Hello! Another From Southern California.

bobk35
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Mon Oct 05, 2009 5:28 pm

Thanks for the warm welcome!

First, I have to note that I limited my list of guitarists to mostly acoustic artists. I have a long list of electric guitarists that I like but I know that secretly, they all use an acoustic guitar when they are writing;)

Gary,

I haven't been to the Taylor Factory yet. I'm afraid I'll find something I can't live without;) Most of my guitars have problems. A visit is on my short list though.

Tony,

I've tried to explain Tommy to a few of my friends over the years. I really can't. He's not "inside the box" or "outside the box", there is simply "no box". I'd love to see him live.


Chris,

The age curve of the TG community really doesn't surprise me. When I was young, you couldn't get me to sit still and listen to guys like Chet Atkins. Everything he played sounded the same. It was elevator music to me. I had no appreciation for blues, jazz or other genres even if they were at the root of my favorite Rock and Roll.

I think some younger guitarists probably visit the TG site and see a couple pieces they would like to learn to play. When I first visited the TG site I saw a LOT of pieces I wanted to play.

Don't get me wrong. The young guitarists today actually have a vast selection of music, much larger than we did at their age. The difference is that it is more compressed in time. Most of it is recent.

Maybe we should add some of John Mayer's work. But wait! He is now playing with Clapton and B.B King!

Sorry for the rant. At my age, it is common. Better than next stage ( forgetting what you want to say, mid-sentence).

Regards,

Bob


TGMatt
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Mon Oct 05, 2009 9:02 pm

well I'm sitting here reading the forum on my iPhone and I cam tell you that San Diego did in fact turn the weather on so thx fir that I'm sitting in the Shakespeare British pub drinking stella atois and about to tuck into a steak and mushroom pie with peas and gravy .. this is living !


goldleaf
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Mon Oct 05, 2009 9:27 pm

Bob, just curious, how is it that most of your guitars seem to need a visit to the Luthier. Do you do your own work?? And yes going through the Taylor factory and playing a few in their sound proof rooms can be very tempting especially as Taylor is noted for it's neck shape which makes playing it more fluid and easier especially on barre chords and general fingering. Although it sounds like you have a number of guitars that are well aged and I would assume sound very nice at least one they are brought back into adjustment. I have several Guild acoustic/electric guitars that are very nice, I also have a Tacoma which I recently purchased and is at the Luthier's getting the action and intonation set and a Blueridge. The thing is, I would love to buy a Taylor any probably will after selling a few of my other guitars since only a couple of the Guild's are collector quality. Gary


goldleaf
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Mon Oct 05, 2009 9:35 pm

Matt, I don't know how long you have in San Diego but if you have a chance spend part of a day checking out "Balboa Park", it has museaum's and many of the buildings and surrounding flora and faunta were built for the 1930 (or there about) World Fair. Just park your car and enjoy. It's within walking distance of the SD Zoo also. Gary


TGMatt
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Mon Oct 05, 2009 9:53 pm

thx Gary yes balboa and the zoo are great the big cat part of the zoo I think is best in world .. been here many times San Diego is a great place no doubt and people seem nice .. back to Scottsdale tommorow to start more work on tg .. so short trip


bobk35
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Mon Oct 05, 2009 10:06 pm

The weather did change this weekend. I was watching the Blue Angles practicing their routine on Thursday. It was clear and 80 degrees. By Sunday it was in the 60's and the Blue Angles were flying there low altitude routine.

Glad you found a pub to quaff a good brew. A pilsner man, after my own heart;)


goldleaf
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Mon Oct 05, 2009 10:28 pm

Matt, didn't realize you were a regular in SD. I never have enough time to spend when I go to visit which is at least once a year but a week is never enough for me. My daughter lives in Phoenix and was driving to Scottsdale today for business. I like AZ but not in the summer, I'll stay right here in Grass Valley in the summer. Enjoy your trip. Gary


bobk35
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Mon Oct 05, 2009 11:30 pm

Gary,
It is true that most of guitars need a Luthier. I do some of my own work especially on the low value guitars. Most of my guitars are 30+ years. I didn't play for the last 10 years due to an injury and they should have been unstrung. Live and learn.

I think my 12 string Guild is probably my most valuable guitar. Currently, it sounds the worst of all of my guitars and I don't know why. The sound is flat and it has no volume. It's ok for finger picking but I put it down and pick up my 12 string Epiphone for flat picking. I string and tune both as if they were 6-string guitars and they both have the same brand and size strings.

I should mention that the Epiphone folded like a cheap lawn chair a few years back. It has a removable neck and the neck block inside the body detached from the top. This allowed it to rotate into a cross brace and it really warped the top around the sound hole. I spent a couple of months getting everything loose, cleaned-up and glued back together. It groaned and made a lot of noise when I put strings on it again. It took another month before it opened up. I took my first stab at shimming the neck and got about half way to where I want the action but the sound is way above a guitar of it's class.

I have been thinking of a new guitar but I am thinking of building one as well. I can afford the materials for a great guitar. Maybe an OM with cutaway this time.


goldleaf
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Wed Oct 07, 2009 4:24 pm

Bob, that is a very interesting thought, build your own guitar. I would love to be able to pick the types of woods and tuners and electronics if I elected to put in electronics. Seems like I would need to buy a load of clamps and I'm sure a variety of tools. Where do you get the basic layout or how do you start such a project? How would you handle inlay and bindings etc. BTW If you are a fix-it type person & interested in an acoustic/electric by Guild made in Tacoma WA in 2007 that had a crack along the side along a grain line. My luthier repaired the crack internally but it has a nitro cellulouse finish which is a very thin finish allowing for max vibration, especially of the top. It's perfect as far as playing but cosmetically it would need to be somehow refinished along where the micro cellulose finish parted. Although my luthier rebuilds violins, cellos & other antique stringed instrumens he dosen't spray nitro cellulose finish for cosmetics. It listed for $2,700 & has a solid red spruce top, dark mahogany,S&B venecian cutaway and electronics that are operated by reaching in the sound hole which means, no hole cut in the side of the guitar for electronics. It's a Guild "Contemporary Series" model CO-2C in mint condition, bone saddle and nut(basically unplayed)except the repaired crack as described. Any suggestions how to repair that type of blemish? I would also consider parting with it since I have 2 other Guilds, different models. Gary


bobk35
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Tue Oct 13, 2009 12:14 pm

Gary,

Take a look at this forum for starters:

http://www.kitguitarforum.com/

There are a lot of manufacturers that supply kits including Martin. Most have different levels of completeness. Most people start with kits and later move to "from scratch" designs. You can usually find a kit you like but you can order special woods from other sites.

I did some quick checking on repairs to finish blemishes and found that some luthiers will consider it but they have to see the guitar. If the rest of the guitar is mint, my guess is that they won't attempt it.

I would expect that you might find a master woodworker with an air brush that might attempt the job.

Did you contact Guild about the problem?

Regards,


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