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  • Yes there are no rules. Horrible isn't it???? How can I be rebellious if there's no rules????? It's frustrating! No rules, no rebellion. I'm beside myself. I have no idea what to do. : )

    • Be truly rebellious and make some rules...... chuckles

  • Rule #1, thou shalt be polite to others, thou shalt reflect upon thy text before clicking the reply button,  or we shall forcibly remove your birthday with a rusty fret saw.

    Rule #2, thou shalt call it a git only if it has strings that your pinch off (finger/slide/fret) to play different notes. If it has strings you only pluck but do not shorten is such manner, thou shalt call it a harp.  if it has nay a single of strings, thou shalt call it Not-Fred.

    Rule #3, upon the completion of the first object that produces a sound pleasing to one's own ears, thou shalt be awarded the title "Maker", and thou shalt bear the shame of this brand until the grave.

    rule #4 - there is no rule #4

    Rule #5 - thou art granted license and encouragement to experiment, be creative, and engage in rabbit-hole diving with alacrity, to seek the wisdom of others who have trod down the path ahead of you, and to trim the shrubbery as you go and so widen the path for those who follow you, picking up cigarette butts, beer cans, fast-food wrappers, gas station receipts, and depositing them in the blue trash can along side the park benches near the hedge.

    Rule #6 - Ye can not change the laws of physics Captain!

    • The python is strong in this one....

      is it a prerequisite to have a knowledge of Monty Python to make CBG's or does making CBG's drive you to Monty python? 

    • Haha...it is to larf. ;-)
  • Thanks Kigar,
    Taff.
  • Hi, re Craig's comments regarding the making of a luthier. I'd like to put my thoughts on the part of the comment, that the term "Luthier" is for those craftsmen/craftswomen who have had formal training.

    I tend to think that some people do get some formal training and call themselves Luthiers, but that may not make them a skilled, caring, dedicated and respected "Luthier". Training now days is very easy to come by. I feel there are many, many craftspeople out there who have learned their skills the hard way, over time, with research and with trial and error, and still earn the respect of their peers. I read about them in GAL journals all the time.

    But I agree the right person being lucky enough to have a skilled mentor to work with every day is going to be streets ahead in their acquisition of skills and knowledge.

    One could hang up their shingle "LUTHIER" a lot sooner, for the other it may take longer or they may choose not call themselves a luthier. I'm not sure if a person has to be full time at their craft to warrant being called a Luthier, being a mainly a low paying profession I think many would rely on a second income at times. 

    For me, I have never used the term Luthier to describe myself or what I do, the sign on my fence says Guitar Builder/Repairer. But I'm referred to as a Luthier by my customers and friends all the time. So maybe I am a Luthier, a self taught Luthier, and I'm proud of that. But as I have not had formal training I am more comfortable in calling myself a Builder/Repairer of Stringed Instruments.

    So if you are interested building stringed instruments don't wait for formal training, start now. Google "Taffy Evans Handmade Guitars" to see what a person without classical training can produce. And I'm not the only one.

    Just my thoughts on the matter.

    Cheers Taff

     

    • Why did we start discussing about luthiers? Wayfinder: «No rules... Artist!», my response: «it looks like there is a widespread tendency on this site to look down on craftsmen, luthiers included, selfdeclaring itself as an artist, but even art is based on craftsmanship... Wayfinder believes the best guitars - Martins included in his list for comparison - be cheap accidental items of far east mass production lines because accidentially there wasn't a craftsman applying his dummy rules to them.

      In the German speaking area a luthier is called «instrument builder» - except for organs - who had formal training for four years in the shop of an elder luthier which had formal training to have the right to teach learners. In Germany there are still instrument builders which wander as journeymen across Europe for «three years and a day», with the ban to approach their homes for less than fifty kilometers, to learn from other professionals in their shops all around the continent. I met one of these journeymen last year, you recognize them from far by their clothing and their bundle they carry over their shoulder: he was hitchhiking on the way to Southern Spain.

      With all the cheap instruments from far east mass production lines the luthier's work has changed a lot: they are now more involved with repair, setup, and commerce of instruments than properly instrument building, and there are hobbyists they are more productive in instrument building than are professionals because they earn their living from other work. Most violins and all violas in my town are now built by my brother who teaches at an elementary school, even if there are three luthiers specialized on violins.

      I think the point is not whether you have formal training or not, but whether you are willing to study what other people had done before you, a question of respect. With a formal training you are forced to respect, without it's your free will.
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