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RE: Blackshear/Reyes style
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elgreco
Posts: 247
Joined: Nov. 24 2010
From: San Francisco CA
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RE: Blackshear/Reyes style (in reply to Anders Eliasson)
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Hi Anders, I totally agree. I was only teasing myself. However here are some of my thoughts: 1. I have immense respect for you guys. In a world where MBAs have made better profit margins the only reason for existence of a company by lowering standards and promoting mass production, guys like you and Tom are striving for quality. I would not only pay 10K but 100K if I could afford it for one of your guitars. If I had to choose between a ferrari and a luthier guitar for 100K, yeah I would choose the guitar no questions asked. 2. Luthiers that are charging 10K/guitar and make 20 guitars a year will never become millionaires. It is simple math. 3. However, I do have a problem with middle men. I live in California where it is impossible to buy a home. The main reason is that investors buy all new real-estate out there, so they can turn it over and make a buck. I know that I would probably do the same if I had capital that I would want to sustain against inflation. But the outcome is that every Joe Shmoe out there cannot afford a house anymore. We are all living the consequences of this greedy culture and system. The same goes with guitar resellers. I do not mind if luthier X charges me 7-9K for a guitar. But I won't like it, if he makes one for a reseller and then the reseller sells it to me 1k higher. This is inconvenient (3 year waiting list, after all, there are many resellers that get 1 guitar/year) and brings the average prices higher for the wrong reason. 4. I do not agree that people should not have a verbal opinion if there are not subject matter experts. Then only politicians should vote and only car-makers should drive. Of course we should be respectful and careful when we verbalize our opinions 5. I also do not believe that there should be discrimination against people that are not self-employed or "looked after by a company" as it was put in words. I am sure that there were no bad intentions but such comments come out the wrong way and may be misunderstood. I have been working for companies all my life and it is an easy bet, I admit. No risk, steady work and paycheck. But I also do consulting jobs on the side in top of my daytime job. And it is not easy. It is hard work, extra hours when I should be resting (or playing my guitar :). Would I like to do just consulting and be my own boss? Of course. But life is hard, I didn't inherit any money, do not have a major talent that can guarantee me a living, so I need a "real" job. I know, I do not have the balls to quit my daytime job and just do consulting (web design btw if anybody interested :) but if somebody tries my lifestyle he will see that it is not easy either. :) Quite the contrary, people like are entitled to an opinion too, because they know that money does not come easy and valuate goods in a mature way. 6. Shouldn't luthiers work instead of posting in forums? Come on you guys. That is why there is a long waiting list. :) 7. This thread was too long for me to read and I may have missed some episodes, hence some of my thoughts expressed may haven been irrelevant or just plain wrong. I apologize if that is the case. Cheers Dino
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Captain Esteban: Caballeros! I believe you all know each other? Don Diego from San Fernando. Don Francisco from San Jose. Don Fernando from San Diego. Don Jose from San Bernardino. Luis Obispo from Bakersfield.
