Luthier

Hi there, I’m Mark Harrington, a kiwi-born instrument maker now living in the south of Argentina. I’ve been making and repairing string instruments since the mid 1990’s … starting off with mostly acoustics, then moving on to mostly electrics, and now coming back to mostly acoustics! Currently I work out of a small workshop in our home in Dina Huapi, Rio Negro. If you’re ever going to be in the neighbourhood please feel free to get in touch and come visit. You can check out a few other instruments I’ve made over the years here.

It bothers me that there’s often a lot of unnecessary waste and marketing hype in the making and selling of so many flashy looking electric instruments … all those rare and exotic timbers being consumed by our urge for something that looks spectacular, promises some secret unparalleled tone or electric gadgetry, yet in many cases delivers nothing new of musical value. While I retain a huge respect for some of the fine instrument makers out there, I do feel that players are often distracted by such things and that there is a need for simple, beautifully made instruments that open up and inspire music just because of what they are. Through the elegant, compact design of our electric line of tappers, a new (and often challenging!) relationship is opened up between instrument and player, inviting exploration and offering a unique opportunity to take ones music in a new direction. With the development of our acoustic line of nylon-string tappers, we’ve been able to take that even a step further … finding a refreshingly new (yet essentially very old) place where one really can get back to the pure, simple, intimate joy of playing a musical instrument.

Of course I also play the instruments I make, and particularly enjoy exploring the sounds and techniques that can be used. You can hear some of my published music here. My own experience as a player, together with feedback from clients and other players, drives the on-going development of these instruments.