Official Luthiers Forum!

Ah yes .... very cool. Marion (my lovely wife) had commented on how you were the first person to REALLY give the bari a workout - most just hammer out a few chords.

Cheers brother .. I am giving Dave the gears over on the Don Ross forum right now !!! He says he wants a laser and a wireless neck cam on his new one currently in the shop !!!!! Thats obviously so he can tape all his mistakes, in order to play them perfectly and exactly the same the next time !!!! The laser - I am guessing hecklers overheard saying how they could play it better than him

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Tony Karol
www.karol-guitars.com
"let my passion .. fulfill yours"

I had a great time at the show and the Jazz Fest. I enjoyed meeting Paul Woolson, Tony Karol, Tim McKnight, and many other builders I hadn't met before (e.g. Bruce Sexauer, Michihiro Matsuda, etc), as well as seeing Sergei de Jonge, Charles Fox, Alan Carruth, Ervin Somogyi, Randy Muth, John Osthoff, Steve Spodaryk, Rick Davis, Tom Ribbecke, Bryan Galloup, Mike Doolin, Linda Manzer, Brent McElroy, and others I'd met at previous luthier's gatherings. Some of these (Sergei, Charles, Steve, etc) had family members along who it was great to see as well. With very few exceptions (who will remain nameless), it was a very friendly bunch of folks, and most everyone was very gracious about letting me handle, inspect, and play their guitars (frequently taking them to the listening rooms) even though they knew I was there to learn and be inspired and not to buy. I had some great discussions about guitar finishes and other issues with a number of builders, which were quite helpful to me. I also got a lot of inspiration, and felt very encouraged in my work. I am now setting my sights on exhibiting my guitars at the next Montreal Guitar Show. My thanks go out to all the fine people who made this show happen and participated in it. I hope it was well worthwhile for all of you.

The musical highlight of the fest for me was an Israeli brass band called Marsh Dondurma - www.marshdondurma.com - they were fantastic.

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Todd Rose
Ithaca, NY

https://www.dreamingrosesecobnb.com/todds-art-music

https://www.facebook.com/ToddRoseGuitars/

Youcan see the, on youtube. I agree,very creative. Also "youtube" montreal jazz or guitar and get more.

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Greg
http://garibaldiinstruments.com/

[QUOTE=WarrenG] As for the guitars themselves, I found it very difficult to assess their attributes, beyond craftsmanship and feel, since most that I played were less than a month old and weren't even close to opening up sonically. I suspect many sales were on builder reputation alone. Surprisingly, I was less than impressed with some of the big guns at the show: the tone of their guitars wasn't even remotely desirable to me, as a fingerstylist. Way too heavy on the bass. No sale. Some that I liked last year, came up short this time 'round. Strange, maybe it was the weather...[/QUOTE]

Warren,

It sounds like you're pretty knowledgeable about the way the guitar should sound, and about when it's too tight and needs to open up. Then, you should be able to tell which guitars are going to turn out to be killer with a little playing. The journey is in having the guitar open up for you. This is the best part of about buying a brand-new Young guitar - discovering it for yourself. Enjoy!

Lance

[QUOTE=McCollum] It sounds like you're pretty knowledgeable about the way the guitar should sound, and about when it's too tight and needs to open up. Then, you should be able to tell which guitars are going to turn out to be killer with a little playing. The journey is in having the guitar open up for you. This is the best part of about buying a brand-new Young guitar - discovering it for yourself. Enjoy![/QUOTE]

Hi Lance,
Great to hear from you! I was hoping you would chime in on the baritone thing...

Honestly, I'm not sure that I would necessarily know how a guitar's tone will turn out. I mean, most players I know try other people's guitars, stuff in music stores. The guitars tend to be played in somewhat, already, and judgements/decisions about the sound are made on the spot. When I talk in terms of tightness, I'm being quite literal. There is a tension I feel in the guitar - that it hasn't relaxed yet (I'm still a tree! I'm still a tree!) - that seems to translate into the sound as well.

This was a rare and cherished opportunity to get my hands on instruments that were "hot off the press" - and weren't my own. Even in the latter cases, I think I've forgotten what they sounded like initially when I strung them up, especially when I knew I was keeping them.

On a related note, Don Ross was at my house last week and noodled on my classical and other guitars. He felt that it needed to played more to open it up - although he admitted to not being an expert on nylon stringed guitars. I wondered what he was (or not) hearing. I mean, do we use our own experience with similar instruments as a point of reference OR is there something inherent in the wood sonically that hasn't come to light yet? If the latter is true, in my 30+ years as a player, I haven't heard it.

Case in point with the classical. It is unusual in that it has a lattice-braced redwood top with ziricote b/s. It shouldn't sound like a Torres or Hauser, right? But is that the expectation from Don's comment and experience?

Cheers,
Warren

Warren, you say lattice-braced redwood top. As in CF topped balsa lattice bracing?   If so, I would expect less "opening up" from such a top.   I know that when Smallman builds and doesn't like a new guitar, he rips the top off and makes a new one, feeling that with a lattice braced CF reinforced top what you get is what you get, and it's not going to change much.

[QUOTE=Rick Turner] Warren, you say lattice-braced redwood top. As in CF topped balsa lattice bracing?   If so, I would expect less "opening up" from such a top.   I know that when Smallman builds and doesn't like a new guitar, he rips the top off and makes a new one, feeling that with a lattice braced CF reinforced top what you get is what you get, and it's not going to change much.[/QUOTE]

Hi Rick,

No, not like Smallman's. It's a lattice pattern with the interlace 3-4 mm high. It looks like this:

I really enjoyed visiting the show and chat with Paul Woolson and Tim McKnight which I knew from last year. Met Tony Karol and Al Carruth which speak good French by the way.
Boy there were nice guitar there...
I attended Sergei DeJonge and Oscar Graff presentation which were interesting also.
Came back with some ideas.