The word “handmade” is one the oldest, feel-good labels we can attribute to a product and it is the prerequisite of each customer on the market for a concert quality classical guitar. But what does this word mean today and what qualities should its products possess?
On June 20, one of my customers brought by an original Torres made in 1883. The guitar sounded great though it obviously had lots of restoration work. I checked the Romanillos entry of this particular guitar and most everything matches his description except the bit about the four piece top.
Tom Torrisi, owner of guitar no. 15, recently commissioned and performed a peice for electronics and guitar from Authur Keegan-Bole, a composer of new music based in Bristol, UK. Here is the recording available on YouTube.
Tom is currently working towards a D.M.A at Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY.
Nocturne by Author Keegan-Bole
One week ago Brent Webster came by the shop with guitar no. 5 for some routine touch ups to the guitar's polish. One of the best decisions I've made since being in the business of building people guitars is to offer free French polishing on the first 30 guitars.
See the completed instrument here.
You can collect all the data possible, use every objective resource at your disposal and create every millimeter of your instrument with machinist precision, but the end product will always be a result of your judgement.
Every time we set out to do something great we can only set our standards as high as our imagination and experience can conceive.
The art we make and the work we do will never be “perfect” because perfection is a standard that is always in a state of flux. It changes as we learn and grow.
So the hardest work is done in your imagination.
Every guitarist will only play as well as she can imagine herself playing and all luthiers will be forever limited to creating the instrument they are imagining.
Special Thanks for Larry Long of the Knoxville Guitar Society for allowing me to come visit and share my recent guitars after their most recent concert.
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