Interview with Luthier Zach Lefebvre of TreeHouse Guitars
With a family steeped in both traditional music and violin making, Zach Lefebvre’s journey into guitar building was so natural, it almost sounds inevitable as he tells you about it!
The young Canadian builder's instruments are a perfect reflection of his unique life experiences. In addition to studying under the great Sergei de Jonge, Zach uses his aptitude for math and science to troubleshoot design problems, and draws on his years of experience performing in various acoustic settings to hone in on his ideal sound. Conscientious and ecologically minded in all his pursuits, he lives and works in his small self-designed, off-the-grid cabin in the woods, and chooses sustainable tonewoods and uses non-toxic finishes as much as possible. His aesthetic touches are refined and sleek, often with a signature pop of blue-green patinated copper. He never stops experimenting and loves the artistic freedom that comes with building on his own.
When asked about his family’s musical background, Zach said, “It was Celtic/Irish trad music, French-Canadian…a lot of toe-tapping. The fiddle is a huge part of my family—the guitar, not so much. I have triplet uncles who play violin and have won the Grand Master fiddle competition many times. I have another uncle who’s a world-renowned violin maker. But the violins have never been super interesting to me; they’re always kind of the same. Whereas with guitar making you can be a lot more creative.”
Photo by David Bean
Not only playing for dances and ceilis, his family band the O’Schraves also run a non-profit that hosts a yearly traditional music camp in St. Joseph Island, Ontario. For those who know how tightly knit the trad music scene is, it’s no surprise that Zach became acquainted with fellow Ontario musician and builder Grit Laskin, who pointed him in the direction of Sergei de Jonge and his intensive guitar making course. From there, Zach’s path was set, and after the first course he established his own shop and began making guitars for local musicians.
He never stopped playing music, though. In addition to his family band, he’s toured with singer-songwriter Lorissa Scriven as Wildwood Soul, and recorded and released a fabulous album (available on Spotify). When asked if his musical taste impacts his choices in guitar-making, he says:
"Definitely. I also love playing singer-songwriter style music, like Milk Carton Kids, Gillian Welch, and Gregory Alan Isakov. Actually, I love so many different kinds of music, but those ones especially. I definitely focus on dynamics a lot; I want a lot of headroom in my guitars. In my playing experience, when I play back-up for a traditional group or whatever, I don’t want the guitar to hold me back as far as dynamics go. If I really strum hard, I want it to deliver. At the same time, I really love the Somogyi sound, so I’m trying to get those two together, and that’s what I’m striving for. Dynamic range is huge for me. Power can be explained in a few different ways, but I like the notes to be thick and full, even when you’re playing them hard. If you really push a guitar and it can’t handle it, it can get kind of shrill and thin. But I want that full, punchy, punch-you-right-in-the-gut sound.”
After having had the chance to play eight of Zach’s guitars over the last year and a half, I can confidently say “mission accomplished”. It also confirms my perception that his new Ember guitars are the perfect complementary instrument in a sparse acoustic/roots music setting, á la Gillian Welch and David Rawlings. He loves them, too!
Photo by Zane Dumont
As befits someone who lives in the woods and off the grid, Zach was mindful about setting the right precedent for his tonewood choices. He says:
“I made the choice early on to not use Brazilian rosewood. There are so many woods that are around me that are great for guitars, so why not use them? The top is obviously way more important to the sound than the back and sides, and I haven’t yet built a guitar with one type of wood for the back and sides that I didn’t like.”
That just scratches the surface on our nearly hour-long chat!
Links
RedTree Collective (luthier-educational content and shop talk!)
Videography by Zane Dumont.
