Over the years I have made instruments for dozens of people. Here's what a few of them have said. Due to privacy issues I have not included their full names, but where possible, I can put you in touch with owners of Burgin instruments if you want more details.

 

That has got to be the best looking bouzouki I have ever seen!!!!!!!, absolutely fantastic!! I love those long points on the body, the long elegant head and best still is that gorgeous long straight neck. I am going to really enjoy that fret board, and I really like the fret board extension too, really wonderful. You have done a lovely job on the rosette too, very tastefully done. I am stunned, it is incredible looking.
Soundwise, she has had a fair workout and sounds fantastic. A crisp and clean tone, very easy to play and the intonation is spot on .It has real sparkle when playing fast jigs and reels and produces as powerful and very crisp tone on the Balkan numbers.

Shanghai bouzouki owner Kieron from China.

 

Got the guitar today and it's as great as the first one. It sounds fantastic and I think it likes it in California. The humidity is about 50/50 so it likes it and is getting louder with more depth to each string each time I play it. Yours seem to take hard playing well. It sounds bigger and better in just about every way and it's better to sound good and huge than pretty good. That's why I ordered this guitar, because they sound better than anything I've ever played and it's time to get bigger and better. Cool runnings and thanks for the guitar.

Weissenborn player David from Los Angeles.

 

It is without doubt the single most elegant, mellifluous instrument I have ever heard or seen. It is gorgeous! I have never seen a thing like it. You are quite a guitar maker and I can see why you'd be very pleased with it.

Weissenborn owner Gregory from New South Wales, Australia.

I'm absolutely in love with this instrument! I'd forgotten so much
since the guitar show last summer, it looked way better than I was
picturing it in my mind. First, the design and level of craftsmanship
are so beautiful-the Blackwood is just stunning, the way light plays
off it. I really love the huge sound, thanks in part, I guess, to the
large body. The low D is awesome. I can go on about
the beauty and playability (like butter!), but mainly wanted to let you
know that I'm thrilled to have one of your works of art.

Cittern owner Denis from Northern California.

 

Thank you so much…The guitar is beautiful. You are great at what you do. I love it. It feels amazing. I am a bit blown away though its like I have picked up a guitar for the first time….Thanks again Paddy. I will definitely keep in touch, it's been a pleasure doing business with you. You have been a great help. Everybody that has seen it loves IT!

Weissenborn owner Afshin from Tasmania.

 

It is wondrous Paddy, a beautiful piece of work. Every bit as spectacular as I expected. The wood is more rich in color than I remembered - in short, yours truly is ecstatic to own such an instrument.
Thanks again for such a great instrument - you do brilliant work and I am well pleased.

Blackwood cittern owner Johnny from Texas.

 

I've been meaning to tell you how well it's "played in ", and of the interest the instrument has created. Also it's my own individual instrument, thanks to you….I don't believe I would have got a better instrument anywhere in the world at that price.

Carved Maccaferri style mandolin player Alan from Golden Bay, New Zealand.

 

Paddy thank you, I am overwhelmed with the guitar. It is just too beautiful to describe. So subdued yet spectacular in its craftsmanship. Every piece of wood and paua is gorgeous…And the sound is more than I could have hoped for…I love the deep and mellow tone. I always aim for cello in my instruments and yours is no exception. It is a guitar that I will always treasure, the more so since I now know the luthier who made it. Gracias, muchos gracias. I hope one day our paths will cross.

Weissenborn owner Peter from Los Angeles.

 

The Shanghai arrived safe and sound … and what a sound she has!

Suffice it to say it's the most beautiful stringed instrument of the
half dozen or so I own (though quite a long way from the most
expensive).

Shanghai bouzouki owner Rodger from the USA.

 

My friend and guitar maker John said "What we have here is a terrific, great big, very loud guitar," and he's right. The tone is unique, and I love it - it's at once aggressive and diffused, and the Ruck sound ports in the side add to the diffusion. I play this guitar strictly with metal fingers picks and plastic thumb pick, mostly in other tunings, and it's just perfect for the job. The high arching really adds a clarity that I wouldn't expect from jumbo-style shape. I can't tell you how much I love the sound, and so has every player whose listened to it and played it…. It's a beautiful instrument, body style looks terrific and it feels great in the lap.

The guitar continues to open up. It sounds terrific, with huge tone, its very own unique voice, and resonance and projection. Even more than its power, I've come to enjoy the subtlety of playing it quietly, when it's undertones, harmonics and incredible sustain really step forward. I don't what you did but the guitar supports dropped tunings nicely…and it manages to sound robust and full.

Steel string guitar owner Al from Austin, Texas.

 

Your Shanghai has been getting rave reviews from those who've seen and heard it….The sound doesn't seem to suffer from the short scale. It was nice and loud right out of the case…and has made some stretches much more easily done. Thank you for sending me such a beautiful instrument to live with me…I'm immensely pleased with the results and will continue to tell anyone who will listen who made it.

Shanghai bouzouki owner, Steve, from Illinois.

 

Dude,
She arrived this morning. Magic, brother.

All around a great success. The tone is sweet and warm -soft when
gently plucked bossa-nova style, loud and snappy when
nail-picked/strummed. I love the ringing twangy high tones layered over
the amount of round bass the body generates -a great balance. While you've made a nice medium-sized guitar for my size, to me it sounds big. This is what I had hoped for -something I can take into bossa-nova and flamenco educations, and will handle both beautifully.
And holy guacamole is she lovely. I have a feeling that as the spruce darkens,
the paua and rewa-rewa will harmonize visually with the top even more.
I think it also works with the groovy curved fretboard and the cutaway. It all combines to make a sweet, contemporary crossover-guitar look, with classical proportions and
materials. I wish I could enjoy the incredible perfling, the bridge
inlay and layered headstock, but all I can imagine is you stressing out
with a router doing 30000 revs per minute. Seriously, I am knocked over
by this piece of work.

Cutaway classical guitar owner Adam from San Fransisco.

 

Yup, the weissenbourn sounds awesome. Really warm, all round sound. Definitely a ripper.
Bevan from New Zealand.

The guitar arrived…I am delighted. The first thing I noticed that compared to resonators that I have favoured…the Weissenborn is more responsive and has greater tonal expression. Visually the guitar is stunning. The half herringbone binding looks even better than I expected. Love the matte finish on the mahogany….Thanks Paddy. This is one delicious slide machine.

Weissenborn owner Max from Maine.

 

The instrument is truly beautiful! It's beautifully made - I'm in such awe of such craftsmanship. It's as good, probably better than I dared hope for. Thank you Paddy, and thanks for your help with the whole process. I will not hesitate to recommend your work for others. It must be tremendously satisfying to create something like that, it's a work of art and I will treasure it, and hopefully play some beautiful music on it.

Cittern owner John from New South Wales, Australia.