Official Luthiers Forum!

The Ann Arbor gathering went off without a hitch yesterday and was VERY well attended. Although no one was able to get everyone together at one time for a head count we believe that we had approximately 45 attendees!

The gathering was held at the Ann Arbor Elks Lodge which was absolutely perfect for our needs and the weather cooperated as well.

First things first - before the many pictures that I will post.

Many thanks to the following individuals and organizations for their contributions to making this event very successful:

Ann Arbor Elks Lodge

David Collins for organizing the gathering and being one very cool guy! http://www.collinsluthiery.com/

Joe White - Sunset Finishing for donating a poly finishing job for the raffle

Zootman Bob and his son Bob for the generous donation of prizes: http://www.RCtonewoods.com

John Watkins for generous donation of prizes: http://www.cncguitarparts.com

Vince for donating a back and side set to the raffle

Jim Howell for helping to organize the event and donating a practice amp for the raffle

Mark Swanson for helping to organize the event and donating a pre-amp for the raffle

D'Addario for donating lots of give-aways for the attendees

Lance and Brock for donating OLF man purses and cups

And now to the pictures. Because of the 8 picture limitation per post this will take me a number of posts. Also would the other attendees that took pictures please post them in this thread?

Here we see most of the attendees with the Elks Lodge in the background.



Joe White playing a superb dread built by Mario.



Mario and JJ.



Uncle Bob and Peter J.



This is one of my favorite pictures - Uncle Bob and his son Bob of RC Tonewoods.



David Collins with one of Mario's guitars.



Bob Connor who attended the gathering coming from Australia! I was very fortunate to be able to spend some time with Bob the day before and he is truly one of the coolest guys that I have ever met. Bob also performed for us and his singing and playing talents are absolutely incredible!!!!



John Watkins also brought his killer fret boards and the nicest tuner buttons that I have ever seen and everything was available for sale.



More to follow:

Here is John Watkins.



Todd and Mickey.



Brad, Bob, and Mick.



Lance brought OLF Guitar Number 1.



David and Mark.



A beautiful set of Adi that was donated to the raffle by Uncle Bob.



And a killer set of Sassafras also donated by Uncle Bob.



Todd and John.

My new friends Vince and Gary.



Todd.



Andy and one of his Banduras. Andy is one of only a handful of folks on the planet who builds Banduras and he also treated us to an excellent performance later in the day.



Lance and one of his latest.



Paul and this killer electric that he created.



Part of the assembled crowd for David's presentation.



This is part of the charm of the Elks Lodge - remember these?

Bob Connor requesting that I fetch him another beer........



Mario.



Some porch picking.



Mario and Mark.



Brian Gallop.



Our event was being covered by national media......



Later in the day we all went into the "underground" and were treated to performances. Here is Mark Swanson.



Here is one of our hosts and John.

This will give you some idea of the charm of the Elks lodge.



My friend James (aka: Skin) WB. James treated us to a couple of tunes and let me tell you everyone was very moved by his incredible singing. Thanks James!!!!!



Andy and his Bandura. Andy is a superb player as well and the Bandura has a magical sound that was also a real treat to hear. Thank You Andy!



Here is David Collins presenting to the group.



And this is where my 2GB memory card was filled and all of the pictures, that are fit to post....... were taken.

Many thanks again to everyone who attended the event or made contributions to the event.

Wow ! It really looks like a great get-together up there in Ann Arbor. Thanks much
for posting all the great pics Hesh.

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Anderson Guitars
Clearwater,Fl. 33755

Hesh, great pictures thanks for posting them (finally...lol).

It looks like the weather was superb and the venue absolutely ideal for the gathering. Great to put more names to faces!!

Hesh - Thanks for the great pictures! It was good to finally meet you and the others from OLF. I do hope that we schedule more gatherings in the future. We have quite an amazing community. I am so amazed by the talent that resides in this group.

David , thank you for putting this event together!

Mike Franks
www.mjfranksguitar.com

Awesome! I wish I could have been there!

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I'd like to be able to prove, just for once, that money wouldn't make me happy...

Looks like I should have gotten back to the forum sooner so I would have known.
Geez, .... my wife & kids just went to Ann Arbor on Saturday to visit friends.
Next time ...

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Christopher C. Cordle
North Muskegon, MI

http://www.yardsaleunderwear.com
http://www.facebook.com/christopher.cordle

It really was a great time, and thanks for all the pictures Hesh. Only thing was that it was over before I knew it, and I felt like I got to really talk with less than half the folks there. I guess we'll have to have another - just let me know who's putting this one together (maybe set up in conjuction with the Kalamazoo Fretboard Festival this spring?).

I hope everyone had a good time managed to get home okay. I went to the grocery store after the meeting, and it took me about an hour and a half to drive 2 miles back home as the game was getting out. Dodging 100,000 drunks in SUV's and ugly little borgs stumbling through the street in blue and yellow shirts - I personally think we should get medals for taking them out, but I've been told I would probably get in trouble. Hopefully everyone here got out in time.

