Wabi-Sabi Guitar

[Bruce Sexauer]

Knowing Howard relatively well, as I feel I do, I would like to share that it is extremely entertaining to observe the metamorphosis of his career(s), for he seems to evolve faster than most.

This is a great thread, so far, and not just because of the subject matter, it has attracted a whole slew of related observations, some more loosely so than others. I am on the edge of my seat!

[justonwo]

Originally Posted by Howard Klepper

Juston, I used "vain" in an illustration of the wabi-sabi attitude; not to characterize any indivduals on the forum. As for "smug," I went too far. I apologize for it and have removed that sentence. Only one person has contacted me backchannel, BTW. I think he understands my purpose better now.

Fair enough. Regardless of the aesthetic goals, I'm sure it will be a stellar guitar, as all Kleppers I have played have been. I think red spruce and pernambuco is an excellent choice, and I like both sets you have chosen. Keep up the photos.

[rogthefrog]

For whatever it's worth, given Howard's very sophisticated mind, I'm looking forward to seeing the results of this endeavor. And hearing it, too.

I'd have zero qualms about buying a guitar that didn't meet the esthetic demands of the high-end marketplace, if it sounded good and played well. I've almost done it a couple of times.

Very curious where this project goes.

[dekutree64]

Originally Posted by Howard Klepper

--matte lacquer finish. The plate glass gloss finish is hard to create, and someone who has developed the skill to do it can well be proud. I've spent many years making small, incremental improvements to my finishing skills and think that finishing is an essential part of my craft. But the gloss surface is also a burden. I have heard that Bob Taylor once said to Bill Collings, "If we can find out who it was that decided guitars should have perfect gloss finishes, let's dig up his grave and kill him again." Teachers of design and aesthetics such as David Pye have said that the gloss finish detracts from wood by making the surface all about reflections on the finish, instead of seeing the surface of the wood. Many pages could be written about this.

I love that Bob Taylor quote.

Re: David Pye, the point about reflections is true when viewing from a distance. But up close, mirror gloss is the ultimate window "into" the wood. Ideal for highly figured woods where it's mesmerizing to watch the light reflect on the holographic shapes in the grain. But on plainer woods, it can be a bit boring depending on the overall aesthetic of the thing. Pernambuco is a good choice for this, because there's not really much to look at through the mirror gloss. Its most interesting visual aspect is its color, so having that the focus from a distance, and some texture for interest up close, should be a good look.

Another thing to consider is sticking with all scraped wood surfaces rather than sanding... brings out more of the natural character.

IMO, one of the best parts of a wabi-sabi guitar is that it doesn't encourage OCD carefulness. Hang it on the wall so you can grab it at any time. Play out with it. Take it camping. Let it be an extension of yourself, rather than a museum piece you're in charge of preserving As long as it's well built and you're reasonably careful, it should still survive for many decades.

A few weeks ago, I was out walking to the hardware store to buy some steel for making truss rods, and went through a neighborhood where there are trees planted between the sidewalk and the street. They've grown so large that the sidewalk segments are all tipped up at different angles, while the street has been maintained flat for practical purposes. I think that's a perfect example of wabi-sabi. Fix what needs fixing, and let the rest be. To create a sidewalk like that on purpose would be stupid, but when created naturally by trees and time, it's more beautiful to me than any futuristic walkway

[LSemmens]

I'd say it's too late now, but, I'd love to have seen that back wood as the soundboard. To me, I'd be thinking that any finish on a guitar might actually be the opposite of wabi-sabi. What about leaving the instrument totally unfinished?

[redir]

Just to harp a bit more on the mirror glaze finishes on guitars... I remember one guy who worked at one of the music stores I did repairs for used to call the cheap Oscar Schmidt's and guitars like that, 'polished turds.' The only thing great about them was that they had that mirror finish and I guess when customers came in they got all worked up about the nice shiny things and bought them. So I personally built up this sort of feeling that perfectly polished guitars were cheap! And certainly on the cheap guitars the finishes were like a full 1/16in thick!!!

I don't really see it as a window into the wood but rather a mirror that reflects light and images around the room. French Polish is about as glossy as I like to go and a nice oil varnish IMHO is one of the best ways to display the beauty of the wood.

But you know it's all subjective, beauty is certainly in the eye of the beholder but it's also cultural and the current model now is that you have to see your face in it.

Very interesting stuff! I'll be watching this thread closely.

