I first met Doug at his office. It was dense with pieces of history from Gordon Smith and Auden. The walls are covered in photos of artists and music memorabilia Here’s Doug showing me Gordon Smith Serial Number #01

He also has the original pickup winding machine in the office which was originally acquired through not-so-legal methods… But the pickups did sound amazing!

Next we meet Elliott, he is the main designer for the brands. He has designed The Gatsby, The Griffin and his latest, the “The Grande”, his personal favourite and proudest design to date.
His passion and love for creating guitars is truly infectious as he tries to find the perfect balance between a sleek cool aesthetic and a tone that sings.

I did get a very strong sense that anything is possible and that is something that is aptly present in each of the guitars that they produce.

This team is capable of incredible craftsmanship, they can build anything you can dream of with one of the quickest turnaround times in the industry.

The Factory

So after a good chat in the design space and trying to convince Elliott that I have some good ideas, haha, it was on to the factory floor to see the guitars being built.

The wood is first dried until it is ready to be cut on the CNC Machines, allowing the timber to breath and resonate to it’s full potential.

This is one of the CNC machines that can cut two guitar bodies at a time. A new state of the art factory is about to start producing a significantly higher capacity and ramp up production.

After the bodies are cut they then meticulously trim the binding and check the edges. Here I am with Charles seeing how he gets that perfect edge!

Ben here, showed me how they finish the bodies to perfection, while making the neck pockets tight and aligned.

Next I get a sneak peak at the new factory and where they finish the guitars.

Here another Ben, ran me through his process of getting a mirror shine to the finish of a guitar. 

Ben has recently joined the team, from Mclaren Motors, moving from Super Cars to elite guitars. He said that he finds the rewards of finishing instruments much more satisfying. Watching the lengthy process gave me a great appreciation for what these guys do to make the guitars look pristine without distortions.

Next, Ian shows me the finishes he’s experimenting with and how they’ll get them to look their absolute best.

The new factory is equipped with two state-of-the-art paint booths, that will seriously increase capacity as they look to become one of the worlds major players and the UK’s biggest and best manufacturer.

The range of colours and designs he can finish in is mind-boggling. For an example of how they take it to the next level.

See the Gatsby, Jim from Hot Milk, played on their Foo Fighters support shows.

Next, we came to the final build room. This room is headed by Master Luthier and Doug’s main man Rob Bowman. He’s been with the company since the beginning and is the namesake of the Bowman model (from Auden).

His craftmanship is only matched by his wit and lovable cockney spirit!

Rob (Bowman that is) checks and photographs every guitar that goes through production. Quality control in this part of the business, is the key presiding element to having that overall finish that we as guitarists LOVE!

Joe here leads the final build room and is also an impressive and skilled luthier in his own right. The quality of the work coming through this room is only matched by the laughter and banter.

The final product is what it’s all about! Going into the showroom and playing everything that they had on offer is an experience that any guitarist would dream of and capped off a VERY special visit.

Gordon Smith and Auden guitars are scheduled to land in Australian stores in October 2024.

We are incredibly excited to bring these guitars to musicians and Aussies who love music as much as we do.

A massive thank you to Doug and the Auden team for welcoming me and DI Music into their family.

Watch Brett Kingman Demo the Grande