to exist exactly as they are.
The Maker’s Choice Series allows those ideas to take form without the constraints of a catalogue model or customer specification.
Each guitar begins simply with inspiration.
A Different Kind of Build Philosophy
Unlike custom guitars, which are collaborative projects shaped around a player’s vision, Maker’s Choice instruments are driven entirely by the luthier building them.
The process starts with curiosity rather than instruction. Timber selection, voicing decisions, and aesthetic details evolve naturally during the build. No blueprint exists beyond experience and intention.
Because of this, no two guitars in the series are planned to be alike. Each instrument becomes a snapshot of a particular moment in the workshop — a reflection of what the maker wanted to explore at that time.
These guitars cannot be commissioned or requested. They appear only when an idea feels worth pursuing.
Built With the Same Standards, Greater Freedom
Although the creative process is more open, the standards remain unchanged.
Every Maker’s Choice guitar must meet the same tonal and structural expectations that define a Fenech instrument. Solid tonewoods, careful voicing, and precise craftsmanship remain central to the build.
What changes is freedom.
Luthiers may explore unusual tonewood combinations, refine bracing in subtle ways, or introduce aesthetic details that may never be repeated. These choices are not experimental for the sake of novelty, but expressive decisions grounded in years of experience.
The result is an instrument that feels deeply personal while still carrying the reliability players expect.
Capturing a Moment in Time
Because Fenech Guitars produces only a limited number of handmade acoustic guitars in Australia each year, the Maker’s Choice Series remains intentionally small.
There are no production runs or scheduled releases. Each guitar is completed individually and released when finished.
In many ways, these instruments represent a moment captured in wood — the materials available, the ideas being explored, and the creative energy present in the workshop at that time.
For players and collectors, this makes every Maker’s Choice guitar genuinely unique.
Who These Guitars Speak To
Not every player looks for the same thing in an instrument. Some want familiarity and consistency, while others are drawn to subtle individuality.
The Maker’s Choice Series resonates most with musicians who appreciate nuance — players who notice how bracing tension shapes responsiveness, how timber density influences sustain, or how small design decisions affect feel and character.
These guitars appeal to those who value craftsmanship not just as a process, but as a perspective.
The First Maker’s Choice Instruments
The first two guitars in the series demonstrate how different interpretations can grow from the same starting point. Both instruments were built around Old Growth Red Cedar soundboards, yet each developed its own identity through material choice and voicing decisions.
Maker’s Choice I – Old Growth Red Cedar and Crelicam Ebony
The first instrument was conceived with fingerstyle playing in mind. Its Old Growth Red Cedar top, selected by Aaron Fenech many years ago, offers a warmth and openness rarely found in modern material. Individually optimised bracing allows the soundboard to respond freely, producing a rich and complex tonal character.
The back features a mirrored set of Crelicam Ebony resembling angel wings, framed by Indian Rosewood bindings. A twisted rope detail travels around the body and into the rosette, tying the visual design together. Ebony components, a one-piece Mahogany neck, and open-gear Grover machine heads maintain a balance between refinement and vintage character. A thin nitrocellulose satin finish allows the instrument to resonate naturally while feeling effortless in the hands.
Maker’s Choice II – Old Growth Red Cedar and Australian Camphor Laurel
The second guitar pairs the same Old Growth Red Cedar soundboard with highly figured Australian Camphor Laurel sourced from a rare and visually striking piece of timber. The dramatic grain patterns create strong visual presence while contributing warmth and responsiveness to the instrument’s voice.
Refined bracing results in a lightweight build that responds evenly across the fretboard. Paua shell Tiger Tooth inlays, a Flamed Australian Blackwood rosette, and Mahogany bindings add distinctive character, while a one-piece Mahogany neck and gold open-gear Grover machine heads provide balance and precision. Ebony appointments and a thin nitrocellulose satin finish complete an instrument that feels both expressive and refined.
Why Maker’s Choice Exists
The Maker’s Choice Series reflects an important truth about guitar making: innovation often happens quietly, away from specifications and expectations.
- It is where experience meets curiosity.
- Where craftsmanship becomes personal.
- And where some of the most meaningful instruments begin.
For our workshop, these guitars are reminders that even within a disciplined craft, there must always be room to explore.
