Official Luthiers Forum!

Wow! I go on vacation for a week and look what happens! 102 posts on this thread! Its grrrreat!

I am Steve Walden, just turned the 'double nickles' (55) have been married to my wonderful wife, Shirley, for almost 25 years. We have one son who is 9 1/2 going on 20. My wife says I can do anything except having babies...Thank the Lord!

I was born of U.S. parents in Beirut, Lebanon, lived in northern New Jersey, back to Beirut and then 7 years in Libya. My dad was a mech. engineer in the oil business. In 1967, after the 6 Day War, we moved to Tulsa, OK. What a culture shock. My only prior exposure to OK was Hollywood's westerns. I was very pleasantly surprised.

Shirley and I met in Tulsa after I had graduated with a degree in Speech Comm./Radio/TV production which I never used. After selling steel and sailboats for 8 years I started a commercial photography business at the same time the economy was crashing due to the savings and loan fiasco. Shirley suggested I go back to school..... great wife!

At age 33 I went back and in 3 1/2 years earned my Mechanical Engineering degree then went to work in the Houston area in the petro-chem business. 15 years and three layoffs later I got into the space business where I work as a probabilistic risk analyst for a NASA contractor.

I have played guitar for 41 years, although you wouldn't know it. I play about once a month in my church's praise band. I got interested in building after an old 12 string I owned split the bridge, bridge plate and one x-brace and I thought about repairing it myself. My dad was a pretty good woodworker hobbyist and I took up where he left off. I have a serious case of WAS, TAS and GAS.

I have an old Yamaha DG 260(??), Taylor 410, 815, 855, DDAE, Mahog baby and a Rickenbacker Roger McGwin 370/12. And, of course, the old 12 string waiting to be repaired. I am currently putting the finishing touches on a rent house remodel and then I will get busy in my new shop build-out and jig making. Hopefully, by the end of the summer I will be building my first.

Thanks for the room to spill forth my life and definately for the generous sharing here on the OLF.

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Steve Walden
Aspiring Builder,
Bartlesville, OK

Robert O’Brien here. Most of you know me as Robbie.
I have been building guitars for about 10 years now and got into it completely by accident. It all started many years ago when I decided to quit med school and go see a friend of mine in Brazil to clear my head out. At the end of my 30 day stay I tore up my ticket and stayed long enough to become a private language instructor/translator to the Brazilian rich and famous including the governor of São Paulo, (Man that was a good gig!), open a couple of businesses, get an oriental medicine degree, open an acupuncture clinic, and marry the girl from Ipanema.
I then returned to the States for 5 years, long enough to get a music degree and gain some woodworking skills building my own timber frame house. Once again in Brazil in the mid 90’s I was at a guitar convention and asked if anyone knew someone who could teach me to make a classical guitar.
I had the opportunity of meeting Antonio Tessarin, one of the best and most highly regarded luthiers among Brazilian guitar makers. He promptly turned me down as a student cause he had had a bad experiencing teaching the craft. About six months later we met by chance again and his wife was in need of my acupuncture services. So, she got treated and I got lessons in lutherie. Over the next couple of years, I studied the craft and built several guitars under his supervision. Antonio remains a great friend to this day and we communicate often. He has now built over 560 classical guitars. Recently his 500th guitar came into my shop for some work.

While living in Brazil I came back to the States to take courses in guitar building with renowned steel string and classical guitar builder Kent Everett of Everett Guitars in Atlanta, Georgia.
While on a ski vacation one year in Colorado my wife and I both got recruited by a tech company to come take care of the support side of their software for the latin America market. 30 days later I had sold everything in Brazil and was sitting behind a desk in a blizzard in Colorado having serious thoughts about my sanity! September 11th came along and the company downsized etc. and suddenly I found myself with a tool belt on trying to make ends meet. This is when I contacted the Red Rocks College school of Fine woodworking inquiring about their furniture building classes. I was asked to bring in a piece so they could see my past work. I took my first guitar. Upon opening the case I was asked if I wanted to teach. That was 4 and ½ years ago and about 200 guitars built in the course.
Early on I realized I needed some audio visual aids to help the course, so I decided to make some DVD’s for my students. I started with a classical instructional DVD and LMI voiced an interest in it. That led to a steel string DVD, which led to a finishing DVD, which led to an electric DVD which is leading to a soon to be released advanced electric DVD with Mike Snider. I am also completing a soon to be released acoustic guitar voicing DVD and an acoustic guitar set up DVD with Kent Everett. Kent even makes a couple of appearances a year at my course to teach my students.
All of this was completely by accident. I just wanted to build one guitar and move on…yeah right!! Is that even possible?
I now reside in Parker, Colorado with my Brazilian wife. We added a couple of kids along the way too. Besides teaching about 30 students a semester in three different classes at the college I also offer guitar building courses at my personal shop.
I am amazed at where life can take a person but I am grateful for all those that influenced and inspired me along the way. I hope in some small way to be able to return the favor.
Happy Building Everyone!

