Official Luthiers Forum!

Convention was great, I got to meet some very nice OLF folks. Wish I had more time to spend with each of them.
I did spend a lot of time with Matt Jacobs and Steve Kinnaird and his wife. Really great people. Sorry more of us were not in attendance and I am curious to see what people thought. As I just repair I always feel a bit on the outside looking in.
Nice to be home facing a stack of guitars this week. I find these things energizing.
Best, Evan

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http://www.NewYorkGuitarRepair.com

Like you Evan, I had a great time at the GAL Convention. As you say, it was hard to get to spend time with everyone you wanted to!

I learned quite a bit from the lectures, but mostly from talking to other luthiers, who were very gracious and generous with their advice and help. I will be applying all that I learned in my next few guitars! Charles Fox's redesigned sidebending machine/process seems like a winner to me too. I hope to be able to impart some $$$ in Charles' direction in the not-too-distant future for a set of plans. He's solved all the nagging little issues that his original design had. I'll say no more about this right now and let him roll out his new design at his chosen pace.

I showed my first guitar there. Lots of people picked it up and played it. Most were surprised how nice and even the tone was and how much sustain it had despite the cruddy finish it had (cuz I had to rush it to get the guitar done in time). I left a sheet of paper out for comments when I wasn't there in person (because I was off looking at other people's guitars and/or buying waaaay too much wood and supplies!) and received several very nice compliments/comments on it. Thanks for your kind words folks, if you're reading this - most appreciated.

I spent about 2x my budget on wood and stuff (they had an ATM machine right there in the lobby ). I just couldn't help it - the quality of the stuff the vendors had for sale was outstanding, and the prices were okay too! I picked up tons of nice bearclaw/master/AAAA quality tops from the Alaska wood folks, a beautiful curly/colored b/s set of myrtle, several b/s sets of curly maple, and a lovely set of Tasmanian blackwood, a gorgeous set of tiger myrtle, several neck blanks from trees with wierd names, and a bunch of beautiful binding strips from my new pal Tim on the Australian Tonewoods booth. I also scored some nice ebony from LMI along with several new tools. I went a bit mad in the GAL auction on Saturday (both the silent and noisy auctions). I got some really good stuff though - a couple of very nice sets of engraved Sloane classical guitar tuners, a box of beautiful Japanese chisels, some ebony fingerboards, a book or two, a neck set guage, and a very large manual miter saw (not sure why I bid on that one.....it's just a cool tool I guess!). It was a struggle fitting everything in the car for the journey home - only just got it all in!!

I'll post some photos later tonight. I'm already looking forward to the next one....

Cheers,
Dave F.

P.S. I lost about 5 lbs. at the convention due to a) the food wasn't really much to write home about, and b) walking several miles a day up and down hills/stairs!

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Cambrian Guitars

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

I had a great time there, although the weather the first couple of days was horrible ( literally colder than Siberia.) It was good to see some OLFers, old and new faces, and to hear some masters of the craft dole out some wisdom.

The high lights for me were the:

1. Classical Listening session. I've never had the pleasure to listen to so many great Classicals in one place, to include a Jeff Elliott and a Robert Ruck.

2. Eugene Clark. He is just a crotchety old fart, and I thought he was hilarious. But he is also a genius, and a master of building using simple "carprnter's" techniques, like Torres, Ramirez, Hauser, etc...



Here are a few pics

This is the archtop panel. From left to right, Jeff Elliott( moderator), Steve Grimes, Tom Ribbecke, and Ted Megas.


Here is Dana Bourgeois in his Steel String voicing class

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Matt Jacobs

"Don't tase me bro"

Evan / Matt -
It was nice meeting both of you at the GAL. It was also neat to be able to meet several other OLF folks (Steve Kinnaird, Todd Rose, Tim 'Australian Tonewoods', David O, Doug O - I know I am forgetting a few). Dave F. - Never got a chance to meet you but I did play your guitar for a fair bit. I got quite a bit out of the convention (not wood or tools, just insight... Ok, I did get some wood too... Thanks Tim!). Everything from playability and voicing to strings and ukuleles. Unfortunately I missed a few things I would have liked to attend but it was great overall.
My favorite quote of the convention was during the first workshop I attended on 'Playability'. Some one asked David Freeman of Timeless Instruments if he cut the nut slots at 90 degrees or if he angled them towards the tuning posts. He replied "I did once splay my nut slots" someone from the audience yelled "Did it hurt??" Everyone got a little laugh and then David replied "I said I only did it once".

