a few 2014 Woodstock show notes...

[gregc]

My wife and I drove up from Eastern Long Island to Woodstock on Saturday. It should have been ~3hour drive but accidents and road construction added another hour+. We were not prepared to stay the night so at best we had a 1/2 day to 'see what we could see'.
It was a rather loud environment and not ideal for tonal evaluations, though I was told there were quiet rooms available which Tim McKnight encouraged me to make use of). I did not make use of this as I was not guitar 'shopping' and thought it presumptuous to pull guitars from the show for me to sit off alone and play. I did enjoy meeting some builders I had not met before, got to renew some old friendships, check out some very cool build, engage in thoughtful conversation, have some good laughs, and hear some guitars played from the performance stage. My 4-5 available hours flew by!
I love archtop guitars and was very pleased to meet Chelsea Berry (a very talented singer-songwriter) and Ken Parker at Ken's table. Ken had some awesome, innovative, LIGHT, what I call 'jazz-boxes' there. Ken, who grew up on Long Island, is one smart dude and I left his table enlightened on several topics related to his builds. I could sit and talk with Ken all day. Ken was cordial and seemed to enjoy chatting with my wife. (you had to be there)!
I took the opportunity to visit with Linda Manzer, who I had not seen since the run of Long Island guitars shows quit some years back. She had one of her Pat Metheny models with her and that was pretty cool. I love chatting with Linda and it was good to see her smiling face again.
I met a couple builders whose work I had read about but never met or actually got see their work in person, namely Mike Bashkin and Matt Petros. The Petros stuff looked just 'delicious' and Matt was very engaging. I LOVED the stuff Petros brought to the show. I also did not realize they made ukes. He had one there and I took the opportunity to play it. It was a tenor and I just loved it!
The Bashkin stuff was obviously top tier and my time spent chatting with Mike was well worth the drive. He is an intelligent guy with innovative ideas who can explain to you EXACTLY why everything on his builds is the way it is. I learned a few things from Mike. In this way, he reminded me of Ken Parker. Smart fellas, indeed!
I got to see and say hi to another Long Islander, the wonderful, master craftsman, John Monteleone. I don't think John had a table there, but.... there he was, making the rounds! We should have car-pooled!
I FINALLY got to meet Tim, Mary, and Adrianne McKnight. FINALLY, after years of e-mails and forum threads. They are as cordial in person as you would expect; just the best folks EVER! I had a great conversation with Tim about his innovations and evolution of his building since my guitar was built; another very smart, analytical man. I got to see, hear, and briefly play what Tim & Adrianne had brought to the show. All their guitars played great and it was just too loud for me to comment on tone/volume. We did hang around long enough to hear Craig D'Andrea play one of Tim's (the one with an offset sound hole... I forget the model but I'm sure he'll chime in here) and Adrianne's #3 guitar on stage. They both sounded GREAT, in Craig's hands. Notable differences between them: Adrianne's guitar had a very crisp treble to my ear; not harsh or strident, but very 'present'. I loved it. Tim's build, in comparison, sounded much 'BIGGER', deeper in tonality, with round trebles. A real contrast in differences, and truth be told, I'd love to have both of them.
Shortly after, we had to split for our trip back downstate. Our dogs were locked up in our home. (My German Shepherd Dog watches my guitars while I'm away...:-) It was too short a time. Next show, we'll plan to stay overnight so we can relax a bit more, not rush, and enjoy the great company.
We hugged it out one last time with the McKnight's and were on our way. Fortunately, for us, the return trip home was 3, easy hours.
If you're on the fence about attending one of these shows, I highly recommend it.
My apologies to folks I have not acknowledged here. I've gone on long enough as it is, and no, I didn't take a single picture. You know, sometimes the experience, the just 'being there', and taking it all in, is better than a phone full of photos.

[roberts]

Nicely done, Greg....The show has grown so much in size and prestige. Yes, it's loud and crowded (really crowded this year), but I can't think of a place as warm and homey - and historic - as that barn. If you've got any interest in these things there's no place better....Like you, I was glad to see Michael Bashkin - who's a Jersey guy, by the way - and his stuff. Every year I'm more amazed at Ray Kraut's development as a world class builder. Very cool also to meet Kent Everett, who doesn't do many shows but seemed to be having a blast. Randy Muth and John Osthoff's gutars were off the charts, as were so many others'. Definitely my favorite weekend of the year....

[Randy Muth]

Thanks Robert! I'm a Jersey guy too. That is to say, "you can take the guy out of Jersey but you can't take the Jersey out of the guy!"

[fountainhead]

Definitely an amazing weekend! Had just Saturday to be there, but it was simply the best Saturday I've spent in ages!

[roberts]

Originally Posted by Randy Muth

Thanks Robert! I'm a Jersey guy too. That is to say, "you can take the guy out of Jersey but you can't take the Jersey out of the guy!"

Great seeing you, Randy. The SJ16 is a monster!

[mikealpine]

The S16J looks amazing. Sent a couple of questions to Randy about it. Randy, feel free to answer publicly to any of the questions!

And you're about 4.5 hours away...I can do that on a day trip...

[CoolerKing]

Originally Posted by Randy Muth

Thanks Robert! I'm a Jersey guy too. That is to say, "you can take the guy out of Jersey but you can't take the Jersey out of the guy!"

Ten years in the Garden state and not once was I able to go to the guitar show. I had to skip Nazfest AND Woodstock this year due to work and / or family illness so I love hearing your reviews!

[gregc]

My wife is from NJ. She and Mike were sorting out the NJ landscape at some point while I oogled over build details.

[Randy Muth]

Thanks Mike. I responded to some of your questions on the "New Build for Woodstock Invitational 2014" thread, if anyone is interested.