Robert O’Brien – http://www.obrienguitars.com

Philip Perdue here from Torrance Ca and I’m 56yrs old but have never lost my youth or humor. My wife of 35 years, Brenda, supports me in just about anything I want to do. Raced motocross for 15 years with a couple of nationals but just had little money and too much age to keep it going. A few years ago while on Maui we took a tourist steam m train that went one way and then returned. The conductor narrated on the out bound but played the ukulele and sang on the return. He was really good. I never got over that he was very large and had 10 cigars for fingers but he played and sang beautifully. The thing was is that just looked like he was enjoying himself so much. A few months later I bought a ukulele even though I can’t sing and am not musical. Having proved those facts over and over has never stopped me from enjoying my ukuleles. I’m just bad!

About 3 years ago I ran across a ukulele parts store in Hawaii on Oahu and they also had a building school. I stopped by while on Oahu to say hello and met the son. When the once a year condensed building class was mentioned the son was a bit upset. He told how he has been trying to talk his father out of teaching it because he was getting older and it was just getting too hard on him. The next year I happened to see that the condensed class was being offered again and I joked with my wife and told her we should go and I will attend the class. She reminded me what the son said and told me I should do it because I may never get the chance again. So we did. I laughed my head off when I met the owner Mike Chock and found him to be a strong and energetic 58 years of age. I expected him to be old and feeble. The whole story of his son’s concern made Mike laugh as he said “well at least he is thinking about me”. Even with zero wood working skills I made a beautiful and great sounding tenor ukulele. I learned a great deal on line but the most important thing I learned at the class is that you can fix almost anything. That is a great lesson for one like me with few wood working skills. Currently, I have almost finished a soprano uke and am still working on a D size bubinga and lutz guitar for my father. I did give it to him for Christmas with the neck pushed on and the fret board and bridge stuck on with sticky tape. He was couldn’t believe it and was quite excited. With work, injuries, and weather, I just haven’t seemed to get anymore done on it this year. I should get to some more work done on it pretty soon though.

This year I have been focusing on poker and have been trying to win my way into the World Series of Poker main event since I can’t afford the $10,000.00 entry fee. The answer is Yes if someone wants to sponsor me and split the winnings 50/50. This year I have played in 5 casino tournaments with up to 70 players and have made the final table of each one. One of these I won and the others I finished out of the money. I have also played in two big time tournaments, the World Poker Tour event in Reno and I just returned from Las Vegas where I played in the Binion’s Classic. The WPT event had 244 entries and I cashed in 26th position. The Binion’s tournament was much more difficult and the competition was filled with players and pros from all over the world. After over 7hrs of poker I busted out in 39th place but they only paid 30 places. A real disappointment but I played very well. In no limit Texas hold-em you can go into a hand with the best cards and just get out drawn. Oh well, I played well. Now it’s time to get back to building.

A note of thanks to a former member here who still occasional lurks. He has shared his thoughts to help me keep on the straight and narrow.

Thanks to the OLF and all its members!!! I have learned so much here and know that if I have a thought, question, or problem, I will have members from all over the world give help or support. This is the best forum that I know of and I hope it continues this way.

Thank You All

Philip

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aka konacat

If you think my playing is bad you should hear me sing!
Practice breeds confidence and confidence breeds competence. Unfortunately, I'm stuck in practice.

Hi...... My name is Hesh Breakstone and I am an honest to God flake......... But I try to be a good person/flake when ever I can and I hope that some of you will agree with this.

I started building guitars with a very nice Stew-Mac dread kit (see I spelled it out completely this time) just under 4 years ago. I knew nothing about guitar construction, wood working, tools, or shop safety. I managed to build about 4 guitars before I found the OLF and the MIMF.