Anyway, it was fun (and I came out of it with some nice woods and a new fret press/caul set) - Thanks everyone. I'm looking forward to other meetings or lunches as they come up.

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Eschew obfuscation, espouse elucidation.

Tip o' the hat to all! It was a really cool day spent with some very talented people! I'll have some more pics to post a little later -- when my wife lets me use her computer!

A big thanks to David, Hesh and Mark -- and the Elks Club. Could not have asked for a finer venue and hosts!

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Jim Howell
Charlotte, NC

I could really use a porch like that, especially with all those guitars and players hanging about.

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Expectation is the source of all misery; comparison the thief of joy.
http://redrivercanoe.ca/

My homework s done and I can post now!

Part of the group on the porch:


Bryan Galloup's guitar:


The OSB guitar (made with Adi chips)


Joe with Todd's mando:


James singing:


Andy and his wonderful instrument:

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Jim Howell
Charlotte, NC

Some more:

Mark and Bob jamming:


Bob at the mike:


The rockin trio of Brad on bass, John Watkins on the tele and Mark with the guitar in black--
Check out Mark's tele, there's a five way switch on it for an incredible selection of tone.

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Jim Howell
Charlotte, NC

What a blast Hesh!! I had a great time and look forward to doing it again. My friend Gary who came down from the Detroit area is already complaining to me because I only have molds for a dread so far. He wants to build an OM after seeing Hesh's 'Black Beauty'.

David, you're presentation on set-up was excellent. Notice the laser beam eyes. I was concentrating. I enjoyed meeting all the folks with names that now have faces attached to them. Hesh, the only thing I wish I would have done is to have two sets of birsdeye with me so that our friend Bob Connor could have taken one of those sets back with him, and make his trip even more worthwhile. Maybe there is a way we can take care of that and get one to him? PM me.

For all of those involved, thanks for putting this together. Can't wait 'til the next.

Vince

What a good time! It was great meeting everyone.

Hesh and David, thanks a bunch for pulling this together. David, your talk on setup was really helpful!

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David White, Toronto

"All my favourite singers can't sing."

Looks like everyone had a good time. Wish I could have been there also.

Thanks for sharing!

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Reguards,

Ken H

Many thanks to David for organizing the day and handling the educational portion of the event. Your seminar was fantastic!

Thanks to Mark for organizing the open mic portion and for recruiting the wonderful talent amonst us.

Thanks to Hesh for being the social organizing the raffles and for welcoming everyone and his genuine hospitality. Thanks also for the great photos.

The party was fantastic and reminded me of the 2005 event at Zootman's cottage in Ft. Erie ...with double the attendance. Joe and I arrived early and left late which is a good sign for a party. We chatted like school girls on caffeine and sugar during the 3 hour drive home about all the great folks, guitars and music we experienced. Wait a minute...we each had a large coffee and donut during the ride!

Can't wait for the next meeting!

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JJ
Napa, CA
http://www.DonohueGuitars.com

Man, I had a great time and I knew that I would. I got to see old friends, and meet others in person for the first time! I have known Mario on the web for at least ten years, and we have developed a close friendship but it was great getting to shake his hand for the first time. Mike Franks was another guy I got to meet at last.....and all the others whose names escape me!
It is a rewarding thing for me to see the instruments that we made being played! I would encourage those of you who are "closet players" to come out of the woodwork and don't be so shy! The folks who played were great, but I know more of you are players, too. My thanks to those who played music for us.
And I thank David, Hesh, and anyone else who helped out! I hope we can do it again soon.

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Mark Swanson
Swanson Guitars
http://www.MarkSwansonMusic.com

Nice shots Heshie. It was great seeing everyone. David thanks for the terrific job organizing this get together. We did our part to help the Lodge. Spent a few hours with the boys downstairs at the drinking fountain after everyone was gone..

Hesh thanks so much for your hospitality my friend. Really enjoyed our dinner on Fri.

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Beautiful and unusual tone woods at a reasonable price.
http://www.rctonewoods.com/RCT_Store
The Zootman
1109 Military Rd.
Kenmore, NY 14217
(716) 874-1498

Man, looks fantastic!

Looks like a great time was had by all!

Sorry for me that I couldn't make it, it is my busy season setting up student violins and I just could not get away, even for the day.

I missed a good one.

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Ken

What a great time. I also finally met some people I've been talking to for close to 10 years, which was really great, and played some fantastic instruments. Thanks to David and Hesh for putting this together.

I also can't say enough about the graciousness of our hosts and the regulars at the Elks Lodge. Great bunch of guys all around. Here's Bob Connor, Bob C., and Bob Jr. with some of our new friends a little later in the evening. Yes, everyone is behind the bar as Dave (the tall guy and bartender) had been introducing us to a delicacy that he referred to as "black drinks".

Sorry about the photo quality, it's from my phone.

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John Watkins
CNC Guitar Parts

Looks like a good time was had by all.

I really need to get out of the office more. Man.