Jim Redgate made his first guitar in the early 1980s while studying classical guitar. After graduating from a music performance degree, he decided to pursue guitar making as a career and became a full time luthier in 1992. By 2007 he had made over 255 instruments and his instruments were widely used by professional guitarists. By 2012, he had settled on making four models, the lattice-braced, the double-top, and the new wave double-top and traditional fan braced.  Redgate makes his lattice-braced guitars with an arched back to improve their volume and projection (like Greg Smallman) and he uses lightweight carbon fibre reinforcements under the soundboard. Redgate’s soundboards are much lighter than traditionally braced examples, and his guitars are therefore more responsive, energy efficient, and louder than traditional classical instruments.

Source: Redgate Guitars website (4 June 2019)