Professionally I was employed in the past by some of the largest corporations on the planet including two that were #1 at the time that I was there but fell from the number one position after I got there........ Wonder how that happened..... In my past employment I traveled as much as 75% of the time and these travels included many places in the world but I never made it to China or Australia which I would still like to do.

My early guitars were built in a 2nd, unused bathroom in my condo and because of this my very good friend JJ coined the term/name "Flushtone" for my guitars. And it stuck too - pardon the pun.....

The second generation of my guitars were built in an 11' X 11' unused bedroom in my condo with white carpet...... I am known for being a clean freak and have been called Felix Ungar many times in my life.

In the past few weeks I moved from my condo/urban home to a new house in the country and I am currently engaged in putting in a lawn, landscaping and a driveway and this fall I will start to build my dream shop. The plan going forward, since I am now officially retired at the age of 51, is to spend the rest of my days building guitars and enjoying the hell out of it.

The OLF has been the single greatest source of information, inspiration, and friendship for me. I have met many of you in person now and a day does not go by without having a conversation with at least one other OLF member. Last night I had the pleasure of speaking with my good friend Billy as we collaborated on who we would photoshop next.......

Lance and Brock have done a wonderful thing here and I cannot imagine what it would have been like for me if the OLF had not been here AND been structured as it was to encourage everyone at all levels while always striving to maintain a climate of mutual respect and common decency. I am looking forward to when Lance's kids grow up though so that I can swear more........

I also wanted to mention my pal Serge since he is not here to weigh-in for himself. When I joined Serge was the most prolific poster and the friendliest guy on the Internet. He is very much responsible for setting a tone here that ultimately contributed greatly to a forum culture that places great importance on mutual encouragement and positive reinforcement. Although Serge no longer participates here he still has countless friends and is in touch with us very often.

I always encourage OLFers to meet with each other when ever possible. Some of the friends that I have made here are some of the finest people that I have ever met. And I look forward to meeting many more of you in the years to come.

Thanks.

Hesh--good bio.
Not to take anything away from dear ol Serge, but long before he showed up, our own Bruce Dickey was in that position of making this the most kind-hearted place on the web.

Which says something about the moderators, that they can attract such fine folks, right?

Steve

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From Nacogdoches...the oldest town in Texas.

http://www.stephenkinnaird.com

Absolutely Steve and thanks for reminding me. Bruce has indeed been one of those rare individuals who set a very positive example for the rest of us. BTW Steve - you are one heck of a good guy too!

even if you did call me a jerk - rightly so - a while back......

I'm an ESL teacher in Vancouver, I do guitar work out of my folks basement in nearby Maple Ridge. I've so far only built one acoustic and one electric bass. At current am working on a second of both.

I originally approached this luthierie thing with the grand ideas of being a profesional builder/ repairman, I even jumped in and went to a school to learn the trade (don't recommend). I've since found it's going to take a whole lot of practice, patients and time before I can go that way. So, I've opted to be a high school teacher and luthier in my spare time. Maybe a few years down the road...

Peace, Nice to know you all

Stefan Schmitt

My name's Wayne Clark, I'm 47 and I live in Driftwood Texas with my wife and several greyhounds.

Until a couple of weeks ago I was working as a product marketing manager for a software company in Austin. The only good thing about unemployment is having more time in the shop. Of course the biggest downside is having to pass on all the wood I'd like to buy in the swap meet.

I started making guitars a couple of years ago with a kit from LMI. It turned out pretty OK, so of course there was no way to stop at one. I guess I'm trying to make up for lost time, but I have two on the bench right now. Both are Lutz / Walnut, one is an SJ and the other an 000. My goal is get them finished before the end of the summer.

I have to say its a rare day that I don't learn something from this forum. My thanks to all of you who take the time to share.

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53% of all statistics are made up on the spot
http://driftwoodguitars.blogspot.com/

John Killin
Lake City, FL

I have lived in Florida for about 12 years. I moved here from Minnesota. I went to college at Winona State University in MN and have a degree in English. I worked for years as a technical writer and am now employed as a computer guy.

I have been hooked on the idea of building a guitar for years (actually just about decades now). I am a horrible guitar player. I have determined that my lack of rhythm is an issue in the playing category. However, I still have the building bug. It is not easy to convince the family that I need to build something that I can’t even play. In 2004 I built a Koa Tenor Uke. My daughter was born in 2005 and I had a long laps in “project time.” I still don’t really have the time, but I’m getting to the point where I can slip it in.

