By Dongyun Kwon
A Healesville-based musician is looking forward to performing at The Basin Music Festival with his new guitar.
Robbie Greig won a songwriting contest held by The Basin Music Festival last year.
As a prize, he received a customised guitar made by renowned The Basin-based luthier Sachar Amos, who has contributed his talents to the music festival over the years.
The custom-made process took 11 months, and Greig recently received his prize, which he described as a “fine, beautiful instrument.”
“(Amos) asked me what kind of guitar I’d like, and he made it according to his specifications. He told me what woods there were and what sorts of styles there were,” he said.
“I chose to have a classical guitar with a pickup inside so that I can plug in it. He didn’t use any factory-built moulds, templates or anything. He did it all from scratch.
“I’ve visited his studio a number of times during that 11 months, and I’ve seen it in different stages of development, which has been really educational.”
He was stoked when he won the songwriting contest with his ballad song The Moon In The Man (For JR) written upon the death of his friend.
“It’s a fairly mellow song, given the theme. It’s about him as a songwriter and a musician,” Greig said.
“He expressed his feelings, and a lot of them were the beauty of the world and love, so I kind of think he was influenced by the moon.”
The musician and his guitar are now taking time to get to know each other more.
The Basin Music Festival marks its 20th anniversary held between 21 and 23 March.
Greig’s gig will start at 11am on Sunday 23 March at the Acorn Bar on 375 Forest Road, The Basin.
