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Just got back from the end of the first day (it's close enough for me to drive there and back home again). It's a great show and I'm really enjoying it. I finally met up with Sam Price - lovely lady. Sam - we were so busy talking guitars I forgot to give you the Nic Jones tab I had there for you. I'll copy it and post it off to you next week - promise.

I just wanted to post a few pics (more will follow next week and I need to take lots more pics tomorrow. Here's the De Faoite stand (split into two tables) Table 1:



Table 2:



Opposite me is Andy Manson - a legend in British guitar making and guess what I got to play :

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Dave White
De Faoite Stringed Instruments
". . . the one thing a machine just can't do is give you character and personalities and sometimes that comes with flaws, but it always comes with humanity" Monty Don talking about hand weaving, "Mastercrafts", Weaving, BBC March 2010

Wow, folks from the UK are just strange.    Looks like great fun, Dave, keep 'em coming.

Ron

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OLD MAN formerly (and formally) known as:

Ron Wisdom

Somewhere in the middle of Arkansas......

Cool stuff Dave. How did that mermaid sound? Got any more pics? Love to see them.

John

Thanks, Dave...good looking guitars on that table!

I love the mermaid guitar...nice looking volume and tone controls!

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

Dave...it was GREAT meeting you too- top bloke!!!

I really enjoyed talking about guitars, life, the universe and everything and your daughters are simply lovely!

What I was stunned by is the versatility of the ladder braced 12th fretter..standard tuning, a vintage instrument with that characteristic sound, then when tuned to DADGAD, suddenly turning into a folk instrument with lingering sweet sustain.

Dave's guitars sounded lively, full and organic- a real and unique competitor in the world of quality custom builts-thank goodness that he was in the quieter room!!! I had a play on the harp guitar- forgetting I was a left hander- the sound port and harp strings were pointing down!!!

I'll start a thread of my own, but I would like to submit a few pics of Dave's table..

The Weissenborn...



A potential customer showing off his chops..



Harp guitar..



Dave demonstrating how it's played (he's re-tuning after I'd faffed about with it..sorry Dave )



This is the black limba cutaway he's recently made...are you ready for this?????









This guitar works in LOTS of ways- being visually stunning with that GOREGEOUS wood, and the tone is sumptuous with rich, sweet trebles and character in the basses.

Right then, I'll start uploading the rest of the pics...

[QUOTE=Dave White] Sam - we were so busy talking guitars I forgot to give you the Nic Jones tab I had there for you. I'll copy it and post it off to you next week - promise.

[/QUOTE]

That would be great, thanks!

Looks like a great show to me.  Dave, you had a couple of tables of spectacular instruments to show.  What variety.  All beautiful.  Great pictures too.  Thanks to you and Sam for sharing with us so quickly.     

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Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

Wow Dave! Fantastic show there. I really like them all
but especially the limba cutaway-Very Cool guitar!

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Anderson Guitars
Clearwater,Fl. 33755

Thanks for the pictures. Dave, I really like the shape of the headstock on the black limba.   

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Don Atwood
Arlington, VA

Dave, great shots, thanks, and congrats on a good display table.
Was this a "selling" event? I.e., did you sell anything, or pick up some orders? (I hope so!)

Looks like it was fun!

Steve

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From Nacogdoches...the oldest town in Texas.

http://www.stephenkinnaird.com

Dave well done! You showed well!

Is this an annual event? Is it open to any luthier? Please relate some details
about the show.

Thanks,
Chris

Great pics Dave, I hope you get some orders out of it.... chances are you could be getting calls in six months or a year from people who recognise the name because thay saw you at the show......

loved the pic of you reaching round Sam to show her how to play Dm right handed..........



and the harp is TINY!!!

I always thought those things were HUGE!!

whats the scale length there?

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My soundclick xx luthier blog xx luthier soundclick

Well done Dave, looks like a very stylish line up, I really like the limba cutaway as well. I just have to ask, how heavy is that mermaid guitar???

Oh, and thanks again for the great images Sam, thanks to you this has been a great show for us all.

Cheers

Kim

Dave, how did the show go, overall? I'm sure the weekend flew by!!

What were your thoughts on the exhibitors there?

Do you know if the organisers thought it was a success?

And Martin Edwards, you are a certified nut case!!!! Get yerself out here next year if the show will run again!

Sam!!! Thanks so much for the great report and photos. So many of us had to miss Heldsburg, and now, (almost) everyone missed Cheltenham. It's a kind thing you do for the land-locked and travel-challenged of us.

It's great to Dave in the place he's probably most happy.   (Surrounded by Guitars, Nice People and Mermaids!)

long

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"No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it's not the same river and he's not the same man.” -Heraclitus of Ephesus

Congrats Dave!! I hope that you get REAL busy out all of this. My attendance at GAL was a real kicker for my business as I am sure this will be for you.

Thanks to you and Sam for "bringing us there!"