I have been lurking here for a while and lurking at MIMF for years. I really like the open communication and dialogue here. As a new builder I like that I can ask basic questions. I’m sure I’ll have plenty. I am now in the tooling up phase. One thing I learned from the Uke build is that I really need to spend some time learning how to sharpen my tools. I plan on using the LMI kit wizard to put together the parts for a mostly un-serviced kit. This time I am going to try bending with a blanket.

Thanks for being here for the little guy,
John

Hesh, that line ^ says it all, , and takes me out of the running for "Mr. Nice Guy". We'll let Bruce and Serge bask in their well-deserved glory.

Steve

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From Nacogdoches...the oldest town in Texas.

http://www.stephenkinnaird.com

Hi, I'm Rick Hubka (54) from Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Yes... another Canadian!!!

I'm a computer programmer and wood workings been my life long hobby. I'm a member of Calgary's (Foothills Bluegrass Music Society) and get out jamming on Thursday night once in a while. I'm trying to learn fingerstyle lately and love to listen to Tommy Emmanuel play guitar.

Hoping to retire in a few years and I think nothing would be finer than building acoustic guitars in retirement. I hope to build maybe 2 or 3 a year while still working the next few years. If I ever get finished building jigs that is.

I'm about 1/3 done my first acoustic (a dread, sorry) and building jigs and building jigs.

Well I'm not much of a talker, so I'll say bye for now.

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Rick Hubka
Chemainus BC Canada

HI, I'm Mike and I'm a luthier. (HI MIke!) Actually, I'm not a luthier. I've built 7 instruments in about 8 years. Which is a pretty poor production rate.

I'm 54 years old and I was born in Pontiac Michigan. (guess what they made there) I grew up in a town north of there called Lake Orion. I've been married to Clo for twenty years this August. Clo is the younger sister of my high school sweet heart. When people ask us where we met, we have to say that we don't remember actually meeting. She was just always around. I have a son, Steven, who will be a senior in high school this fall. Steve's a great guy and very smart. He's shown no interest in either music or guitar building. Oh, well.

I've played the guitar since I was 12 and played in a high school rock band but at heart I was always a folkie.

I went to college in Ypsilanti and majored in computer science. This was back in the days when the computer that the whole school used wasn't 1/10th as powerful as the one in your cell phone. I started out in radio/TV broadcasting but I had to take a science course and took intro to computer science and it was the easiest course I had ever taken. So I took another, and another. When I get interested in something I tend to dive head first into it so computers became my all encompassing passion. Here is where I discovered one of life's great lessons. Become passionate about what you do especially if it pays well. Software engineering has been my career and vocation ever since.

I lived for 18 years in Silicon Valley during a pretty good boom time. Five of those years were for Atari where I designed coin operated video games. None of the games where I was the principle designer made it into production. A well written game that works perfectly may not be any fun and we didn't have any recipe for making games fun. We made them and put them into an arcade and counted the money at the end of the week. I did have a hand in some other games though: Star Wars - The return of the Jedi had my sound effects. and I did some other work on PaperBoy. That was a great time because I could tell people what I did and I wouldn't have to explain too much. Most of my career has been in software and electronic design tools and those things are hard to explain to someone who isn't a developer.

In 1996, we pulled up stakes and moved to Amherst, New Hampshire. It was here that I connected with other musicians and started to branch out from the simple campfire guitar playing that I'd been doing for many years. I bought my self a nice Martin and started playing more. I also bought a banjo and start to learn how to play that. Then, a mandolin, followed by the fiddle which is started about two years ago.

Since I've been married, I've been doing some wood working. Mostly making furniture for the house. About ten years ago I ran into Cumpiano and Natelson in the local bookstore. This was the catalyst for my building. I bought the plans from Scott Antes for his 000 and built it. At that time, the best source of on-line information was the MIMF.

After I finished my first guitar, I took it to the New England Folk Festival. In the crafts area, there was a booth for Al Carruth. Al had always been helpful on the MIMF and he was enthusiastic in his evaluation of my first instrument. Since then Al an I have become quite good friends and I look to him for guidance.

At an ASIA conference, I met Steve Spodaryk and he told me of plans that he and Don Williams had for starting a New England Luthier's group. I passed the word around to some other builders that I had met in the area. I was at the founding meeting and most of the meetings since. If you live in New England, we meet on the second Sunday of each month.

