Official Luthiers Forum!

We had a great day today here in A2 and the gathering was very well attended in spite of some heavy weather in the Ohio area.

Many thanks to David and Jotham for hosting the first part of the gathering at their shop!

Below are some of the pictures from the gathering and if all goes well, and I can figure out how to edit the video, we may have some video clips as well. We were very fortunate to have Mark Swanson at the gathering and Mark provided us with a fantastic performance as well. Many thanks Mark!!!!

We had so many people that it was not possible at either location for me to get everyone in one picture. Here we see from left to right Brad, Mitch, Lance, JJ, David, Joe, Max and Jotham.



Here is Lance doing some shredding on JJ's just completed shredder. This was the first time that this guitar was plugged into an amp and it sounded absolutely fantastic! And Lance is quite the shredder too.....



Here is David checking out Max's just completed and ultra cool flamenco guitar. This guitar sounds superb and is just over 3 pounds



A number of us were commenting that we saw and heard David pick many very different instruments today and regardless of the instrument David is a fantastic player with all sorts of music.

Here is Max treating us to some authentic flamenco playing/music as he played Smoke On The Water on his very cool guitar



Here is Jim, JJ, Kirt, and David discussing a pre-war Gibson archtop that Kirt brought. David also commented that he has been seeing a lot of these lately for some reason. They were built here in Michigan so perhaps many of them stayed here forgotten in a closet.



Here is Jotham checking out the OLF guitar that many of you built for Lance. This was the first time that I have seen the OLF guitar and I was very impressed with it.



Stephen and Brad posed for me unlike all the cowards that ran and hid when ever I showed up.........



Here we see Mark and Lance discussing what will happen to the building if this one 2 X 4 is removed.......



More to come.......

This very cool guitar was built by Mitch who lives about 20 miles from A2. He built this 25 years ago and it is still in fantastic condition and sounds great.



Mitch also builds resonators and here is one of his square-necks.



Here we see David playing a very cool 1920's Stella that was brought to the gathering. We all thought that John How would love to see and play this one.



Lance brought his just completed superb LS Redwood/Coco guitar and man does it look and sound sweet!



Here is Brad with a very cool bass but I can't remember who built it Brad or Stephen so someone help me out here and fess up......



Here is Kirt with his very cool dread (see I am being nice and didn't say d*ead.... ).



More to come..........

After a couple of hours at David's shop we moved across town to my place for more guitar fun and some food.

Since JJ has crossed over to the dark side and now builds electrics, very cool electrics, I thought it only fitting to reward his behavior as a true renaissance man with some new shades........



Since Mark and Mitch had never been to Heshtone Guitars global headquarters before I was able to at least put these guys through the drill here and make them play some of my guitars...... I also wanted to mention that the L-OO plans that are available on the MIMF were drawn by Mark - so it was a real honor for me to meet him and thank him in person.





Guitars are guitars but food is food........



Here is David playing one of Mark's very cool guitars. Since Mark plays out 3 times a week he builds his guitars to be played and with the player very much in mind. This one sported some very cool purple LEDs on the side of the fret board. At first people thought that the glow from the LEDs must be from the cake that I made and they ate but Mark quickly let them know the truth......



Jotham brought the superb example of a 1920's Gibson tenor guitar and also played it along with the others in the jam sessions. This is my all time personal favorite burst and was common to Gibson instruments in the 20's through the 40's.



Thanks for looking and I may have some video too.

Looks like a great time was had by all.

Well done folks, good to see another great OLF gathering

_________________
My Facebook Guitar Page

"There's really no wrong way, as long as the results are what's desired." Charles Fox

"We have to constantly remind ourselves what we're doing....No Luthier is putting a man on the moon!" Harry Fleishman

"Generosity is always different in the eye of the person who didn't receive anything, but who wanted some." Waddy Thomson

Just returned home and wanted to thatnk Hesh and David for hosting a wonderful meeting!

Looking forward to the next one already.

