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Post by ianlp59 on Jul 4, 2018 10:41:32 GMT
Hi all, my annual guitar fest is always held on the third Saturday in July. So, this year it's Saturday July 21st. I am expecting the usual mix of friends, musicians and luthiers, although these categories are by no means exclusive to each other. On the luthier front we will have Rosie and Karl (Turnstone Guitars), Tom Sands (Tom Sands Guitars and ex apprentice to Ervin Somogyi) Rory Dowling (Taran Guitars) as well as a relative newcomer to the luthier scene, Max Spohn from Germany, who has been working and studying under the watchful eye of Ray Kraut (ex Somogyi apprentice). In addition, there is likely to be a formidable array of some of the best instruments available anywhere alongside some really great playing talent. For those of an aquatic disposition, there is always the pool ( currently at 30 deg C). We provide "refreshments" as well as food and, we are led to believe, a very welcoming atmosphere. For many it represents a real high spot in the year. Anyone wishing to attend is welcome to do so. Anyone who has not previously attended should PM me for address details. I would like to get an idea of numbers, simply to figure the likely victualling requirements, so attendence confirmations would be most welcome.
Cheers,
Ian
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Post by ianlp59 on May 30, 2018 10:32:09 GMT
Lovely. I was chatting with a friend who has just ordered a guitar from Tom, he didn't opt for 'the tree'... Out of interest, are there counterfeit sets out there? Does it come with a certificate of authenticity? Jonny I haven't seen a certificate, however that level of figuring would be extremely hard to fake... Ian
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Post by ianlp59 on May 30, 2018 10:17:27 GMT
Here is some wood that is set aside for an upcoming build project next year... Cheers, Ian
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Post by ianlp59 on May 17, 2018 9:34:56 GMT
+1 for Jim Fleeting. I've used him a couple of times to sort finish issues with my Fischer Concerto. He's also good mates with Tom Sands...
Cheers,
Ian
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Post by ianlp59 on May 9, 2018 8:22:02 GMT
It is hard to envisage a situation where the guitar, per se, has no future. I agree that trends come and go but the main reason for the guitar's popularity is its versatility and portability coupled with the fact that almost anyone can learn to play hundreds of popular songs armed with just a handful of chords. For those who are more ambitious the instrument offers a multitude of polyphonic possibilities through the use of fingerstyle techniques. And then you can re-tune it to whatever takes your fancy. I also agree with a previous post that there are probably too many builders, purely from a sustainability perspective.
Cheers,
Ian
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Post by ianlp59 on Apr 24, 2018 9:48:33 GMT
At £ 26,000.00 it would be, it's actually 26,950.00 ! I'm going to Berlin at the end of next week for the Holy Grail Guitar Show. Leo will be there with this guitar ! Am expecting to hook up with Rosie (Turnstone Guitars) as well as Tom Sands, Jason Kostal and Ray Kraut, along with Keith Robson of Robson tuners. Should be a good weekend ! Cheers, Ian
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Post by ianlp59 on Feb 25, 2018 13:12:41 GMT
Andy's report pretty much sums it up. Downstairs, the electric area, was the aural equivalent of Dante's Inferno. I felt ill, rather than having any concerns about adding to my guitar collection. Upstairs was certainly less noisy, though still too much noise to stand any chance of really appreciating anything one might have felt like trying (so I didn't). It was great to hook up with my mate Terry as well as seeing Rosie and Karl again. I did get to play Rosie's guitars the night before at the hotel after a few glasses of red. I liked all three guitars. Of the two guitars I hadn't played before, I was initially drawn more to the Yew guitar. However, the newly strung Cherry guitar with the French polish finish really started to draw me in, a lovely instrument. I'm glad I went, even though my day did not get off to the best of starts - completely flat offside rear tyre which had to be replaced (ouch!) and took to gone midday to sort out.
Any, I'm back to the relative sanity of banjo frailing...
Cheers,
Ian
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Post by ianlp59 on Jan 19, 2018 19:24:39 GMT
Remove them completely, how does the guitar sound then ? I guess they do add something to the sound... More seriously, good quality machine heads with the right ratio make tuning a guitar a lot more precise. My favorite tuners are handmade ones by Keith Robson, obviously total overkill unless they are being fitted to a really great guitar. That said, my two Sobells have Gotoh tuners which do the job just fine...
Cheers,
Ian
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Post by ianlp59 on Jan 15, 2018 16:06:31 GMT
Decided against the Thalia and got two Shubb black chrome capos instead. Highly effective, tasteful and not wallet busting...Actually I have lots of capos but seem always to come back to the Shubbs, just a great design...
Cheers, Ian
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Post by ianlp59 on Jan 4, 2018 10:01:00 GMT
Just wondering if anyone has tried these. They are available in a huge variety of finishes but carry a premium price. Basically, are they any good..?
Cheers,
Ian
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Post by ianlp59 on Nov 21, 2017 10:56:42 GMT
I was there - and it was / is great. Just returned from another stonking workshop weekend in sunny Sheffield helping MS out with the stuff that requires organisational ability rather than raw musical ability. Absolutely wonderful bunch of people and some seriously great talent on display during the evening sessions. There were no less than six of Stefan Sobell's wonderful guitars as well as a Cuban Hog Bown and two of Rosie's (plus the girl herself).
Can't wait for the upcoming weekend chez Scorpio Dog...
Cheers,
Ian
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Post by ianlp59 on Sept 29, 2017 9:42:37 GMT
I do gigs very rarely as I do not have an overwhelming urge to inflict my modest abilities on others and am, frankly, not really a natural performer. The last time I played in "public" was at the HB8 weekend when Rosie very touchingly asked me to demo the guitar she'd made for Terry and with Andy during the plucky dip performance slots.
I have been fortunate in the past to be asked by Roy Bailey to accompany him on a number of occasions. But those instances were Roy's gigs, not mine.
Cheers,
Ian
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Post by ianlp59 on Aug 18, 2017 8:51:39 GMT
Sums the whole thing up rather exquisitely...
Cheers,
Ian
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Post by ianlp59 on Aug 18, 2017 8:48:41 GMT
Historically : Ralph McTell, John Martyn, Jorma Kaukonen (Jefferson Airplane/Hot Tuna), Stefan Grossman, John Renbourn, John James...The list is pretty endless.
More recently, Martin Simpson who is now a great pal of mine. Incidentally, he has a new album out in September - "Trails & Tribulations". I have got a copy of it already, donated to me recently by the man himself. It's beautiful, possibly the best he's ever done and it features a quite a few of his own songs, one of which I like very much, "Thomas Drew". It's a clever take on the American folk classic "John Hardy" who shot Thomas Drew(s) to death in a drunken brawl during a crap game for which Hardy was hung on January 19th 1894. The song is written from the perspective of the murder victim and features the line "I got lucky, and he shot me to death" - priceless... The album also features Martin's arrangement of Emily Portman's "Bones and Feathers" on which his daughter Molly sings beautifully.
Cheers,
Ian
p.s. loving my new Tom Sands OM...
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Post by ianlp59 on Aug 11, 2017 15:31:15 GMT
Hi Richard,
Yep, it's fiddle back mahogany - a real stunner. Sounds great too. I had Martin Simpson and family at the house last week for a short stay and he was pretty blown away with it !
Cheers,
Ian
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