Todd Hallawell is a classically trained guitarist who, for many years, has produced and engineered music for the Soundset Recordings label where he is co-owner. He has recorded and produced internationally known solo artists, as well as full orchestras. Encouraged by his clients, wife, and friends to return to performing, Todd began entering competitions. In 1997, he won several in a row, most notably the Southwest Regional Fingerstyle Championship in Tucson, Arizona, and the prestigious National Fingerpicking Championship at Winfield, Kansas. In addition to having been a clinician for Lowden Guitars, he has become a regular performer at the Chet Atkins Appreciation Society (CAAS) in Nashville, as well as other music festivals in the U.S. and abroad.

Todd’s exceptional musical range has become well known throughout the music world and his compositions have been selected for both film and theatrical presentations. His CDs “Before My Time” and "From Nashville & Back" have won critical acclaim. Todd holds a Bachelor of Music degree in performance from Sacramento State University and has continued his education with graduate studies at Arizona State University. In 1992 he was awarded a full one-year vocational scholarship from Rotary International serving as a "Good Will Ambassador" to Great Britain. There, he studied guitar with Gordon Crosskey (Royal Northern College of Music), composition with John Duarte in London, and recording engineering with Keith Andrews of Amazon Recording Studios (now Parr Street Studios) in Liverpool. On his return, he founded Soundset Recordings with Frank Koonce, (Guitar Professor at ASU) and has subsequently produced more than 50 recording projects.

“Here is a guy who manages to combine the best of several of my favorite players into a style all his own. And what tone! Todd’s unerring musical sense keeps your interest because his playing is above all – musical. His crisp attack and solid rhythmic groove are always there … the arrangements joyful and conversational. It’s no wonder Todd is held in such high regard by the world’s top acoustic guitar soloists. - Mark Casstevens

"Todd Hallawell is one of the finest guitarists I've heard in years.  His classically trained approach to the guitar, coupled with his own flawless techniques and arrangements make listening a pleasurable experience."  -  Doyle Dykes

"I love Todd's playing.  He gets a great sound out of the guitar and has a real drive in his performance."  -  John Knowles

“…an amazing guitarist” - Mason Williams

"...Todd Hallawell is ebullient, full of enthusiasm and creative ideas.  To hear him play is a joyous experience.  He swings!  Todd always has something worth while to say ad he has the chops he needs to say it..." - John Duarte

Quotes from Magazines:

"Hallawell attacks his steel-strings with the precision of John Williams and punch of Jerry Reed...an extraordinary fingerpicker"  -  Andy Ellis / Guitar Player Magazine

"What tone ... what sound ... what touch." - Jon Chappell / Frets Magazine

    Instruments used on stage:  McCollum Grand Auditorium, McCollum Baritone, Lowden F 32c, Chris Jenkins Saddle Pal

A few personal notes on endorsements: 
Like many acoustic guitarists, I have spent a lifetime trying to get my sound just right. The only real way to determine if a product is good is to live with it for a while and compare it to similar products.  Through this process, many thousands of dollars have been spent on gear that I will never use.  I'm extremely picky about the sound of my guitars. In fact, Tommy Emmanuel has called me "Mr. Tone" (among other things).  Ok, I can live with that.  It just shows that my efforts have not been in vain.

These are the products I believe to be the best in the world.  Does this mean that I've stopped looking?  No, that'll never happen.  But for years now, these products have exceeded my needs, so I doubt that I will be giving up on any of them soon! 

Officially, I'm an endorser of the following products:
(Please click on any of the logos for more information.)

  Lance McCollum is a wonderful builder of guitars!

I met Lance in June, 1997, when he brought a few of his guitars to the Father's Day Bluegrass Festival in Grass Valley, California.  One of them was the Baritone guitar that I would be taking home with me when I left.  My wife, Kay, was the first to see and hear the Baritone.  And like all wives of guitar players, she knew instinctively that she was in trouble and pleaded with Lance "please don't let my husband see this!"  Which, of course, was all the information Lance needed to start seeking me out!  When I finally sat down with the baritone, I played it for hours, trying out every piece I knew.  I was fascinated with the low sound and amazed by how differently it made me think when I played it.  Looking back, we are both glad that Lance was persistent, because that guitar (affectionately called "the scary bari") has been the inspiration behind many of my musical ideas over the years.

A few weeks before competing in the National Fingerpicking Championship at Winfield, I received a call from Lance.  He said "I'm sending you another guitar to try out.  If you like it, play it at Winfield."  The next day, the most beautiful guitar I'd ever seen showed up at my house.  Lance told me it was his personal guitar, which was evident by the word "Mine" inlayed into the fingerboard at the 12th fret.  As it turned out, I DID like the guitar and played it at Winfield...and won!  I called him on the phone and said "guess what?, I made the finals!...then I won it!"  ---DEAD SILENCE---  I then asked him how much he wanted for the guitar because unfortunately he would not be getting it back. 

