Official Luthiers Forum!

This is a bit off of subject, but I wanted to post it here as there is
more traffic here (Main Discussion Forum) than at any other discussion.



Every time I visit or log in to the OLF I am constantly amazed at how many members there are and how quickly the number keeps rising.



So... why do you visit the OLF?

Andrew bud no offense intended but there is not a single choice besides "other" that I would select in the choices that you provided.

Originally I would consider myself a new builder looking for info AND encouragement AND new like minded (sickos) friends.

Today I come here because I enjoy helping people AND in doing so it reinforces what I have learned and more experienced builders often disagree with me or add to what I am conveying and I benefit greatly too.

Encouragement to keep building is huge for me - both passing it back and receiving it.

And last but probably just as important for me as the other two is that I have many friends here and I meet new ones all the time.  Many of us are in contact off this forum and on other forums and we often get together in person too.  When guys get together with a common interest other then the usual suspects...... there tends to be an element of competition, healthy competition, where we push each other to be better.

And really lastly - there are some builders here with less then 25 guitars under their belts that I would by no means call new builders.  Many of these folks sell their guitars and for some it is the primary source of income.

Putting the "new builder" bar at 25 is skewed in my view - some of these folks have been at this for decades, studying diligently, building carefully, and have not produced 25 instruments but are capable of producing very fine instruments.  Do you want to call these folks "new builders?"

So I am an "other" here to pass info back, not learning much new here very often any more but when I do it seems to come from people like Rick, Mario, Tim McKnight, Paul Woolson (missing Paul here), Mark Blanchard, Howard psycholinguistics Klepper, Colin, Dave White, Alan Carruth, Tony Karol, Lance, Brock, Andy, Steve S., Michael Payne and more.  And not all of these guys have built 25 guitars yet........

And a very special mention for and of David Collins for his very on-sided sharing of the repair and build for serviceability perspective.  There is very little info here that will benefit David - he is here because he is a very generous guy.

And I want to mention Todd Stock too.  The wood working and tool knowledge that I sorely lack I learn from Todd seemingly every day.

EDIT - regarding David that should read "one-sided in as much as he gives greatly and rarely receives.

Thanks Hesh, no offense taken. I knew I (and others) could have come up with a lot better choices of possible responses.  This is just intended to be a fun poll .



The number of guitars for a 'New' builder was one I pulled out of the
air.  On the other hand I have a feeling a lot of the guys/gals
who numbers are in the hundreds will laugh at the number of 25 as being
labeled a 'Veteran'.



I do hope some of the folks who chose 'Other' will possibly list why.



Really a lot of my thought for this poll is to try to pull some of the
1930+ members who rarely post out of the shadows and share their voice
as to what they are here for and get out of this one-of-a-kind forum.



Kudos to Brock and Lance for putting so much of their time, energy,
blood, sweat and tears into this big family.  Thanks Fellers!

I couldnt have said it better Hesh. I'm in that 25 and under class, but most definitely am not a beginner. By no means am I an all-knowing expert either. This old dog can still learn some tricks and I learn quite regularly here. I also try to pass along some of what I know to other builders, new and old.

As far as I know, I havent met any other OLF'r in person although I have had hours and hours of phone conversations  and untold numbers of PM's and e-mails with some of them. I really enjoy the friendhsips I have made here on the forum and feel like at least some of those friendships are life-long.

I hope to get the chance to meet a bunch of the OLF'rs at the Miami show in April.

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Reguards,

Ken H

Very well said Hesh! I do agree. I come here to learn, share(a little), comraderie, and to sell. So I guess I get lots from this forum, but hope that I give back by making cool jigs that help builders build better guitars!
Tracy

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Tracy
http://www.luthiersuppliers.com

Less than one qualifies as a beginner, I guess.  I think, other than the camaraderie on the site, I like it here because, no matter what the question, you get answers, and usually more than one.  Things are hashed out until you have an understanding of why the answers are what they are.  It is really great.  I can't enumerate all the stuff I have learned here.  It is absolutely amazing.  Like Rick T said, a site like this really gives a person the chance to achieve success (at building) more quickly than years ago. 

