First of all, in my last comment where I was responding to building an instrument in 20 hours I realized reading over what I said that I didn't say what I was trying to say very well and I could easily be misunderstood.
So before anyone else mentions it, I did not intend for my statement to sound as if it was a commentary on any other luthiers work or anything like that. It was simply about me and what I can or can't do. I just want that to be clear. I could have said it more tactfully
To answer your question Bohemian,
I simply want to be the best hand-built, small-batch luthier I can possibly be. I want to build instruments that stand alone in their style, tone, and playability. I want to pay my respect to the classics and all those great builders that came before me by incorporating what I believe they did very well while having the freedom to make my own decisions based on my knowledge. And I just need to build at the same level of quality, craftsmanship and tone as I became accustomed to building at while I was with Tom Ribbecke. Anything less doesn't feel right to me. That means flawless frets, spot on miters, great finish work, great glue joints, cleanliness balanced tone, good acoustic volume etc…
When I first started working for Ribbecke I was coming right out of an apprenticeship at the Galloup school of lutherie. most of my experience was with flat top guitars. I liked Tom's work, particularly in the blue guitar collection, and I needed a job so… I got very lucky in being offered a place in his private shop. But I wasn't in love with archtops yet because i didn't really get them.
About 2 years after working for Tom they really clicked for me and I just fell in love. I think part of that transition for me happened because Tom doesn't make exclusively traditional new york style archtops which, depending on what your trying to do with them, can be limited in their tonal pallet. Tom, instead, was pushing the archtop to retain the separation of chorus, sustain, and correct envelope but while tying to create a broader tonal pallet and more bass response.
Because of my experience with Tom, his vision, philosophy and goals I developed a belief that I feel is inline with Jimmy Daquisto, which is that
archtop guitars are not just jazz instruments. And to take that a step further, archtop guitars can be archtop guitars without the tonal limitations that have traditionally existed in them. That, at my core, is what drives me most when I build archtops.
Being a luthier, and particularly an archtop maker, is a tightrope walk. The instrument has historically significant and unique characteristics which create a traditionalist mindset. And there is nothing wrong with that on the surface. Who doesn't love the classics like the L-5? nobody. And as a guitar maker, I want to make what players and collectors want to buy. If that is spartan appointments, a workhorse club guitar, or an ornate piece of art… I get satisfaction, in different ways, from all that.
But at the same time its my job to push the instrument further than my predecessors did. Henry Ford said if he had asked "the people" what they wanted they would have said "faster horses".
To me, its not about the gold hardware or inlay work. those are just aesthetic details… they have their place, but can be used tastelessly. I do enjoy, as an artisan, the opportunity to create interesting things because I love the process of problem solving and pushing my skills to their limits. But I don't want to do that on every instrument because its the tone, playability, and functionality that are truly important and make the instrument worth anything. To put it in numbers, I would be very happy if 80% of my instruments were being played nightly in smoky clubs while 20% were hanging on the wall of a collectors music room.
What its about though is being able to, in those arenas, use the knowledge that generations of luthiers have accumulated, to improve the instrument in objective ways (i.e. energy efficiency, speed of transfer, balance of frequency response, vibration of the top plate, balance in tonal pallet and volume etc…) while giving people what they want stylistically, and creating my own footprint in the wonderful community of American Lutherie.
In addition to all this I also think its worth noting that from an ethical and philosophical standpoint, I'm not a big fan of mass production of anything. One of the fundamental reasons that pushed me to lutherie in the first place was that I wanted to do something in my life that was antithetical to cheap, outsourced, mass produced, cookiecutter production of consumer goods.
So, thats a nut shell I guess of my vision and philosophy. how it relates to our discussion leading up to here is that at a certain point, the price of the instrument becomes prohibitive to these goals and forces a luthier to make certain compromises that they might not want to make.
I started this thread to get an idea of what some of you archtop enthusiasts were looking for out of guys like me. Stylistically I see that many of you prefer basic, elegant simplicity. Thats crucial information for me and I take it heart in a big way and I can basically promise that that is exactly what will be coming out of my shop over the next year or so (unless someone orders something covered in gold
)
The other thing I got was that many of you feel the prices of hand made guitars are prohibitive for you. I totally understand that, and as I've said I will try to design, in the next year, an instrument that I can offer at a more competitive price on the low end of the scale. How low… I have no idea. I doubt I can get it lower than $5,000 but… as long as I dont feel that I am compromising on everything I said above, my ego isn't invested in my pricing. if I can offer something for less than $5,000 that I feel good about… I will.
I really want to thank you all for your time, your feedback, support and ideas. Its very helpful to me. I hope that someday I can work with a few of you and that you guys enjoy my work over the next few years.
Steve DeRosa, you have inspired me to write an article about the relevance of the arch-top guitar in contemporary music. I'll post a thread on that at some-point and ask again for feedback. I've been in this industry now for about 9 years and my favorite thing is still the people and relationships. I'm glad to be able to connect with all of you like this.
Thank you,
All the best.