NGD, with tremendous gratitude

[mikealpine]

Sometimes people do things for you that truly amaze you. In a virtual world, you can make real friends. Thank you, Steven Sheriff. I don't know that I'll be able to thank you enough.

On December 23rd 2015, my amazing 22-year old niece died in a car accident in North Carolina. It was dark and raining, she was unfamiliar with the roads. It is known to be a dangerous 5-way intersection. She wasn't texting or doing anything dangerous behind the wheel...she missed a stop line in the road (the stop sign, which she stopped at, was about 15' further back) and her car was hit by two others, she died at the scene. Your life changes in a heartbeat.

My niece was an amazing young lady, in extraordinary ways. She still inspires my daughters, all of us really, on just about a daily basis. If you wish, you can read more about her at http://www.jordanschuman.com. I can go on for paragraphs on end about her, how she pursued all of her goals and achieved most (if not all of them), ultimately becoming a TV reporter in South Carolina. She's a great example of what young men and women can do when they are focused and want "it" bad enough. So while you may be sorry for our loss, and I truly appreciate this, I hope you'll understand that my family has chosen to focus more on the blessing we had of 22 years with her, and the good she did and continues to do.

Where this is heading and why this appears here on the AGF is that a fund was established in her honor through the NY Press Club. I wanted to do more than donate money for this young lady who I love as I do my own daughters. Could I mix Jordan's love of music (she had a beautiful voice) and my love of guitar, and do something good with that? I started thinking about commissioning a guitar that could be sold or auctioned, and could it raise more money in the end than I could donate on my own? I ran the concept of this by Steve Sheriff, just to get ideas and see if this could work. Steve said he had been working on a guitar on and off for a couple of years, with no particular purpose in mind. And he offered the guitar to me. I was stunned. In about 5 minutes we took my question of "Can this work?" to "Ok, what next?" I covered the cost of materials, Steve donated the labor, and he built an absolutely lovely guitar that we will eventually be able to either sell or auction off once we work out the best way to do that and what has to happen so that the appropriate tax deductions are given to the buyer, especially because I am not looking to recover my costs; the entire purchase price will be donated to Jordan's fund.

One thing that was awesome about Steve is that, through the entire process as he got to know more about my niece and her impact on everyone who she touched, he kept thanking me for allowing him to become part of our mission. He thanked me. I can't thank him enough. I've met some amazing people in life, and some of them right here. Steve is one of the nicest people I think I have ever met. And he builds beautiful instruments. Please take a look at Jordan's guitar...




I will post more photos later, along with the specs. Steve build a beautiful instrument, rich trebles, loud despite its size (maybe like Jordan? ), light and so easy to play. I hope you enjoy, and thanks for taking the time to read and look.

[TomB'sox]

I second the accolades just given to Steve. Tremendous human being with a giving heart and soul. Be forewarned, when you commission a guitar from Steve, Steve's soul and compassion are included at no extra cost to you.

Beautiful guitar! Beautiful gift to the memory of your niece!

Great people here on the AGF!!!

[invguy921]

Beautiful story, beautiful guitar in memory of a lovely young lady. Mike, I still think you should keep the guitar. Personally, I'd be more than willing to donate to the fund SO YOU CAN KEEP the guitar.

Think hard on this. I think there are likely other members of AGF who would share in this gift in her honor...to YOU.

I'd like to ask others to join me in sharing.

[mikealpine]

Tom, thank you, I've been very lucky to have found the AGF. I have less money because of it, but still, very lucky. I'm looking forward to your thoughts when you play Jordan's guitar. We'll need honest reviews and good sound clips to aid in the sale.


Mike, as keeping this guitar, it's tempting, and unbelievably generous of you to make that offer, but I feel that this is the purpose for this guitar. I may have another built for myself, my playing style, and with something specific inscribed in it somewhere (or just written on the inside of the top) down the road, but as Steve Sheriff and I discussed, it seems like this guitar came together, at this time, just for this purpose. It's a fingerstylist's dream! Thank you for some great suggestions as far as upgrading the tuners and other embellishments that contributed to the whole.

[T1mothy]

thank you for sharing.

[Larry Pattis]

Yes, great story, and I see at least a couple of "heroes" here...