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Time is a great teacher, but unfortunately it kills all its pupils - Louis Hector Berlioz

Chansen / C hansen / C. Hansen / Christian Hansen - not a handle.

Christian

I had a good time too! It was a great time getting to see lots of folks, Evan and I had some nice greetings as we passed each other by a few times. We never got much time to talk! But we did talk about how we wished there were more OLF people there.
I got to host the open mic night on friday, and I also was given the honor of being the musician for the steel-string listening session. I can't explain how incredible it was to be the guy playing about 40 high-quality handbuilt guitars one after the other....I really learned a lot listening to each of them. It was also a little bit scary. <G>

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

yeah I just got home,I had two extra days there so I took about a 500 mile road trip through the olympic rain forest. saw some very, very, big trees and beautifull country ! I thought the cool temps were a nice break from the heat I left behind here in new york., I actualy had two days of sunshine on my road trip, from what the locals were conveying is highly unusual!
For me the convention was an awesome experience, I met alot of good folks , some I do wish I had more time to chat with .I went there mostly for the voicing discusions, but i think the single most valuable for me was , was David Freemans , " building for playability" . he shared his knowledge of a whole spectrum of areas of the guitar which would also be usefull in set up and design ..
Dana Burgous' voicing lecture , and demonstration the next day ,was both entertaining and enlightening , as well as Roger Siminoff''s " tap tuning explained".
Frank Ford's repair ingenuity was something to behold, I wish I knew how to fix the broken ones !
Micheal Cones lecture on sunday was much more informative than I thought it would be going in . he gave some good solid ( some simple, some extravagant ) ways to document and notate a build as he was explaining how he recently duplicated a build he did in the 1975, for a world class player..I am still considering his startling revelation about stradivari plates,discovered ( i think ) by Joseph Curtin who also gave a great lecture on breaking from tradition in violin making.

The antique instrument display was unbelievable, who knows when again I will be able to closely examine, pick up and strum 18 th and 19th century instruments, I also learned x bracing was around 20 years before C F martin started using it...go figure!!!
Hey Evan , maybe we can get together for a few brews sometime. as we are practicly neighbors ! right now I am one tired dude! Jody

I had a great time at the convention, as I always do, and came home exhausted... I'm still recovering. It was great having more time to hang out with you, Evan, and to pick your brain some as well. Thanks again for willingly sharing your knowledge, experience, and thoughts. It was great to see others I've gotten to know in the past, such as Steve Kinnaird and Mark Swanson (and, of course, many others who don't frequent the OLF), and to meet some of you I hadn't met before. I have to admit I'm so terrible with names - and the convention is such a whirlwind of people and activity - that I can't even remember now if I met Matt and Dave. If I saw photos of you, I'd probably say, "Oh, yeah!"

It would be hard for me to choose highlights to mention. I got something good out of each presentation and workshop I attended, and learned some good stuff in conversations over meals and such as well. It was also a very good experience for me to exhibit my new alto guitar, to hear a variety of people play it and get their feedback (which, I'm pleased to say, was very positive and supportive). Thanks to any and all of you who stopped by my table!

I managed to restrain myself when it came to spending, which was necessary at this point in my financial reality, but I did pick up one outstanding B&S set of QS spider-webbed ziricote, which I just might use on my next guitar.

To all those I met or reconnected with, thanks for being such swell folks, and I look forward to seeing you again!

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Todd Rose
Ithaca, NY

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

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

I'm bone tired. We got in last night (this morning) at 2:45 a.m.
But this is one meeting that is worth the distance, expense and fatigue. The highlight for me is always the inpiration gained from the exposure to so many fine builders, good friends, great instruments/ideas and...wood. (There went our IRS refund as well as economic stimulus check.)

