Alan’s guitar journey began in 1961 when a young Alan, from the confines of his public school dormitory in Ruabon, North Wales, tuned in to Radio Luxembourg only to be greeted by the captivating sound of, ‘Apache’, by the Shadows. It was at that defining moment, where Alan’s love for the electric guitar was born.
From this humble beginning Alan set to work trying to understand the design process and inner workings of the electric guitar. In the summer of 62’, from the garage of his parent’s home in Clevelys, Blackpool, he began his first attempt to build his own electric guitar. With a few basic tools, a few pieces of roughly cut beech and mahogany and some basic fret wire, Alan began hammering together his first raw attempt.
When considering the exceptional ATN-5 circuitry that is fitted to today’s Revelation RJT-60’s and the wonderful Alan Entwistle pickups that are prominent throughout the Revelation range, it’s hard to envisualize that Alan’s first ever guitar pickup was made from a cannibalized earpiece that Alan, ‘borrowed’ (in the loosest possible sense of the word), from the public telephone box across the road from his home.
This journey which has now stemmed 5 decades has seen Alan’s profile rise and rise. From working for Burns Guitars in the UK to Jansen Guitars in New Zealand, from Tanglewood Guitars in Asia to Hohner in Germany (including many years spent living and working in the guitar industry in India and Australia), as well as his own project Alden Guitars, Alan has gained an almost worldwide encyclopaedic knowledge of the electric guitar and its components, along with a cultural knowledge of the electric guitar’s use in musical genres across the world. This is why we lovingly gave him the nickname, ‘The Guitar Guru’.
Here at Revelation Guitars we are delighted to have Alan on board and truly appreciate his experience, his innovation and commitment.
To read about Alan’s detailed career as a guitar designer in his own words go to Alan Entwistle In His Own Words
