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#16
11-01-2023, 11:45 AM
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I'm so glad Steve chimed in here. His grace and humility come through as clearly as the beauty of his instruments. And he is too kind. I'm nowhere near so articulate and well educated as he'd have you believe
 As we continue to collaborate, I'm getting this magnificent vision of what my guitar will be like when Steve is done with it. Meantime, it such a blessing to have a luthier I can call friend as well. Needless to say, there'll be more to come. Thank y'all for tagging along. 
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#17
11-01-2023, 06:32 PM
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People collect Steve’s guitars. Steve collects people. Happily so!
If Steve offered to make guitar accessible, it also means he will hold nothing back. He is so good-hearted, artistic and loves the craft to anything less than his best. I am very excited to see this guitar develop. I haven’t played one of his maple guitars, but imagine it would be a real treat.
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--------------------------------------- 2013 Joel Stehr Dreadnought - Carpathian/Malaysian BW 2014 RainSong H-OM1000N2 2017 Rainsong BI-WS1000N2 2013 Chris Ensor Concert - Port Orford Cedar/Wenge 1980ish Takamine EF363 complete with irreplaceable memories A bunch of electrics (too many!!)
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#18
11-02-2023, 11:11 AM
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So many folks singing Steve's praises truly reinforces the trust and admiration he inspired in me very early on. Sometimes I feel I'm taking unfair advantage of his generosity by giving him free rein to go wherever his creative instincts take him within the limits of our agreed upon commission.
It's going to be awhile before he can get started on my project because he has a couple others in the pipe line right now. I think he's close to completion on those, so my turn will hopefully come up soon. I'm sure the finished product will easily justify whatever time it takes. After all, I've waited 60 years to act on this vision. A few months more is of little consequence. I won't even try to rush a creative genius like Steve's. Meantime the demo videos I've found of his previous work do offer some vicarious comfort. Again, thank you all for following along.
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#19
11-02-2023, 11:52 AM
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I have had a few custom build done and I can say for me, a connection with the builder is imperative and directly proportional to the enjoyment I get from the guitar. I need to know the person building it has a connection to me when doing it. I know that sounds all new wave hippie dippie, but it is hard to put in words how much the personal connection means, if it didn't I could go buy a factory guitar and be perfectly happy.
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PS. I love guitars!
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#20
11-02-2023, 12:22 PM
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Quote:
__________________
Jeff Mark Hatcher Pina Parlor Torrified Maple/Cedar Stephen Kinnaird 00 B&W Ebony/Engelmann Spruce Simon Fay African Blackwood/Sinker Redwood Wolfgang Jellinghaus Torres Modelo 43S Maple/Spruce K Yairi CYTM Maple/Cedar
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#21
11-06-2023, 02:04 PM
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Right now, Steve is up to his elbows in a couple sensitive repair projects. I understood this from the start, so we didn't really set a date for the start of my build. Talked to him this morning and he thinks he'll commence my build in mid-January, which really isn't a long wait considering how in demand Steve's work is, and it'll give us time to work out all the as yet unsettled details. By the time January rolls around, I'll have made up a list of spec's and features I want as well as a final price.
My birthday is in late April, so I'm hoping to receive a very, very special "gift" One that'll give me good reason to actually celebrate a date I haven't paid much attention to for many years.
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#22
11-07-2023, 09:40 AM
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Quote:
__________________
Edwinson
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#24
11-07-2023, 10:43 AM
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s2y, At my age, you either go big or go home
Seriously, like most people, my life has had it's share of sacrifices, ambitions unfulfilled, and opportunities missed. This will NOT be one of those.Steve, This whole experience has already been memorable. And I have every reason to believe it will continue to do so well beyond the delivery date whenever that is. The rapport you and I share is just as remarkable as the guitar you're building for me, and I value it just as highly.
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#25
11-09-2023, 01:03 PM
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Steve sent me some pictures of a few candidates for my guitar's back. Every one of them was an absolute knockout. Like nothing I'd ever seen before. We've decided to use this one;
https://imgur.com/a/u8rKCI2 I love the figure in this Maple. To me, it has a very organic look. Steve tells me it has some very nice acoustic characteristics too. Big leaf Maple is pretty common in the PNW, so it's likely the source of this sample. I'm thinking of christening this guitar "The Oregonian" since it's internal bracing will use Tunnel 14 Redwood. We've decided to use some high quality German Spruce that just sings. I don't have pictures of that yet, but they're coming soon. We've not yet settled on bindings or the neck. Since Steve's aesthetic sensibilities are so similar to my own, I've given him the artistic freedom to make those choices for me. I am so loving this whole experience!!
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#26
11-09-2023, 02:29 PM
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Wow, that's some figuring!!
__________________
--------------------------------------- 2013 Joel Stehr Dreadnought - Carpathian/Malaysian BW 2014 RainSong H-OM1000N2 2017 Rainsong BI-WS1000N2 2013 Chris Ensor Concert - Port Orford Cedar/Wenge 1980ish Takamine EF363 complete with irreplaceable memories A bunch of electrics (too many!!)
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#27
11-09-2023, 03:42 PM
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This is the back of my Sapele EPC from Steve if you are looking for an idea of how well he can bring out the aesthetics in a piece of wood like that Maple.IMG_20231109_134105650.jpg
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#28
11-09-2023, 05:15 PM
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That's just beautiful! The inlays are one of his trademarks. My Sapele Eastman E1OM is nice but nothing like what Steve did for you. Congratulations! He's pretty excited about this Maple himself. I think he's been thinking about building an instrument with it for a while. Then I wandered by asking about a similar Maple guitar he built maybe 10 years ago. Talk about fortuitous synchronicity!
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#29
11-12-2023, 11:35 AM
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Quote:
Your guitar looks a lot like one I saw in Steve's Flickr gallery of some of his guitars from one of the BIG shows. That guitar is stunning! The top is just as gorgeous as the back. If they are one and the same guitars, you are to be congratulated. I'll bet it sounds as good as it looks.
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#30
11-12-2023, 01:57 PM
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Quote:
This is the thread when Steve was selling it. He made it as a spec guitar but I don't know if there is a build thread. https://www.acousticguitarforum.com/....php?p=6312666 I played his performance at B.I.G. this year and it was stellar sounding. I don't know how much difference the dual sound ports contribute and I'd be curious to compare them side by side. At any rate his performance is a lovely instrument you are in for a treat. Last edited by Aspiring; 11-12-2023 at 02:10 PM.
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