I did glean valuable info on archtops. They have been mysteries to me for ever, but some of the rationale behind the instrument is now clearer. And Tom Ribbecke probably shaved off years of learning curve for anyone who attended his demo.

As I thought about the convention, I think I can honestly say that the best part was visiting w/ OLF brethren. Being a Texan, I see Matt a lot, but the others only at GAL. Great meeting new folks, and putting faces w/ the names. I will add this--Tim Spittle and Evan Gluck could do stand-up. (Except that Evan says he blew his knees out, and can't stand up that long.... Ba-da-bing!)

After it was all over, we traveled up Mt Rainier and spent the night at Paradise. (Who knew it was so easy to get there? Or that it WAS there?! [Paradise Found...]) Next day was off to Mount St. Helen's to see the youngest glacier in the world, and one seriously bad-tempered mountain.
Beautiful weather! I think the Washingtonians have us snookered about their weather. It's perfect.
Except, strolling around Pike Place Market yesterday, we saw a T-shirt emblazoned with: "Seattle Rain Festival...Jan.1-Dec.31"
Ho, ho.

You all should go next time, as it will be the 20th National Convention, bound to be filled w/ many goodies.

Glad to be back,
Steve

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From Nacogdoches...the oldest town in Texas.

http://www.stephenkinnaird.com

Went to 2004 and 2006. Missed this year as I'm just back to work from a broken arm obtained skiing with my daughters who are x-racers. trying to pretend i am younger than my ID says. I'll be at 2010. See you all there I hope.
This is the flight path over the residence building 2006.

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Greg
http://garibaldiinstruments.com/

I had a great time. Next time there needs to be a planned OLF get together so we can put more faces to the names. Every workshop I attended exceeded expectaions - voicing, refretting, archtops, violin tops with .6mil veneer on balsa wood ! Way cool. The only real problem was having to choose only one workshop when there were two others going on at the same time. Since I live about 15 minutes from the venue I went home every night and if I had it to do over again I would get a room on campus.

By the way, since you are all my close personal friends I'll let you in on a closely held secret. We tell everyone from outside the area that it rains here all the time for the sole purpose of keeping them all from moving here.

Shhhhhhhh!!! Now everyone is going to be flocking here...
It was good seeing you there Doug and you'll have to let me back into your shop sometime... I need to drool over your stacks and stacks of wood.

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Time is a great teacher, but unfortunately it kills all its pupils - Louis Hector Berlioz

Chansen / C hansen / C. Hansen / Christian Hansen - not a handle.

Christian

Hi all,
just got back ( 22hrs of flying ), whew! any great convention, many good things, new friends except the food....
got a nice pictures with Charles and Steve.
Will take a few more days to get over the jaglag...hopefully will be able to email some of you guys.
All the Best,
Jeffreyyong

Well, it's definitely cool and interesting. Can anybody explain it. And how it's any better than a go-bar deck?

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Wes McMillian
Santo, TX
http://www.wesmcmillian.com

Westex,
I was reminded that we are not supposed to talk about the informational content of GAL convention. I'll just say it is for fitting braces not gluing braces.

Sorry

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Matt Jacobs

"Don't tase me bro"

The GAL will publish the content of nearly all the presentations (I'm sure Tom's will be among them), along with many photos, in American Lutherie. They reserve exclusive publishing rights.

In the meantime, anyone interested in Tom's jig could probably get all the info they want by contacting him directly. I will add this comment, though: ya shoulda been there!

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Todd Rose
Ithaca, NY

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

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

I hear ya. Wish I could've been there. Maybe next time.

I "think" I'm somewhat getting the jist of it anyway, looking at the pics. Mostly just curious. I look forward to seeing the articles!