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Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

Good source of info. There are dozens of ways to to a task. can' have "too much" knowledge. I am always delighted to find a new or different way that just makes me say "brilliant". i am greatful peoople are so generous with their ideas.

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Greg
http://garibaldiinstruments.com/

I'm only here for "the rush"

Because I can.

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Guitars, guitars and more guitars.

I'm here for the frustration.
Do you know what it's like to finally get(after YEARS of <48K) blazing fast cable feed and then come here to a slower than dial up forum?
But that's all gonna change next weekend!!!!

But seriously, there is a lot to be shared/learned in the luthery world and this place does the best job of getting it out.

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Hank Mauel

I am a repair guy looking for good ideas.

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Tom Krebs

Grumpy taught me: Hanging out on forums can lead you to major Eurekas.

As in, "Eureka, I have found it!"

I had one of those recently as soon as Tim McKnight shared his shop vac cyclone mounted on the cart with a five gallon bucket. That thread visually convinced me of the value of cyclonic action, truly amazing.

Just now, I was cruizin' the archives for the recent post by Todd on blast gates. That led to several links showing how to build quality blast gates for your machines.

There is nothing like having twenty or thirty counselors available to a question within a few hours.

Another thing happens on a forum, consensus grows about ideas, methods, and tools. Folks repeat the same mistakes, which reinforces the better ways to do things.

Sometimes the info we find isn't positive, like Tippie sez: Learn from the mistakes of others. You won't live long enough to make them all yourself!

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http://www.dickeyguitars.com

[QUOTE=grumpy] I'm only here for "the rush"
QUOTE]

Is Limbaugh here, too???????

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Hank Mauel

Andrew my friend I thought that it was very interesting the responses that you are receiving.

Here is another poll from the archives that asks a similar question in a different way.  Notice how close the results are from both polls?

This was interesting too and also speaks to the same subject:

 I come here because I am trying to figure out what to do with the 15 or so exotic back and side sets that somehow mysteriously found thier  way to my  utility room shelves .... Jody

I thought this was a good place to pick up chicks. So far i haven't had any luck. I think its all the guitar talk thats driven the chicks away.

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Guitars, guitars and more guitars.

-

Hesh, it'll be a good idea to run those polls again. Four years is a long time on the web.

[QUOTE=grumpy]I'm only here for "the rush"
[/QUOTE]



I'm only here to pump up my post count...



(not really)

I stumbled on this forum just over a year ago, when I was just beginning to think of building my own guitars. The openness and friendliness of the people here at the OLF, and the quality of info, really inspired me to pursue the guitar building idea seriously. So much so that today I actually started to build my first guitar! I did a few experiments with hide glue (after referencing Hesh's tute) and jointed and glued my top together. Tomorrow I'll work on the rosette. If my top holds together! It's a good feeling to finally start.

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If God had wanted us to drink beer, he would have given us stomaches.

Well, i'm a first hand builder and i'm here to learn. I've been a player for thirty years and have always had this thought in the back of my mind to have a go at building a guitar one day.

I started researchng twelve months ago and come across this forum. I am attempting to build a weisenborn copy as a first up build. Some of the experienced members of this forum have been so helpful to me especially Tony Francis from NZ and Todd in the US. I am at a stage in my build that I reckon I can do this and do a reasonable job of it too!!!!

So thanks to everyone at the OLF for your encouragement, advice and help with my build.

Cheers

Alan

Robbie O'Brien's guitar building DVD turned me on to the forum a couple years ago when I first started building. I started using the forum to get advice from those who have "been there - done that". Since then I continue to do so. But, just as importantly (maybe more), I get encouragement and inspiration.

Thanks to all the OLFers who are so generous with their time, help - and for all those great pics of their knock-out instruments.

Best to all,
Max Bishop
Brighton, Michigan

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Max Bishop
Brighton, Michigan