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Guitar man frets over singing for cash award
A GUITAR maker, who built the UK's first nine-string electric bass, has been shortlisted for a Royal scholarship.
Jim Fleeting is to be interviewed by the Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust, which was established 18 years ago to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Royal Warrant Holders Association and the 90th birthday of Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother.
If Mr Fleeting is successful, he will be awarded funding to study acoustics alongside a celebrated master luthier in California.
He said: "If I win the award, I will be able to gain an even deeper understanding of the construction of the acoustic guitar, drawing upon traditional techniques, theories and expertise that are no longer available in the UK.
"I will be taking a selection of my hand-built guitars with me to London.
"When the trustees see the passion and craftsmanship that go into my instruments, I hope to convince them that my work is worthy of a scholarship. I just hope they don't ask me to sing."
Since opening Jim Fleeting Guitars in Ripon in 2006, he has created a reputation as the UK's most talented and innovative young guitar-maker.
Mr Fleeting trained at the Roberto-Venn Academy of Lutherie in Arizona before returning to England following a chance meeting with a North Yorkshire businessman in Los Angeles.
Based in the Ripon City Music store in Kirkgate, Mr Fleeting makes acoustic guitars, electric guitars and basses to order. Prices begin at 1,750, and the folk legend Gordon Giltrap is among his high-profile clients. Mr Fleeting also runs a stringed instrument repair service.
Since it formed, the trust has awarded study and training grants to 174 craftspeople around the UK, and previous scholarship winners have included silversmiths, potters and book conservators.
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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