Modern Guitars Magazine is an online publication dedicated to, you guessed it, guitars. They published a story on Monday about luthier/inlay artist Grit Laskin.

Laskin is located in Toronto, Canada. His signature style is elaborate inlays in both headstock and fingerboard. These inlays are more than a simple design, these are art. His website contains a large gallery of photos showing off Laskin’s work. The two photos included in the post are the ones that caught my eye.

In addition to the inlay art, Laskin has designed a couple of innovative structural modifications to the standard guitar shape. His designs could be described as ergonomic. They are not major changes, just subtle modifications designed to make playing the guitar a more comfortable experience.

Laskin’s most notable contributions to the evolution of acoustic guitars are his body beveling techniques, which help reduce players’ stress and soreness. The idea for the Armrest¬© came from a classical player who asked Laskin to round off the purfling where his right arm rested against the guitar because he found the sharp edge uncomfortable. Laskin later developed the Ribrest¬©, a bevel on the upper back edge of the guitar, which makes it feel more comfortable against the player’s body.

Modern Guitars Magazine’s story starts with some background biographical info about Laskin and then continues with a 2 page interview. For those interested in fine guitars, this story should be of great interest.

Also, Laskin is billed as a multi-instrumentalist himself, playing guitar, mandolin, banjo, and several other instruments.