[jaymarsch]

So sorry for your loss. It is amazing that despite all the inhumane things that bombard us in the news every minute of every day, we know that gestures like these are happening also, probably in greater abundance and we just do not hear as much about them.

A lovely gesture by Steve and a gift to us in you sharing your story here. Music can both celebrate Jordan's life and help heal the hearts that love and miss her.

I am sure that this guitar will find its player and Jordan will live on through the music and your memories.

Best,
Jayne

[rmp]

my heart felt condolences for your niece.

We too lost a nephew who was well on the path for success in college, one March evening in 2011 he lost his life when a campus bus hit and killed him (Distracted driver was the cause)

What you are setting out to do is a noble cause. Well done!

[mikealpine]

Originally Posted by T1mothy

thank you for sharing.

Thank you for reading and sharing this with me.

Originally Posted by Larry Pattis

Yes, great story, and I see at least a couple of "heroes" here...

Thank you, Larry. I know it sounds trite, but Jordan is the hero. I am blown away by how many lives she touched in so many positive ways, in such a short time. Ok, my sister as well, who's attitude and (mostly, understandably) positive focus has helped us all.

Originally Posted by jaymarsch

So sorry for your loss. It is amazing that despite all the inhumane things that bombard us in the news every minute of every day, we know that gestures like these are happening also, probably in greater abundance and we just do not hear as much about them.

A lovely gesture by Steve and a gift to us in you sharing your story here. Music can both celebrate Jordan's life and help heal the hearts that love and miss her.

I am sure that this guitar will find its player and Jordan will live on through the music and your memories.

Best,
Jayne

Jayne, thank you. My sister and brother-in-law and Jordan's dad (my sister's really wonderful ex-husband) are doing some very special things in her honor and memory. Jordan will continue to make magic happen for a long time.

Originally Posted by rmp

my heart felt condolences for your niece.

We too lost a nephew who was well on the path for success in college, one March evening in 2011 he lost his life when a campus bus hit and killed him (Distracted driver was the cause)

What you are setting out to do is a noble cause. Well done!

And sad for your loss as well! No parent/uncle/aunt/etc. should ever go through this. I appreciate your comments.


I appreciate all of your thoughts and good wishes. Thank you...

[crushme99]

Thank you for sharing your story. It's obvious that the legacy of your niece will forever live on. Please keep us updated on the auction details. I will be sure to share it to everyone I know.

[Glennwillow]

Mike,

Thank you for sharing your story with us about your niece, about Steve Sheriff, and about this lovely guitar. I am so sorry to read about your family's loss of this lovely woman.

- Glenn

[rogthefrog]

A very sad but beautiful story. Very sorry for your loss.

[BrunoBlack]

An amazing guitar, guitar builder, uncle and niece. An unfortunate event, led to a beautiful unfolding. Please keep us updated. When the time is right, I'm sure many of us would like to contribute to the raffle, auction or the cause.

BTW -- thank you for sharing the link. She was obviously an amazing person with unlimited potential.

[theEdwinson]

I'm a little overwhelmed by all the generosity here. The people who populate this Forum are beyond awesome; I've made so many good friends here since my first forays into the AGF, I feel I owe not only my lutherie enterprise, but a substantial portion of my mental and spiritual well-being, to the people here.
Mike has become one of those close friends, and that all began awhile back when he approached me to see about a possible commissioned build. He instantly struck me as an old friend, newly met... And then, more of a sense of brotherhood, with many shared sensibilities and philosophies about life in general...

And then this tragedy happened in his family.

Mike introduced me to Jordan Schuman, his lovely and talented niece, with links to her website and blog; as you can well imagine, I was overwhelmed by her brilliance, and more so by the loss of her, with so much potential, and so much LIFE, taken away like this.
Since Mike had invited me in to his family's inner sanctum with such an open heart, I began to think of Jordan as my niece too, by proxy of my feelings of brotherhood with Mike.
So we got this discussion going about using this "spare" guitar I had, waiting unfinished on the shelf for over three years since before I moved to Birmingham. One thing led to another, and here we are.
I want to fill in the back story on this guitar a little, but first, let's get some more photos posted:







This guitar is my ECS Consort 000 Standard model; my take on the OM/000 size acoustic guitar. This is the last instrument I built before leavingmy Seattle workshop, where I embarked on my improbable dream of becoming a professional luthier.
I had already packed up most of my jigs, tools, and machinery in preparation for moving to Birmingham. But I still had almost a month left in Seattle. So I decided, on a whim, to take a set of Claro Walnut and one of my "Lucky Seven" Red Cedar sets out of my stash, and use up my remaining time there, building this guitar.