Several year back a friend's daughter was looking into getting a mandolin and she asked me to go with her to the music stores to help find something. Mandolins fall into two categories, cheap and horrible, and ridiculously expensive. Certainly more expensive than a high schooler could afford. I'd finished a few guitars by then and I kept saying to myself that I could do better than this. I offered to help her build one if she wanted to spend the time. All she would have to pay for would be the materials. I designed up a celtic style flat top and we built one each. I wrote an article about it for Guitarmaker. That mandolin design gets more comments than any of the guitars I've made so I'm making up a batch on spec to see If I can sell them. MichaelP has the plans and has promised to put them into CAD so they can be offered as part of the OLF library. Michael is a busy guy so this may take awhile.

I discovered the OLF about 6 months after it started. There were only about 20, or so, regulars then. I still come here every day. I love learning about guitars and how they are made. I just wish I had more time to do it.

Mike my friend I did not know that you were a Michigander!

I did a brief stint at EMU too and also in computer science. I had classes in the Pray Harold building.

EMU has a rather famous or infamous depending on your point of view....... landmark - the water tower......

Joe E here. I am in my early 40's and was rasised around wood working and guitar playing. I started playing at age 4 and have worked as a proffesional musician most of my life. The day time gig is an electrical engineer of sorts...actually I now manage a group of engineers for a telecom company. My degrees are in buisness and management.

My dad is a retired cabinet maker/ Carpenter whom I worked very closely with from a young age. So woodworking and craftmanships was instilled in me from a young age. I started building solid body guitars around the age of 9 or 10 with the left over neck of a VOX student prince guitar that I had learned to play on years earlier. That led me to making strat and tele bodies in my early teens. I build several carved top set-neck guitars in my high school years but struggled with finishes. My dad loved violins and we started building them too. Violins, Mandolins, guitars etc. We never really perfected the process before life happend and I got married and had kids. For the last 20 years, I have been restoring and refinishing old GIbson and Gretsch guitars on the side and playing music on the weekends. Well the kids are now old enough that I have time on my hands again. So here we go again. I just started building guitars again. This time trying to refine the process, make jigs to help with the more difficult hand operations and experimenting along the way. I am enjoying hanging out here and learning a little more about modern guitar building....which is quite different than how I was doing this 20 or 25 years ago when I cut dovetails and morise/tenons by hand.

Joe

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Joe

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Horton, MI

Super Great thread guys and gals!
Keep them coming!

Hesh, that brought a smile to my face! I see that 'ahem, "land mark" every once in a while and think to my self, "What were they thinking!

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Support the OLF! Bookmark our STEWMAC link Today!
Lance@LuthiersForum.com

I'll jump in. Tom Armstrong is my name, age 59 and live in Savannah, Ga. Mostly a lurker (everyday) and strictly a hobby builder. I.T. Director for the Georgia Ports Authority for last 18 years and only 6 more months before retirement. Two daughters, both long out of the house and 3 grandchildren in Kansas. Married to Nancy, who I met in college and happily married for 37 years...today.

Lived down the street from a pro luthier, Randy Wood, who inspired me and helped me get started. Great guy and superb builder/restorer for a number of big names. He moved away a few years ago and sadly I don't visit him often but he is still making great music.

We had our house remodeled two years ago and moved out the garage and into a purpose built 1,000 sq. ft. shop. Thanks Nancy

Funny but I don't remember how many builds I have under my belt but certainly over 5 and probably under 10. WAS got me a two years ago and I've hoarded enough to last me my lifetime (so says my wife but more is coming ). Traveled extensively during my career and everywhere I go is a "quest for wood"...some successful, mostly not. At least US Customs never found me out.

Have been a woodworker for as long as I can remember, learning basics from my dad who never, ever used a power tool. Either too cheap, too poor, or too stubborn I guess, but I'll never know since he passed away 25 years ago. Great guy though. Make some furniture and a few stripper kayaks from time to time.

Really looking forward to retirement....less travel and more shop time.

Thanks to Lance and Brock for this site and to all of you that unknowingly have a little bit invested in each of my builds with your knowledge and sharing.

Don't know if anyone else has noticed it but there are quite a few IT geeks doing this.....what's the link?

"cheers", or as they say downunder ( one of my favorite places of all times) "g'day mate".

