Thought I would share this great new video of Michael Partington performing a new piece by Stephen Goss. It's a very cool composition and beautifully played. I'm a big time fan of Mahler's ninth symphony which is prominently quoted in it. Make sure to watch in in HD.
Surprise Magazine Appearances
Got the current issues of Soundboard and Gendai Guitar and was surprised to find my guitar in one, a huge picture of me on the back of the other and a feature article on my old buddy and classmate Keisuke Sakaba. Kind of funny, but also very cool.
Thanks to Shotaro at Rokkomann and Rich at Savage Classical for putting me in there!
Headstocks, Necks, Bindings and Rosettes
New Cedar Concert Model
Strung up the new cedar concert model last week and just shipped it out to Savage Classical. Very happy with how it turned out. It's very lively, present and balanced. Loose basses and lyrical trebles. Just enough high end frequency response to provide clarity and projection, but not so much as to be harsh.
Bracing, Carving and Making a Mess
Spent the last two days bracing up and carving two tops and backs and making a big mess of wood shavings and glue in the process. Everything is sharp and clean now though.
More Rosettes and Engraved Alessi Tuners
Got these beautifully engraved Alessi tuners in the mail the other day from Rich at Savage Classical. Excited to put them on a custom 636mm scale length guitar that I'm building for a client.
Spent the last several days making more Romanillos rosettes. It's a lot of work and there are many steps to the process; I've also noticed that these little tiles start showing up all over the place! I found one at home on the dining room table this morning when I went to sit down for breakfast... How did it get there??
Rosettes, Purflings and Gluing Up A Bunch of Stuff
Been moving along in the shop and getting started on a handful of new guitars. As tedious as it is, I love making these rosettes. The first is my version of the Torres guitar owned by Tarrega and the second of the one owned by Llobet. I've included pictures of the originals for reference. The wedges are, of course, for a Romanillos rosette.
Other than that, I just joined a bunch of spruce and rosewood and glued up some purflings, bindings, and Spanish cedar neck blanks.
Back In The Shop and wandering around the old continent
I'm back in the shop and plugging along after the GFA convention and the first real vacation that I've taken in years. Three weeks wandering around Austria, Germany, France and Italy. Visited my old house in France, swam in as many lakes as possible, did a little nostalgic hiking around the Puy de Dome and slept on a Volcano.
Now, I'm picking up where I left off with this cedar concert model and starting a new batch of custom Torres models for various clients and hopefully one for myself. Finally!
GFA Convention
The convention came and went so quickly that it almost seems like it never happened. Got to see a lot of old friends, meet some new ones, talk shop with other luthiers, hear my guitars played by some amazing guitarists and see some AMAZING concerts. I didn't get to see everything because I had to man my table, but I managed to catch Raphaella Smits, Fabio Zanon, Duo Melis, Michael Nicolella, Judicael Perroy and Thibaut Garcia. All really great concerts!
It was also a treat to catch up with my old teacher Robert Ruck, see him give a lecture and be inducted in to the GFA Hall of Fame. Congratulations! Also, congratulations to all of the competition finalists.
Of course there was also a lot of celebrating and drinking at the end of each night and into the morning; at the Augustine reception, Marshall Brune, Max Sipe and I were practically cornered and handed glass after glass of the most expensive Scotch and tequila they had - not such a bad problem to have!
Guitars for 2016 GFA Convention in Denver
Looking forward to the GFA convention coming up in Denver next week. Very excited to show these two new guitars that I'm becoming attached to. These are two very traditional sounding Spanish guitars. Light, low cavity resonances, big variety of timbres, balanced, loose basses and just enough stiffness for clarity, complexity and good projection.
Also very excited to see some old friends, new friends and some great concerts. Make sure to check out one of my old teachers Michael Nicolella on Friday afternoon!
Torres Model
- European Spruce top
- Peruvian walnut back and sides
- Spanish cedar neck/Ebony fingerboard
- Hand engraved Alessi tuners
- 650mm scale length
- 51mm nut width
Torres/Romanillos Model:
- European Spruce top
- Indian Rosewood back and sides
- Spanish cedar neck/Ebony fingerboard
- Hand engraved Alessi tuners
- 650mm scale length
- 51mm nut width