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Date Dec. 16 2010 9:16:20
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Ruphus
Posts: 3782
Joined: Nov. 18 2010
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RE: Blackshear/Reyes style (in reply to Tom Blackshear)
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quote:
ORIGINAL: Tom Blackshear I don't buy milk anymore; I don't need it and I use that money for eggs. On first read if found this statement very humorous. But it makes practical sense in the same time, as cow milk not being healthy to human body at all, while latest info on nutritinonals being that eggs weren´t as cholesterine heavy as claimed over past decades ( and after a certain, correspondingly aimed pharmaceutical campagne in oder to create cholesterine hysteria / sell drugs ... Come to think of, besides: Introduced through conductings of merely six bribed doctors, yet enough to diffuse over the whole world!). quote:
ORIGINAL: Tom Blackshear Complaining never made anything better, only created anarchy on occasion, with no real value added. Without wanting to be nit-picking I thought it worth to point out that the term "anarchy" commonly is being associated with egocentric, reckless and chaos producing behaviour; while minds who warship anarchy aim at what e.g. Wikipedia names with: quote:
A social state in which there is no governing person or group of people, but each individual has absolute liberty (without the implication of disorder). Aiming for a societal order under direct power of the people, instead of decoupling / of handing over to privileged minorities entitled to rule over public. Which again in my view means something valuable, instead of detrimental. Just saying. Ruphus
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Date Dec. 16 2010 13:59:21
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Ruphus
Posts: 3782
Joined: Nov. 18 2010
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RE: Blackshear/Reyes style (in reply to Tom Blackshear)
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quote:
ORIGINAL: Tom Blackshear I think that every team has to have a captain with the authority to lead the people; regardless of which societal effort is being made. ... seeing that many of these experiments don't gain ... popularity ... People seem to progressively start seeing this differently. Curiously, minutes ago, in a political talk-show in German TV ( channel ZDF ) politicians aware of peoples´ trend, felt pressed to feign that "We need more direct democracy" ( a public taboo until right now!) ... "more proximity to parties base" etc., eventhough all of them being from established parties, evidently and traditionally all for indirect ( manipulative ) societal construct. Remotely similar news like last night, with a documentary about femal qualification. Showing the success of the "weak gender" as graduates, or in leading positions in Uganda or in Norway, or in companies who discovered the benefits as well; that way having improved their balance considerably. It was also pointed out that a depression like the current wouldn´t had occured in the first place, if only there weren´t nearly all males in banks leading departments. ( Eventhough I remember that it was a female banker who took over the original idea of a male collegue for her bank, which then started the branches cyber speculation / economizing of the last bubble burst.) The reason why females being better suited for leader tasks than average males is that they are being less vain in cognitive concern, as well as being prepared to consider and team up. The past centuries have shown that captains can´t reconcile general spirit and rule for their personal and short-sighted interest. If there will be a future, it will exclusively be under basic change of paradigm towards democracy and reason. Reason again, inherently including community in terms of concerns as well as of authority. The relevant question only is how late the attempt to change will be occuring. Not easy to imagine it "in time", considering how much time things usually take while it being 5 to 12 already. So much about societal concerns, which have little to do with the question wether guitars are being built better by either single luthiers or teams. ( To which I´d personally think that a single person at the bench might be rather promissing than a group of people.) Ruphus
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Date Dec. 17 2010 0:03:50
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Ruphus
Posts: 3782
Joined: Nov. 18 2010
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RE: Blackshear/Reyes style (in reply to Tom Blackshear)
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quote:
ORIGINAL: Tom Blackshear Lester DeVoe told me the other day that he is now having his guitars finished by an expert finisher of French polish and Lacquer. Interesting. When I told him that I would see some micro scraches on that one 2008 specimen, and kindly asked him to please give it one other buffing before sending it over, he mentioned that he´ll do it for me, but that such surface was normal for his guitars / related to a very thin layer, just covering pores. While recently, I think to have seen a photo somewhere on which one of his latest appeared so sparkling. ( Maybe one of those he took to Paco de Lucia this year; I dont remember exactly.) Maybe that one was already finished by the expert. I guess the finish will still be very thinly applied though, otherwise Mr. DeVoe might have not outsourced. quote:
ORIGINAL: Tom Blackshear But the other consideration is that all of my guitars are built and finished by my hand; even though it doesn't seem to make a big difference in today's market. If the finish is done expertly outside the shop, I´d think it to be no downer at all. The more if a luthier e.g. switches to poly-x-laquer only for not to expose himself to nitro anymore ( which I think to have heard of on occasion). Especially in such a case, it seems only reasonable to let the finish be done by an expert who has a dedicated spraying cabine with suck-off device installed to omitt toxic fume. But all the other work I think ideally should be a luthier´s pride to accomplish himself, or at least in his shop under his immediate supervision. What counts in the end is the quality of the instrument, regardless, but as a customer I appreciate the idea that all the woodwork has been done by the master himself; and possibly other fellows might be deeming so too who grant themselves a handmade guitar. Ruphus
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Date Dec. 25 2010 8:54:04
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