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I met Mishihiro at Ervin's. I was awe struck by the quality of his work and his skill level. He is truely amazing. When I first looked at the pics above my first thought was..." well...maybe someone has a creative way of fixing mistakes". Then after learning it was MM I know for sure it was no "mistake"...

Thanks for the pics LANCE!

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Dave Bland

remember...

"If it doesn't play in tune...it's just pretty wood"

    Michi is one of the true innovators in modern lutherie. His designs stray
from the typical so far that there is no confusing them with anything fro
another builder on the planet.....ever.


    I love everything that I've ever see from him and have heard that his guitar
sound and play as great as they look.


Regards,
Kevin Gallagher/Omega Guitars

I too am in awe.  In general, I'm pretty practical and more likely to call myself a craftsman than an artist but I love his work and would still be in awe of it as sculpture even if it sounds like rusty wire on plywood (which I doubt that it does).

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http://www.chassonguitars.com

Actually, there is another builder by the name of Raymond Kraut whose
guitars are very similar to Matsuda's in regards to the rosette design and
overall styling. He is another Somogyi apprentice. It seems to me that
the body styles of Beauregard, Matsuda, and Kraut borrow heavily from
the designs of Somogyi. I think all three builders are producing absoluely
breathtaking guitars.

Very creative and well executed, but.....

I don't like Picasso either.

Ron

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OLD MAN formerly (and formally) known as:

Ron Wisdom

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

[QUOTE=old man] Very creative and well executed, but.....

I don't like Picasso either.

Ron[/QUOTE]

Ron,

Is this the Picasso you don't like:

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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

Whoa, now I'm seeing double. Man, that's weird. I was born an old fogey and I'm going to do everything in my power to stay that way.

Ron

_________________
OLD MAN formerly (and formally) known as:

Ron Wisdom

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

Yeah, Ray Kraut was still with Ervin when we were out there this past February for the class(not sure if Ray is on his own at this point). Anyway, we got to see and play some of Ray's work and it was very nice indeed. I remember some of the detail work on his guitars reminded me of Matsuda's....Ray's guitars sounded very nice and he is a great guy!

Simon did you have a chance to play the Kraut Guitar?

Greg

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Gwaltney Guitars

I got to meet Michi at the 2003 Healdsburg fest and he had two guitars displayed. He was very nice and a bit shy. One guitar was one of his more normal designs and the other was one of the soundhole-surrounding-the-neckblock guitars. The bridge, the elevated fingerboard and neck-to-body joint were just stunning to me.

I tend to like very spartan and somewhat conventional designs, but I still love his stuff. I didn't ask to play either guitar and didn't attend his mini-concert so I can't speak to the sound. I got the chance to hang with the guys from Roberto-Venn and they both raved about him - they were very proud he was one of their graduates.

Hesh is spot on about him, he has one heck of a lutherie pedigree. Working with Ervin Somogyi and Frank Ford would be a thrill for any aspiring builder.

One last thing - I'm sure he has design and aesthetic elements he has borrowed from Ervin but the Roberto-Venn guys said the guitars he did during school are pretty close to his current designs. Most of what you see comes from him. He is an original for sure.

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John Lewis
Wannabe builder owned by 2 crazy dachshunds

I'm kind of like Mayes where I don't really care for the design of Michi's guitars.
That said: I think his designs are brilliant. He's one of those guys that pushes the envelope. He's willing to do things that other's aren't. For that, he's going to split the spectrum. There will be those that love his work and those that don't, with not much in between.
As John said, he was doing this type of work at RV which is very rare. The work I've seen come out of there is very run-of-the-mill stuff with very little personality.
There was a comment made above about art not having the ability to have function. To that I say, "bullocks!". I had art teachers that would try to say the same thing. I would ask them what the purpose of art was then. They would say that it is only to be admired. To which I would argue, "so a sculpture sitting in a corridor is just there to be admired, yes? Isn't that a function?"
I found that a lot of this, "it's not REAL art" came from snobby elitists that wanted desperately to be known as artists. So they would devalue other artists work so theirs looked better.
I've had many, many discussions of "what is art". And I've come to the conclusion that art is an opinion. Opinions differ, as does art.
In my opinion, we are all making art. We all put a piece of our heart into each instrument and we struggle with the creative process on a daily basis. That's art to me.
If "real art" can't have a function, fine, then just hang it on the wall beside the picture of the dogs playing poker. "there, now it's real art".

I can appreciate different designs and Michi's stuff sure is nice. But I'm not too fond of the headstock...

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Peter M.
Cornerstone Guitars
http://www.cornerstoneukes.com

The art conversation makes me think of Marcel Duchanp and his, "ready
mades."

If you're interested, use wikipedia

Not my cup of tea, but still very innovative and uniqely amazing!
He's a very talented luthier for sure.

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Anderson Guitars
Clearwater,Fl. 33755

You might want to take a look at this website.

http://www10.plala.or.jp/harp-g/Uchida-MagamookEng.htm

It will give you a whole new perspective on this style and introduce you to somebody else who came first.

They both amaze me.

Lance

Wow! that is great!
Cool stuff Lance!

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Lance@LuthiersForum.com

I've just had a look through his website - the man's a genius.

I absolutely love the headstock design of the Matsuda. I am something of a beginner and will continue to forge "copies" of the tried and true Martins, Gibsons, and Fenders (with player friendly modifications of course) until I am comfortable enough to begin making changes with the designs.

My outlook on building and repair at this point come from the stance of making instruments that work for the player and with my limited expeience this relegates me to roaming within the realms already established by the big names because they consistently work. As my skill level increases and knowledge expands I hope to tread in an area that will allow for more radical design.

I would rather not make or modify instruments for the sake of art until I am confident that the changes I make will provide an equal or improvement to the sound or function of an instrument. I am not there yetbut hope to be in a few years.

Well Dang! Since what i am building is doomed not to function, perhaps i have a shot at artistic genius!

Rob

hi Lance,

Michi Uchida is a great one too- I first heard of him when he was foreman at the Lowden factory in the 80's and 90's.

His stuff sounds really great with balance but a very rich harmonic content. I really wish I had placed an order with him when I could!

Warmest regards,
Terence


[QUOTE=McCollum] You might want to take a look at this website.

http://www10.plala.or.jp/harp-g/Uchida-MagamookEng.htm

It will give you a whole new perspective on this style and introduce you to somebody else who came first.

They both amaze me.

Lance
[/QUOTE]

Form versus function..... now, what we have is, as was stated above, a discussion of people's opinions.  I couldn't agree more with Paul Woolson:

"I've had many, many discussions of "what is art". And I've come to the conclusion that art is an opinion. Opinions differ, as does art.
In my opinion, we are all making art. We all put a piece of our heart into each instrument and we struggle with the creative process on a daily basis. That's art to me."

If the function of a guitar is to only produce sonically, what need is there of art?  I think we all would agree to say that there is a large place for artistic expression on a guitar.  Yes, I may not be a Picasso fan but the world is better for his art.

I, personally, find Michi's designs fascinating.  A guitarist playing one of his guitars would find his audience appreciating both arts.

I have followed his designs for quite some time and I only hope to get half the talent that he has.

[QUOTE=stewalden] Yes, I may not be a Picasso fan but the world is better for his art.
[/QUOTE]



Of course, that's an opinion, too.

Ron

_________________
OLD MAN formerly (and formally) known as:

Ron Wisdom

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

I think his sense of design is absolutely phenomenal.