Both Kay and I continue to admire Lance's work and have a third guitar on order.  One can never have too many guitars!  Through the years, Lance and his wife Dawn have become good friends of ours and have been a seemingly endless source of information and encouragement.  

If you haven't already, you need to spend some time playing Lance's instruments.  It will elevate your perception of what a good guitar can be!

I first met George Lowden while attending the NAMM show in Los Angeles.  Pat Kirtley introduced me to the Lowden crew, and after playing some very impressive guitars we started talking about possibilities.  After a while, they reached into a cabinet and pulled out a bottle of Irish whiskey.  I instantly became optimistic about working with them.  It wasn't long before they presented me with the rosewood/spruce F-32c that I still play today.  Later, I bought some gorgeous Brazilian Rosewood in Phoenix and shipped it to Ireland to be made into a cedar topped 0-35c.  George took a personal interest in this guitar and presented it to me at his home where we were house guests.  He strung it up for the first time and handed it to me.  I knew right away it was a good instrument, but within a couple of months, I knew it was going to be special one.

For five years I have promoted Lowden Guitars through mini-concerts and guitar clinics at music shops around the States.  Recently there has been an organizational change at Lowden.  The factory in Ireland that had been making guitars under the name of Lowden is now making Avalon Guitars.  Avalon has a premier line called the Legacy Series, which resembles the Lowdens in design and price.  But, they also have a less expensive line with a different design.  George Lowden is still making hand-made guitars under his own name and continues to design new ones.

The two Lowdens that I play have been some of the most road-worthy guitars I've ever owned.  Swings in humidity and temperature seem to have very little effect on them.  The sound remains consistent and dependable.  There really is a distinctive tone to these guitars you will find nowhere else!

    I have used Elixir Strings exclusively since they were new on the market. I have recorded two CDs with them and continue to be impressed.  Who would have thought that a huge corporation like WL Gore and Associates would care enough about guitar music to apply their enormous resources to make a better string?  Fantastic! 

I come from a classical guitar background and appreciate the tone I get when using these strings, especially the NanoWebs.  When steel strings are played aggressively, you sometimes end up with rattles, or a tone that's brittle or flat sounding.  Enter the scientists at Gore.  I have found the thin coating on the strings creates a buffer against these problems and allows me to play as dynamically as I like.  The coating also lessens the mechanical squeaks and chirps and allows your fingers to slide easily.  Making music with these strings is truly a synergy of art and science.

    When we moved to Virginia in 2002, we bought a place that just happened to be down the street from the Cedar Creek Custom Case Shoppe.  I found out about Cedar Creek when I still lived in Scottsdale.   A new friend of ours, Ron Spillers, used a custom Cedar Creek Case to ship the harp guitar he built for me.  The design of it looked familiar.  I looked at some of my other guitar cases and found out that I already owned two others.  So, being the shy, reserved person I am, I waltzed into their facility one day and introduced myself.   After looking at their product line, I asked them if they could modify a case for me.  They said yes.  And on short notice, they redesigned and returned my case.  After that, I brought in every instrument that didn't have a case or needed a better one.  They do a splendid job and will make a custom case for anything you own.  After seeing their custom work, Terry suggested that he work with me as an endorsed artist.  I agreed, of course.  A nice benefit of endorsing Cedar Creek is that their parent company is TKL, so I'll never have to go far to get a case for ANY of my gear!

    I visited Highlander for the first time when one of my pick-ups failed while I was in California.  They gave me a tour of their building while they installed an IP-2 pick-up in my guitar.  We then compared the pick-ups I was using side-by-side with the Highlander.  No comparison.  The sound of my guitar with the Highlander was even and clear.  But, I was most impressed by the fact that you couldn't hear the electronics of the pick-up itself.  I had thought the pick-up I was using was quiet.  When compared side by side, at the same volume, it became crystal clear which design was better.  Needless to say, I bought IP-2s for every instrument I was using for stage at the time. 

The very first thing I do when I buy a new instrument is install a Highlander.

  I met Chris at the Healdsburg Guitar Festival in 2001. Doug Smith and I were outside jamming with these two little guitars we'd never seen the likes of before. Those guitars had a huge sound with a rich character that defied their size. We played them for about an hour. Later, Doug demonstrated them on stage for Chris.  It would have been enough that the guitars sounded good. But each guitar Chris makes is a wooden sculpture. Very artistic, very elegant, and very playable. The attention to detail is astonishing. Even the inside of the guitar is carefully polished and inlayed with abalone. (You can't see most of this unless you take off the back panel or drop a mirror into one of the soundholes) Check out Chris's site. You'll enjoy it.