Official Luthiers Forum!

Hey all.

I've been out of the loop for quite a while, but am getting back to building. Actually, I'm buying a house outside of the Boulder/Denver area in Golden. I was wondering if anyone had any tips for resources out there? I know Robbie O'Brian is in the area (I'll be about 40 minutes from him), of course, and I was able to google and find the Denver classical guitar society. What I haven't found is things like wood resources, stores that sell high end classicals, etc. I'm sure once I get out there (I close on July 18th) I'll be able to suss out where things are, but I hoped that maybe somebody here could point me in the right direction. I'm not exactly nationally known at the moment, so I kind of rely on local sales for the time being.

Roger

Try -
www.reynoldsguitars.com
Randy Reynolds is a very nice person!
Mikw

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Mike Collins

Roger,
Welcome to the neighborhood! Look forward to seeing you at the next CO luthiers gathering. Send me an email and I'll help you get joined to the group. As for high end shops to sell your classicals, there is a place in Boulder that is pretty good, but I don't know the name. Bill Neese sells his guitars there, so maybe try him. You can find his contact info on the CO Luthiers website that is listed above. In Denver, the best place to sell high end classicals is The Olde Town Pickin Parlor. Good luck with the move, and look forward to meeting you at one of the meetings. Send me an email if you have any more questions.

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Tracy
http://www.luthiersuppliers.com

Tracy, that was exactly the information I was looking for, thanks! I'll drop you an email once I get settled in. As you can imagine I'll have a lot to do before I can turn my thinking back to building.

Filippo, I did remember Randy Reynolds was in the area, I'm sure I'll run into him at some point. My note was more a 'hi' to the builders in the area. I'm a builder, and sell on commission on the east coast.

As for the wood question, I guess I was too vague, sorry. Yes, instrument wood would be nice, but I recognize I'm not going to find a lot that I'd use on a classical anyway. But I build furniture and such, and just like wood places with a lot of exotics, burls, etc., and tons of board feet of the more common varieties, so that it easy to match color/figure. Our Woodcrafts in VA don't carry a lot of stock, and what they do carry is much more spendy than specialty stores. For example, I've never seen snakewood in a Woodcraft here, but it is easy to find in local specialty stores. While in town we dropped in at the Tool King warehouse in Lakewood, and one of the workers there pointed us to the Rockler retail store as the best wood source, which is where he used to work. That just seemed weird to me, as all the great wood is at the independent single owner/location shops here on the east coast, like Hearne Hardwoods.

Roger,
There are several other places where you can get raw lumber. The largest well known is Austin hardwoods. There is another guy over by Lakewood/Golden, but he has a small warehouse and is by appt only. I found a beautiful piece of Koa there. I'll have to look for his name again and give you his phone number. He gives discounts to Red Rocks Community College woodworking students, so you may want to ask Robbie. Also, Robbie knows all the wood stores in town, so he will be more help than me. Hope to see you!

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Tracy
http://www.luthiersuppliers.com

Roger,

You could also check out Alan Dunwell. I do not think he builds classical instruments, however, he was very kind and forthcoming when I needed some advice on double tops!

I think his address is in Nederland CO.

Ray

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Guitar Building = Continuous Improvement Process

Roger,

Glad to hear you are coming to Colorado. I look forward to meeting you. Be sure and drop by the school sometime if you get a chance.