Tony Armstrong makes the Celtic connection in the Highlands where the sweet sound of success proves to be hand-made

A man who can't play a note of music may not seem the ideal candidate to produce innovative musical instruments which are earning the respect of professional musicians the world over.

But Mike Anderson, former St Andrews medical student, former Moray Sea School Outward Bound instructor and former self-employed woodworker, has proved that it doesn't matter.

On Wednesday an instrument from his North Ballachulish workshops, overlooking the waters of Loch Leven, is the star of Mick Wilson's specially composed concerto for

six-string electric violin and brass band being premiered at Salford University.

And last week another fan, Tony Hinnigan, who plays an Anderson electric cello with the Michael Nyman Band, demonstrated his instrument in a series of high-quality London instrument shops.

Glasgow-born Hinnigan, who also played the haunting flute music on the soundtrack of the film Titanic, did it just for fun, a measure of his loyalty to the product and his liking for Anderson.

In 11 years Anderson and his wife Gay have expanded their Starfish operation from a single experimental

celtic harp (clarsach) to a total output of more than

500 harps and 150 electric bowed instruments. What made Anderson, with no musical background,

think he could produce that first harp?

''Stupidity,'' he says. ''We had no idea at the time how complex it was going to be. It was a reckless thing to do but by working hard we cracked it.'' That statement glosses over the countless hours spent on painstaking design and development with the help of a computer.

''A friend of ours still owns the first one we made and is very happy with it. It was successful enough to spur us on to do better,'' says Anderson.

It also spurred Gay to learn the instrument herself and from a haphazard start with six harps sold in the first year, Starfish has evolved into a business with an international reputation and a product range priced from #1000 to nearly #3400.

Anderson says: ''We probably produce the widest range of celtic harps and electric bowed instruments in the world and have a significant position in a pretty specialist market place.

''We have a workforce of four and are concentrating now not so much on major expansion as getting our instruments into the right hands. Like most other businesses our exports are being significantly affected by the strength of the pound.

How did the Andersons spread the word when they started out in 1987? Gay says: ''We went to festivals and workshops and hoped that the instruments would be well received. It is a fairly

close-knit community and word of mouth is very effective. But we also set up the first harp website on

the internet.''

Anderson says: ''We now sell harps to all the western European countries, the US, New Zealand, Australia. It's not just countries with a celtic background. People often seem to pick up on celtic music because their own is fairly boring.''

That principle applies less readily to the bowed instruments, which is why Anderson was in London last week touring selected high quality specialist shops with Hinnigan alongside.

Anderson says: ''The client range is much more disparate and a lot of the professionals operate in the London area. Being in the Highlands may be fine for selling celtic harps but it definitely is not the best place from which to sell bowed instruments.

''The most frequent call we get from people is: 'where can I get my hands on one of your instruments?' They want to go just up the road, not to Fort William. That is why we have been targeting the high quality acoustic violin, cello and bass shops in London.

''The response has been very good. Having the cellist in the Michael Nyman Band demonstrating for you because he likes your instrument gives you serious street cred.''

The expansion from clarsachs to bowed instruments came when the Andersons, who were already doing some fiddle repairs, were talking to Mod gold medallist and former Wolfstone celtic rock band leader Duncan Chisholm.

He lamented the inadequacy of electric pick-ups on acoustic fiddles and said he wished someone could make him a purpose-built non-acoustic instrument.

Anderson again plunged in at the deep end. ''I did a lot of learning very quickly. I made a lot of mistakes and visited players and got feedback from them. From that we developed the skeletal Stingray, made from mahogany.

''Duncan helped us enormously in perfecting the fiddle's performance and owns the first Stingray which toured all over with Wolfstone.

''After that came the Dolphin electric cello and latterly the Orca bass, the most expensive Starfish instrument at #3380.

They may have a sci-fi look but conventional musicians as well as their experimental brethren are enthusiastic. Robert McFall of the

Scottish Chamber Orchestra led an all-Starfish electric string quartet at the Edinburgh Festival.

Cellist Wendy Weatherby, reviewing the Dolphin cello in Musician magazine, wrote: ''It looks like a hybrid wine rack due to the circles cut into the spine - ideal for those after-show parties.'' But of the quality she said: ''Think of the very best acoustic instrument you've ever played, then amplify it.''