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Wes McMillian
Santo, TX
http://www.wesmcmillian.com

Hesh! How did you get photos of the new LMI "Cones of Silence" if you were not there? It was amazing you put it on and
you can brace the guitar however you want and they all sound the same! I kept trying to buy it but of course nobody heard me.
Great meeting all of you and spending so much time with Steve, Matt, Todd, Mark, etc.
Everyone needs to go to these. I mean how much education in guitar building and repair is ever all in one place like this?
Can't wait for the next one. Tim and Deb put on a great show.
Best, Evan

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http://www.NewYorkGuitarRepair.com

For me the highlight was Roger's class on tap tuning. He made it easy to understand for just about anyone. That and some really stunning Camatillo I bought. I'm not sure what to do with it yet but it's mine!!!. I wish I knew some of the people on this forum by sight I would love to have talked to you. Maybe next time all of the OLF people can wear a smiley face on their name tag so we can identify each other. Hope to meet some of you at the next one.
Bob

Westex,
I was reminded that we are not supposed to talk about the informational content of GAL convention. I'll just say it is for fitting braces not gluing braces.

Sorry
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I didnt realize there was a restraint on speaking about the lectures and demonstrations....I imagine they do pay the presenters a fair amount for their time and knowledge ....Jody

Oh, that's a pile of crap. I don't care if they make you swear silence - someone presents at a trade symposium, it's open. No you don't have the right to publish, but there's no reasonable presenter who is expecting confidentiality after after a presentation like that. If they have issues with discussion among peers, they can seriously suck my bone nuts.

GAL, If that's really a rule, you're done. GLLA (Great Lakes Luthiers Association) is expanding and putting you under! Once we get started, that is.... Look out.
Really.

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Eschew obfuscation, espouse elucidation.

Well said David!!!

I doubt that GAL intended for information presented at the conference to not be discussed else where or anywhere. And I'll remind people that the OLF is a discussion forum - presumably where things are discussed.

If something is even perceived, wrongly or rightly to be off-limits why bring it up here???

If there is any validity to the idea that GAL participates in discouraging the free exchange of information even if it was presented at the conference, which I seriously doubt BTW, I am happy that I am not a member this year. Again I think that there is a disconnect here regarding the publishing of the information not discussion of the information presented.

Saying that we should have been there....... well if I had that attitude you folks would have never seen my many, many pictures taken at the HGF now would ya..... BTW there is a new link above for the OLF Blog where everyone can see the pics that I took and others took too. These pictures include some pretty detailed design elements of the guitars on display that had not hit the press yet. Saying that we should have been there because we missed a great time I completely understand and agree.

Put it out there and it's fair game. Not that I need to remind anyone either but attribution is always a good idea when discussing the ideas of others.

I dont know ?./ the GAL went to great pains to document the presentations , even so far as having those with questions say thier names so they could be published with the questions in the upcoming articles, which i am sure will be well documented.
It is my understanding ASIA was started due to a dispute with GAL, the stories I have heard or read vary , from a group of radical builders started ASIA, to someone saying to me it was started because guitar builders were being treated as second to violin makers . There was at least a 100 people in the room for the violins presentation/discusion , only a handfull raised their hands as violin builders, it was 95% guitar makers.also Frank Ford was at the convention , at the open house after the convention, i heard him say he is on the board of ASIA , so at least he does not have a conflict ! Charles Fox did a nice presentation on his bender and bending ,stated he began building in the 1970's, there were a few other building at the time but until the GAL was started.. noone would show you anything. so it realy does not seem to me the GAL is about being secretive. Jody

David is right

You are certainly able to converse about what you saw, that's what the GAL is about, promoting and educating.

I was not at Toms lecture, as I was at something else at the time so I don't know the details of the fixture myself. Did Tom specifically say "don't speak of this jig to anyone"? If he did then respect it and don't talk about it, but if he did not lets talk about it.

No you can not publish his lecture in a magazine, or post a video of the lecture on youtube, but you can certainly discuss ideas and what you learned from the conference. That is why the lecturers are there to discuss and share ideas on luthery.

Oh, by the way, other posters who wrote about the conference are absolutely right, it was great and if you can attend one of these you should. It was good to see Christan and Doug again, and wonderful to meet all the new people I met

davidO

Hey David,
It was good seeing you there too - If you're ever back in the area, let me know.
Later!

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Time is a great teacher, but unfortunately it kills all its pupils - Louis Hector Berlioz

Chansen / C hansen / C. Hansen / Christian Hansen - not a handle.

Christian