A PENRITH-based guitar maker has released a charity CD featuring artists who play his instruments.

Strings That Nimble Leap is the brainchild of Roger Bucknall, proprietor of Fylde Guitars on Gilwilly Industrial Estate, and his wife Moira.

Profits will be split between Mind, Help Musicians UK and The Woodland Trust.

Roger is one of the most experienced and respected guitar-makers in the world.

He made his first guitar aged nine, founded Fylde Guitars in 1973, and in 2016 was made an MBE for services to guitar making, music and heritage crafts.

Strings That Nimble Leap is a double CD featuring 52 artists and 43 tracks.

Twenty of these were specially recorded, and 16 specially written.

The artists include Graham Coxon of Blur, Chris Difford of Squeeze, and singer Barbara Dickson.

The music is diverse and multifaceted.

It includes traditional folk, modern acoustic and jazz, played on a range of Fylde’s acoustic instruments.

As well as guitars, there are mandolins, bouzoukis and a ukulele.

“The idea for this project has been bubbling away for many years,” said Roger.

“The original Fylde Acoustic Album was made in 1977. That was done as a promotional thing. This one is different. The intention this time is to raise money for charities.

“Like the first album, it includes some of the best and most successful acoustic players around.

“I have mentioned the possibility of an update many times. When musician Chrys Titshall raised it with me last year, I realised what a great opportunity we had, with such a long list of artists and friends who might be willing to help.”

Explaining how he chose the three charities, Roger says: “We all know people who need help. Musicians often work by themselves and sometimes have less of the support that others have.

“This was a moment of clarity for us which made sense of the whole idea. It didn’t need to be simply a marketing opportunity or a vanity project. We could raise money for charities that support musicians.

“Trees are obviously very important to me, to guitar making and to music. The idea of helping to plant trees through The Woodland Trust was the final piece of the jigsaw. The whole project seemed complete, at least in principle.”

In practice, it took nine months to pull together.

“I didn’t imagine it would take that long. The basics were easy. I just asked the people I knew and they all said yes, except for a couple of really big names that were too busy.

“Most of the artists just needed a bit of a push to get them in the studio. My emails and phone calls got more frequent and persuasive as time went on. They are all so busy.

“Clive Carroll recorded his track in a one-day gap between foreign tours. Barbara Dickson fitted the recording in between tours as well.

“Because they were all so busy, some of the promises didn’t work out. But in those cases they gave me previously recorded tracks which haven’t yet been released, which is wonderful. Lisa Hannigan was busy having a baby, so she gave me a track previously recorded.”

One that got away was acclaimed singer-songwriter Richard Hawley.

“He was keen to help and I really wanted him there, but he was buried in work and I didn’t like to push too hard and we missed the deadline. We are both gutted about that - my fault.

“It was lovely to get so much support. As time went on, I discovered that these charities had helped a lot of the artists, which helps to explain the trouble that everyone took, and also made me feel a bit humble - not my usual state.

“They all paid their own costs and gave me the recordings free of charge. I didn’t ask, it just happened that way.

“There are some tracks that make me cry. Some of the artists aren’t alive now, and one or two don’t play any more. They are, or were, all very close friends.”

The album was mastered by Paul Adams from Workington-based Fellside Records.

It includes 128 pages of sleeve notes with information about the musicians, illustrated with 53 images.

The package was put together by Mike English.

n Strings That Nimble Leap costs £22 in the UK, including postage and packing.

It is available only from the Fylde Guitars website: www.fyldeguitars.com/cd.html