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

A great time indeed! Many thanks to Hesh and David for organizing AND hosting the event! I think I even ate a "pizza" with pineapple on it!

Sure looks like you guys had a great time. Dumb question, what's A2? Clinton

A2=Ann Arbor

_________________
My Facebook Guitar Page

"There's really no wrong way, as long as the results are what's desired." Charles Fox

"We have to constantly remind ourselves what we're doing....No Luthier is putting a man on the moon!" Harry Fleishman

"Generosity is always different in the eye of the person who didn't receive anything, but who wanted some." Waddy Thomson

Well, "A2" is Ann Arbor.

I had a great time! And easy drive home...I was actually the very last person to leave Hesh's humble home. Thanks Hesh for hosting us, and I really enjoyed playing your guitars. The finishes were fine, the details clean and tremendous, and the woods were stunning while still tasteful. And they played great, all of them that I played anyway. And they sounded great too! I was right at home playing them. I could have kept going with the songs. I only wish that more of you would have played some songs! We can save that for next time.

And David, thanks for the shop tour! You have a nice shop and your work there really shows you know how to lay out a guitar shop, and the things you have planned will make it even better.
Thanks, you guys!

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

OK here is a very special treat - Mark Swanson performing for us. I have more too but it will take me a while to get the video on-line.

But for now check this out - Mark is a superb musician and this is one of the songs that he did for us that is now an absolute favorite of mine. In the back ground you can hear Jothan doing a fine job on a vintage, pre-war Gibson tenor guitar.

Many thanks Mark!!!!

Click on the link to go to my .Mac web gallery http://gallery.mac.com/hesh1956/100001

Brilliant photographs! Looks like you all had a great day!

A great performance by Mark, and it was such a pleasure hearing the Heshtones sing. What marvellous guitars!!

Nice quality video Hesh! Your guitar sounds very nice indeed - of course it helps to have a good player on it! Great stuff Mark

Looks and sounds like you all had a great fun day there.

We're not in the slightest bit jealous!!

Cheers,
Dave F.

_________________
Cambrian Guitars

"There goes Mister Tic-Tac out the back with some bric-brac from the knick-knack rack"

Great video and fantastic performance by Mark Swanson. If anyone wants to see more of Mark's singing and playing, he will be heading up the Open Mike performances at GAL this year. I may attend just for that alone! Mark is the only performer I know of who plays a lot of obscure and complex pieces...some very cool arrangements of Procol Harem, Jethro Tull and the Richard Thompson finale. Thanks for the tunes, Mark!

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

Thanks again Hesh & David for pulling everything together. For the record the bass I was playing was Stephens. Very cool bass and it makes me want to get back to my roots and build a bass.

_________________
Brad
Avon, OH

cool, looks like a great day... JJ those shades rock! right on...

_________________
Having fun building guitars

Gee, I am embarrased now.
Thanks again everyone. For some reason I can't run that video...it doesn't look like Quicktime is working right for me, (I have Vista) even though I downloaded and installed the newest version. Oh well, I don't need to see it- I was there.
Hesh, you have probably built more of the L-00 guitars than anyone else I know! Because of my association with that plan, it's an honor. They are great guitars!

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

Looks like a good time was had by all. Nice guitar Hesh and nice playing Mark. Great taste in music - you can't beat Rich T and CGDGBE tuning Capo 3

_________________
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

It was certainly a good time, I just wish there had been a bit more of it. I probably had a chance to actually look at and play about half the instruments brought to the meeting. We'll half to work on a way to schedule meetings more frequently, though we know how that goes with schedules, coordination, space, etc.

Great stuff though, and I was really happy to get a chance to play Mark's Fat Boy's that I've seen pictures of for years. They definitely had some tones that I really appreciate. He also sparked a bit of inspiration for me to pick back up some electronics projects that I've let drop over the past few years. I'm anxious to play with one of his mini preamps, as well as a few other odd coil and transducer projects.