[riverrummed]

For me, one of the best examples of wabi sabi, when it comes to guitars, is an aesthetic appreciation for bearclaw spruce. There is no imperfection in nature only in the mind of the being doing the judging. It's been said that no snowflake falls in the wrong place and a grasping of this assessment leads more towards a grok-ing of concepts like wabi sabi.
Years ago I became interested in Chinese calligraphy as I was introduced to English and German calligraphy in the fifth grade by a great teacher I had at the time. Settling oneself into the proper mind prior to putting brush to paper is essential in achieving satisfying results. In Chinese calligraphy there is no going back to make corrections as any attempt to do so is readily apparent due to the nature of the paper used and how it interacts with the ink and "flaws" the immediacy of the art for all to see. No matter the "product" that is to be created, the state of mind of the creator is as much the "point" as any final judgement of the created object. I suspect that Howard's technical skill is at a high enough level at this point that all the technical and mechanical motions are finely honed enough that the build can then proceed from a more purely intuitive place within, so I'm very interested to follow this thread. The hard part, as I see it, is to find oneself in the "zone" and then have the phone ring or the UPS guy show up and break the spell, and then have to go back to the task at hand and somehow recapture that place where it all flows from. Howard, I know this is very hard to put into words (and why I use so many quotation marks above), and Buddhism advises not to even try and put certain things into words, but if you can convey some sense of this part of the experience for you, that is what I am most interested in, even more than the finished guitar.

[WordMan]

Just found this thread. Will be following!

Howard I appreciate your craft and your commitment to exploring. It sounds like you are after Giotto's Circle - an expression of mastery of craft, executed in the moment, distilled to its essence and not focused on the finery normally associated with mastery. Love it. And that Permanbuco looks so darn amazing.

Giotto's Circle: https://100swallows.wordpress.com/2007/09/14/giottos-o/

[Richard Mott]

Further to my earlier post, here is video link to Michi Matsuda using gunpowder to mark the top of a guitar, a traditional technique used on the top of the Japanese Koto, another stringed instrument. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Jfi0sOawT0 Others can correct me, but this method seems to have a "wabi" aspect in that the result is largely uncontrolled: "[Wabi] can also refer to quirks and anomalies arising from the process of construction, which add uniqueness and elegance to the object."

[Guitars44me]

What a great bunch of philosophers we have lurking here in the guise of guitar afficianados! Yay

unless I missed it, no one has yet commented on bling heavy inlay. Just my personal opinion, but very much pearl just does not ring my bell.

I have another nice quote from Bob Taylor. A few years ago I was getting a tour of the R.Taylor shop, which was about the size of a four car garage, adjacent the sprawling Taylor campus in El Cajon.

We went into Bob T's office and I was bold enough to compliment him on the spare esthetic of the RTs. Bob commented, "You can't hear inlay"

Then he threw us all out of his office with a friendly laugh...

Lovely thread! Keep them coming!

Cheers

Paul

[jessupe]

Ok, who's got the guts to make a Kintsugi guitar? just finish it all perfect and then run it over with your car and glue it back together again...haha

I go wabi sabi as often and as much as possible.

[handers]

Originally Posted by Richard Mott

Further to my earlier post, here is video link to Michi Matsuda using gunpowder to mark the top of a guitar, a traditional technique used on the top of the Japanese Koto, another stringed instrument. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Jfi0sOawT0 Others can correct me, but this method seems to have a "wabi" aspect in that the result is largely uncontrolled: "[Wabi] can also refer to quirks and anomalies arising from the process of construction, which add uniqueness and elegance to the object."

This aesthetic is fascinating. Esp the randomness of the treatment. Not sure how many would risk that in a spec guitar but I admire the adventure.

hans

[Howard Klepper]

Originally Posted by dneal

I think there's an underlying notion about "application" of wabi-sabi, from the comments on glue squeeze out, comments on a "relic'd" finish, to the story about the master and the cherry blossoms. Perhaps it's just semantics, or misunderstanding (whether mine or others); but I don't think wabi-sabi is "applied" (but see the part regarding pens at the end). My understanding of wabi-sabi is appreciation of normal inevitable wear. Old stone steps that are no longer flat because of wear is wabi-sabi. The fact that cherry blossoms will still fall is wabi-sabi. The master didn't "apply" it so much as he recognized how it should be and made the correction.

Thanks for your insights, Derek. But I can't accept that wabi-sabi is only about an appreciation for things that are aged and worn (and your discussion about pens indicates that you don't, either). Every source I have found talks about creating new craft from a wabi-sabi aesthetic. If that is not "application," then we are quibbling about semantics.

What I'm doing may indeed be more shibui than wabi-sabi, although I expect that wabi-sabi has interpretations that are broad enough to cover it. There is next to nothing in print in English about shibui craft. But if that is what I'm doing, so be it.

[Sam VanLaningham]

Hi Howard - I went to gilmer wood this morning and being a practitioner of zen myself, I appreciated the paint job on this truck parked in their lot, and indeed thought of your thread while there:

Untitled by Sam Van, on Flickr