Lacking the body mold and bending forms, this was my first try at totally free-hand construction. And amazingly, it came together almost without perceivable effort on my part. By the time I had to leave Seattle behind, I already had the first sealer coat on it.

Then, when I got my new gig set up here, there were plenty of other priorities to attend to; so this guitar sat quietly in a box on a top shelf, unfinished, for three-plus years.

When Mike wrote to me about his family's tragic loss of Jordan, the conversation came around to Mike's idea of creating a guitar that could be used to help generate funds for a memorial scholarship in her honor. Suddenly, it seemed that this long-delayed Consort guitar had found its purpose and meaning.
So I got it back in the production line, did the lacquer finish, and after a month-plus of cure time, I got it assembled and strung up. The outcome, as expected, was very pleasing. Hopefully, a suitable tribute to the beautiful Jordan Schuman.
I always knew this guitar would turn out to be a great player. While definitely not the fanciest thing I've ever made, it has that warm, colorful voice that you often get with Walnut and Red Cedar. It's built lightly, and is very lively and responsive. It is optimized for fingerstyle, but it has a good dynamic range for light pick-style as well, and it is very comfortable to hold and play.
I do think this guitar will make somebody very happy, as a musical companion.
And I feel deeply honored to have been asked to participate in celebrating Jordan's life this way. Looking back, it seems like kismet. This guitar pretty much came out of nowhere, and found an honorable purpose.

Please pardon all the dust specs in the photos! I do my photography out in the garage, with strobe equipment, and it's pretty dark out there; so I missed a little detailing

I'll post the specifications below, shortly.

[theEdwinson]

Here is a complete list of specifications for this guitar:

Edwinson ECS Consort 000 Standard, #77
in memory of Jordan Schuman
Specifications


General Specifications of the Consort model:

Width, Lower Bout: 15” ; Body depth, LB: 3 7/8”
Width, Waist: 9 1/4”;
Body depth, W: 4 1/4”
 Width, Upper Bout: 11 1/4”;
Body depth, UB: 3 3/4”
 Sound box length: 19 5/8”

Total length: 41 3/16”
Neck width @ nut: 1 13/16” 
Neck width @ neck/body joint: 2 3/16”

String spread @ bridge saddle: 2 1/4”

Scale lengths: 25.5”

Thirteen frets-to-body, twenty frets total;
Evo gold medium fret wire
Headstock style: Pogoda Slotted headstock, with Waverly vintage style open gear tuners, Tortoloid buttons.

Bridge style: Element 3.0 Marbled Gabon ebony with bone saddle and Tortoloid bridge pins

The Woods:
Back and sides: California Claro Walnut with light flame figure.
Double-side construction, with Walnut inner sides.
Soundboard: Olympic Peninsula Western Red Cedar, harvested in early 1980s; The rosette is one of a kind “Element Asym” style, Ebony, Maple, Walnut, copper, and dyed Maple veneer lines. Sound hole is bound with Ebony.
Neck: Curly American Cherry, three piece, with Purpleheart center lam; Flamed figure Gabon Ebony fingerboard, bound in Ebony, with Canary wood purflings;
also with Style One MOP/copper inlay and stylized Lotus at 12th fret; Gabon Ebony front headstock plate; Claro Walnut rear headstock plate. LMI two way adjustable TRSD truss rod, access through sound hole. Polished bone nut.
Bindings- Sound box, fingerboard, and headstock: Gabon Ebony with Canary wood cross-grain purlings, bordered by dyed Maple veneer lines.
Bound, oval sound port, upper bout driver’s side.
Case: Guardian brand, CG 044-000 Vintage style, arched top case; Black Tolex exterior, green crushed velvet padded interior, brass hardware, leather handle.

If anyone has any questions unanswered here, send me a PM or email. I also want to mention that Mike will be handling the administration from here, but when this guitar is offered for sale or auction, it definitely does come with the full warranty.

Deepest gratitude to everyone here who has looked in on this thread, and especially to Mike and his wonderful, loving family... And Jordan, who now exists as pure, radiant joy, in a higher realm than ours.