Maybe I'll start a thread over in the MGL section to start planning the next meeting, looking for a hall to rent, booking lecturers, where to take out "Great Lakes Guitar Show" ads, etc. Not that we need another guitar show, but there are certainly enough builders within a 3 hour radius of here to fill a decent hall.

Thanks everyone, and thanks especially to Hesh for hosting the second half (much cleaner, and better food and drink). And sorry to the folks who got snowed in and couldn't make it, although I'm sure you're out shoveling through 20 inches of snow instead of reading this. We'll get another meeting going soon, or maybe after the Montreal, GAL, Florida, and however many other shows folks are going to this summer.

_________________
Eschew obfuscation, espouse elucidation.

Just want to add another round of thanks for yesterday. Mark's playing was exquisite and his song list was wonderful. Thanks to David and Jothan for opening up the shop for us and offering advice and answers to our questions. There were new and old guitars to see and listen too. The old Gibbie was to die for! Being able to hear Jothan's tenor was a treat! Last, but not least, many thanks to Hesh for opening up his home to us where were could sit and listen to some great playing on many fine guitars -- and scarf some pretty good . JJ's shreadder got a work out along with Mark's single pickup electric, a couple of basses, including a fretless bass had some time as well as quite a range of acoustics. Yesterday was a treat for anyone interested in stringed instrument building and playing. Very large tip o'the hat to all!

_________________
Jim Howell
Charlotte, NC

Here is some more fantastic music for your listening and viewing pleasure.

This clip features Mark on one of Mark's very cool "Fat Boy" guitars, David on a fretless bass also made by Mark, and Jotham playing a tenor pre-war Gibson guitar.

Enjoy

http://gallery.mac.com/hesh1956/100002

Soooooo Coooooooooooool.

Those video's are excellent Hesh, well done bro. Now I really wish I could have been there

Mark, you playing and singing is excellent. I really enjoyed both of these video's (Make sure you hit Hesh up for the royalties )

Right on you guys, right on.

_________________
My Facebook Guitar Page

"There's really no wrong way, as long as the results are what's desired." Charles Fox

"We have to constantly remind ourselves what we're doing....No Luthier is putting a man on the moon!" Harry Fleishman

"Generosity is always different in the eye of the person who didn't receive anything, but who wanted some." Waddy Thomson

I have really enjoyed reading this thread. Thank you for being so kind as to take the time to share your experiences with us.

All the guitars shown are beautiful, it's great to see them in the hands of a player; I think a lot can be said about the quality of a guitar when being held; like for example, whether the player is comfortable with it.

We need more finished guitar pics with people playing them.

I really like Mark's Fatboy guitars; much nicer to the eye than a McPherson, in my opinion.

I agree with Sam. I'm all too familiar with preparing media, so I really appreciate the time it takes to get it "webbable."

Are there any clips of the tiger myrtle guitar?

OK...I'll further embarrass Mark by saying that he's been AWOL from OLF for way too long. Seeing him again only reinforced this and I hope he'll make himself more available! He's always been so gracious in sharing his knowledge and experiences and I just want to formally thank him on behalf of many of us who have known him from the early days of attempting to herd all of the Michigan (and Indiana) cats into one place.

A few years ago, Mark would have his shop open to anyone every other Tuesday evening and I made the 2.5 hour drive several times. There were lots of the locals who would just walk in and have Mark evaluate (and correct) various works in progress. Thanks, Mark...I was usually in the "correct" category.

I was blown away by the tone and volume of the Fatboy as well as that single pickup carved top electric with his home-made supercharged mini preamp. What's really nice about being with Mark is his unbridled enthusiasm and willingness to help.

Did you ever notice how there's always a period of euphoria after one of these meetings? Can't wait for the next one!

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

Looks like a GREAT time!!
Were JJ's glasses prescription! Is he sure what he was wearing?

Some very nice guitars there! It's good everybody had a good time!
Yea! Mark's Fatboys are cool guitars!

_________________
Billy Dean Thomas
Covina, CA

"Multi famam, conscientiam, pauci verentur."
(Many fear their reputation, few their conscience)