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(alias: gasawdust)

So many of these stories sound so familiar.

Hi Guys, I’m Wade Sylvester. I am an art and music person.
Like Mike Mahar, I also enjoy the NEL meetings. I feel very lucky to have the opportunity to be in such good company and involved with such a helpful and enthusiastic bunch of builders up here in the New England aria.
My first scratch built guitar was finished at age 19 back in 1975. It was a double-neck, 6 and 12 string, solid cherry, sculpted electric instrument.
I played out a lot then and this was my only guitar. It was so heavy I started to have back problems playing it all night so I built a few single neck (and much lighter) electrics. Back then I built mostly for myself and a few friends. There was little interest in acoustic instruments within my small music circle during the 70s and 80s. However, I started to experiment with electronics and various chambered guitars and eventually started to build acoustics in the 90s. At the same time, I fazed out of the Band scene and into various “shop” related jobs in an attempt to make more money than the music business seemed to yield at the time. Although I never lost interest in building instruments and experimenting with music, it never occurred to me that someone could build guitars for a living. Nor could I have anticipated the degree to which an extended hobby could take over one’s life. Somehow, what started as a simple need to have a guitar to play, now has turned into a, “I think I can make one better than the last one” obsession. I believe this is so because of the realization that instrument building truly combines all of the things that I love and have serendipitously trained myself to do.
I am currently an effects designer for the Charles Hayden Planetarium at the Boston Museum of Science and have lived in Nashua, NH 19 years with my lovely wife Jeannie, a jewelry designer in Boston.
I am particularly excited about exhibiting at the Montreal Guitar Show this year for the first time, and also to finally get to meet some of the fine and helpful people from this Forum!

Thanks for all your inspiration and guidance!

Wade

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Wade
Nashua, NH
http://www.wadefx.com

Hi,

Michael Lloyd,
Mid fifties, born a “Bluenoser” and will always be a “bluenoser”.
Married (same wonderful wife for 29 years)
2 wonderful kids and their partners (Sent them to university and they come back with 2 more.)

Living in this beautiful, music filled city of Toronto Canada.

Computer Science and have spent my entire working career with one of Canada’s major banks. What a ride it continues to be.

I was introduced to wood working in junior high (grade 7) and continued through and into grade 12. I was fortunate to have 5 years of wood working under the instruction of a very knowledgeable and patient teacher. It was his guidance and gentle approach that installed the love of wood working in me. It’s not often I don’t think of him when working in the shop.

Guitar building for the past 5 years, 1 a year.
My passion is with violin building. Studied the art for 2 years at OCAD here in Toronto.
The course no longer exists, shame…

Really like this OLF, a great community!

Now if only the kids would move out and I could get my shop back….

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Michael Lloyd

“I was born to ignorance, yes, and lesser poverties ...
I was born to privilege that I did not see ... I didn’t know it, but my way was paved” – John Gorka

Howdy....Big john from Texas here.I am new to this forum and am looking forward to asking some questions and helping out if I can(though most no so much more than I).
I have done all kinds of work...cabinet shop,dog walker ,irrigation...you name it...anything to keep strings on the guitar and food on the table.I have been playing all my life ...any instrument I can get my hands on.Played around Austin for a while and then Moved to Denton for schooling.I am back into guitar making after along sabbatical,with the goal of working smarter...and CLEANER.
peace

It was built in the 1800s. A gentleman wouldn't be able mention what the tower looked like without being "inappropriate". Everybody knew what it looked like but no one could say anything.

Let's see!... Huhm!.... It looks like "Bender" ??










What do you guys... think it.... looks......

Oh! You guys are..... NASSSSTY!

BENDER?? Oops! I think I just made it... worse!

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Billy Dean Thomas
Covina, CA

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

Not-to-worry Billy bro as Mike put it so very well there is nothing that can be said about this........ tower without some associated risk.

On another note, also as mentioned, you can't sling a cat in this thread without hitting an IT/computer science, programmer, software engineer, DBA, etc. Lot's of tech folks are building guitars.

Why do you think that this is? The tech bust or the idea that we, since I am a computer guy too, never produce anything tangible that you can touch, feel, play, hear - or both?

Great thread!

That "anything tangible" is not really true is it Good Buddy!
Oh! You didn't say smell! So I guess your right!

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Billy Dean Thomas
Covina, CA

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

They ought to require a license to use photoshop