Shane

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Canada

Beautiful line-up of guitars, Dave! It's nice to get a bunch of instruments you've made all together and displayed like that. Sort of a Guitar Family reunion!! And you've got one fine lookin' family!!

long

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"No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it's not the same river and he's not the same man.” -Heraclitus of Ephesus

Well I'm back from the show very tired but on a real high as it was such a lovely atmosphere and I got to meet British guitar making legends as well as very interested players.

Chris - you asked for some details about the show and you can find the overall view here.

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Dave White
De Faoite Stringed Instruments
". . . the one thing a machine just can't do is give you character and personalities and sometimes that comes with flaws, but it always comes with humanity" Monty Don talking about hand weaving, "Mastercrafts", Weaving, BBC March 2010

Sorry I meant to hit the preview not the post button ...

As I was saying. It was conceived and set up by three individuals with a passion for handmade guitars and who work with wood (one is a chairmaker and the other two work at Westonbirt Arboretum) who were frustrated at not being able to see British handmade guitars - there are no Healdsburg type events here at present. They formed their own limited company for the event and just went at it. They rang around all the British/Irish builders they could think of and find inviting them to attend and set stall prices very low. As this only got off the ground as an idea a few months (about two!!) before the show they did amazingly well with the builders they got - Gerge Lowden and Dermot McIlroy would have come but had prior engagements but may well be there next year. Their aim was not to lose two much in the first year and use it as the springboard to build from there nextyear. They now have the show name (Acoustic Guitar Show) and a good enough website domain. For builders there it was fabulous as there was no pressure/favouratism that may have been there from a big name setting up such and event - the independence and "go do it" attitude of the "Three Musketeers" made the atmosphere fantastic and the setting was glorious. Builders were largely there for more exposure to potential customers and as there were also retailers there with "big name" established guitars like Lowden, Taylor, Martin, Maton, Breedlove etc etc it gave people a real chance to compare in terms of price, sound and quality just what you can get from British handmade guitars versus these known benchmarks. This was an eye-opener for a lot of players and in the long run is win-win for both small handmakers and retailers of the brand names.

Plus they had some great performers/ demonstrators over the two days as well as the concerts - Gordon Gilltrap played an hour long set on Sunday aftermoon, and there was also Amrit Sond, Stuart Ryan, Ian Stephenson (guitarist with The Kathryn Tickell Band) and Gareth (the Welsh Tommy Emmanuel ).

Although I didn't see him, apparently Graham Coxon - guitarsist with Blur - bought a guitar on Sunday - whose I don't know but unfortunately not one of mine

For me personally I was able to benchmark my progress against other British makers, and to be in a room opposite the legendary Andy Manson - not only maker of the amazing Mermaid Guitar, but also the conceiver, designer and maker of the legendary Jimmy Page triple neck six string, twelve string and mandolin guitars so many years ago. To be able to talk to Andy over the weekend one to one as a builder was fabulous - he's really nice and sharing as nearly all in the luthier world seem to be.

For me personally I got lots of really helpful feedback from players and builders that will drive me onwards and upwards, a great chance to get my name out there with potential buyers, and so far one firm order - magic.

Thanks for everyone's kind comments on my guitars. As for the Mermaid questions and comments. Martin - yes you can see that Sam was ecstatic at my Dm chord . John - it is an acoustic guitar - the body is like the bowl-back of a lute but on a HUGE scale and intricacy. It strums and sounds like an acoustic guitar. Kim - it's amazingly light as you can see from everyone who holds it. Plus the case Andy made in sweet Chestnut is a work of art in itself. Here are a couple more "Mermaid" shots. First Gareth "Tommying" it - that's Andy Manson in the blue shirt and glasses:



Then Gordon Giltrap giving it a whirl:



Sam has more than done the honours with the pics of the other stuff in the event in the other post so I will just add a few more here:

First JJ asked to see the De Faoite'ettes. Here they are:

Martha:



Jessica:



and Suzanna:



Here's Jessica "harping" - Martin, yes it is small - 24.5" main scale length with 28" sub-basses:



Here's Any Manson's amazing copy of a 1890's French guitar:



And finally here's the "Hot Club de Paris" in full flow in the main hall:

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Dave White
De Faoite Stringed Instruments
". . . the one thing a machine just can't do is give you character and personalities and sometimes that comes with flaws, but it always comes with humanity" Monty Don talking about hand weaving, "Mastercrafts", Weaving, BBC March 2010

Thanks for the report Dave, I'll try and get there next year.

By the way, Penny has played with Kathryn Tickell, they are among a small group of native Northumbrians still playing the pipes, we played at the Alnwick festival some years ago. Kathryn was always one of my heroes. She almost single-handedly resurrected the Northumbrian pipes. Looking great helped.

Now Dave, I don't want to get personal or pry, but are you sure you didn't have a really good looking milkman? I mean just look at a comparison of your photo and those of the De Faoite'ettes. But four daughters, boy you are a glutton for punishment.

Great stuff, thanks.

Colin

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I don't believe in anything, I simply make use of a set of reasonable working hypotheses.

And for those who don't know, the guy with the blue shirt playing the Weiss is Kevin Brown.

I must try to get there next year.

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Pete
http://www.petewoodmanguitars.com