his guitar is reminiscent of Mario Maccaferri's instruments from the late 1920s, particularly by its D-shaped soundhole and the angle of its cutaway. The adjustable bridge, characteristic of certain archtop guitars, was invented by Lloyd Loar, who worked for the renowned American firm Gibson from 1920 on.

Cutaway Steel-String Guitar By Frank Gay Edmonton, Alberta 1972 Spruce, rosewood, Honduran mahogany, chrome-plated steel, ivory, mother-of-pearl, ebony, steel Overall length: 98.3 cm; body: 47 x 41.5 cm; sides: 10.4 cm Label: "Frank Gay Custom Made Guitars 10718, 97 Street Edmonton Alberta Model MCB 1972 FGK 1772" This was Frank Gay's personal guitar.

     

Frank Gay

Born in Saskatchewan in 1920 to French-speaking parents, Frank Gay was a guitarist and lutenist as well as a composer and luthier. He studied guitar at the New York School of Music and with Norman Chapman in Toronto. A versatile performer, he switched easily from jazz to country, flamenco or classical music. He apprenticed at R.S. William & Co., one of the largest Canadian workshops of the time. In 1953, he opened his own workshop in Edmonton, where he produced prize steel-string acoustic guitars. Country music greats such as Johnny Cash, Don Gibson and Hank Snow have owned his guitars. His instruments have earned the appreciation of distinguished classical guitarists, including Alirio Diaz and Montoya. Gay also built folk and Renaissance guitars, lutes, mandolins and banjos. Always active in the music world, in 1959 he established a classical guitar association, one of the first in the Canadian west. Frank Gay is recognized as an innovative artisan and a major figure in the history of Canadian stringed-instrument making.