About the Author

Barrows Riverwood is a lifetime woodworker with years of experience in cabinetry, lutherie, and home remodeling. In recent years, Riverwood’s interests have centered on the intersection of lutherie, statistical analysis, machine learning, AI, and automation—and how those worlds can blend in a way that emphasizes quality while keeping the woodworker at the heart of the process. The art of guitar building remains the focus, and this has been the driving motivation behind their recent work.

Riverwood’s journey into lutherie began with the ukulele. They built their first StewMac Tenor Uke kit in 2019, sparking a deep fascination for instrument building. After completing a few more kits and constructing their first soprano ukulele entirely from scratch, they set out to pursue a career in the craft, which eventually led them to work for Ampliùs Guitars.

At Ampliùs, they honed skills in the neck department—a dream job for any woodworker—and took responsibility for making braces, which ignited an interest in soundboard construction and behavior. This years-long obsession fueled extensive research, experimentation, and conceptual development, ultimately culminating in their technical novel, Soundboard Analysis: Variables for Automation in Lutherie.