About
Kevin Bradley is a luthier; a maker of stringed instruments. From his Canberra based workshop, he builds mandolins, Irish bouzoukis, octave mandolins, guitars, and square and round neck resophonic guitars.
As well as making instruments, Kevin is a musician who plays with a variety of bands on guitars, resophonic guitars and pedal steel. He also enjoys playing fiddle in sessions.
Kevin Bradley first learned the art and science of instrument making in the workshop of renowned luthier Gerard Gilet of Gilet Guitars. He began working with Gerard in 1980 and continued making in his workshop for a few years. While there, as well as learning the art of building and maintaining stringed instruments from a master, he participated in the development of specialised machinery and measurement devices for the refinement of musical instrument construction and design.
Kevin Bradley moved to Canberra in the mid-1980s and made instruments in his spare time while working at the National Library of Australia. Originally working with the sound and audio-visual collections, he finished up at the Library as Assistant Director General. He received the Public Service Medal in 2018 for outstanding public service through digital preservation of audio-visual heritage.
Since 2022 he been building instruments full time, initially in his workshop in the ANCA studios in Mitchell. He has recently built his own workshop in North Canberra where he continues to review and refine the acoustic performance of the instruments he makes.
“It’s important for an instrument to be beautiful, robust and well made,
but in the end, they are only as good as they sound.”
Kevin Bradley maintains a fascination with timbers of all sort, and continues to work with Gerard Gilet on a variety of projects.