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RE: Ruben Diaz needs to stop. (in reply to Michael Jay)
quote:
Why would anyone want to rag on such a pleasurable fellow? Are you folks shallow or something?
I don't think this is abnormal for people to respond like this but I do feel that it is not necessary when we should be the masters of our own intellectual community.
Everyone has a different way to move and live, and to say there is a set protocol on this forum and no one can drift from its mooring, is not a very good indication of being able to find common ground with our differences.
RE: Ruben Diaz needs to stop. (in reply to Michael Jay)
quote:
really don't understand why everyone is picking on Mr./Dr. Diaz. He says the same stuff over and over, stubles around his words, has the worst sounding audio on Youtube, is said to be a guitar nut job and is best friends with the late Paco.
His videos helped me understand how many Euros I need to adjust my action, how to throw a saddle on the floor and evaluate it's efficacy by the sound it makes, how to tie my bridge with 64 wraps so my strings will never come off, and blows Paco every chance he gets.
Why would anyone want to rag on such a pleasurable fellow? Are you folks shallow or something?
You're new, you missed the party and Ruben was not a nice or fun guy. He was kicked off the Foro about 4 years ago after attacking several foro members, relentlessly spamming the Foro and also making attacks on the websites of Foro members who are professional guitarists or builders.
First off, he's dishonest and misrepresented the guitar line he carries. One of the situations, which I won't rehash in public, almost became an issue that would involve litigation. Ok what a hassle to have to deal a with a Foro member that won't back off being dishonest until you threaten to sue him.
His guitars are not that great, not total dogs, but not what he claims they are. Yeah he's annoying as the Original Poster says, some times guitarists have watched the videos an get erroneous information, but like you they see most of it is bunk. At this point I think most people have his number, and besides guitars buyers double and triple check information before they spend money.
The problem is that he's a talented guitarist, he plays very well, albeit in a cloneish sort of way. And he knew Paco etc., but Paco was not a person who had to say poor things of others to get ahead in life so he probably just saw it for what it was and was nice to the guy. Paco was a nice guy. ( Except I heard when he was younger he was kind of a hawk for groupie girls. I heard this from dancers he hit on. But I told them it was like being hot on by Elvis and they shut up. I wonder if Paco ever bought a groupie a Cadillac? )
The other problem is is that he's got some functional type of psychosis happening and does to a certain degree have a real mental illness situation. So he is annoying and difficult and he has caused a lot of problems and frustration for others in the industry, but given that he plays well and has stopped the attacks on others I think people would be well to leave him alone. Lest the cycle begin over.
The good news is that he's not a guitar maker, he is a guitar seller. He really is not an authority on how and why guitars work and because he's not a maker, he does not really have any special credibility or knowledge to explain those concepts. I think most people see that clearly. Probably better to just leave him alone, even though many aspects of the way he does business are not justifiable by professional standards. He's a pain, but as the Roman's used to say Caveat Emptor! ( buyer beware)
RE: Ruben Diaz needs to stop. (in reply to Tom Blackshear)
I got that it was sarcasm, duh. But someone needed use the posts to point out that we should stop taunting the guy and explain the reasons. Ruben may be full of it, but he's still a person. And he plays better than all you put together.
He's not here causing trouble so best leave him be. In other words don't draw fire from him by continuing to taunt him. You have no idea how difficult it is to deal with.
RE: Ruben Diaz needs to stop. (in reply to estebanana)
quote:
He's not here causing trouble so best leave him be. In other words don't draw fire from him by continuing to taunt him. You have no idea how difficult it is to deal with.
I do but it's better to keep a level head and try to understand that most of the punches and jabs don't mean a lot from the people who are basically just filling band width or need to express their inner feelings.
RE: Ruben Diaz needs to stop. (in reply to estebanana)
quote:
ORIGINAL: estebanana
I got that it was sarcasm, duh. But someone needed use the posts to point out that we should stop taunting the guy and explain the reasons. Ruben may be full of it, but he's still a person. And he plays better than all you put together.
He's not here causing trouble so best leave him be. In other words don't draw fire from him by continuing to taunt him. You have no idea how difficult it is to deal with.
Brint: Or the way Hansel combs his hair? Meekus: Or like, doesn't, it's like, ex-squeeze me, but have you ever heard of styling gel? Brint: I'm sure Hansel's heard of styling gel, he's a male model. Meekus: Uh, earth to Brint, I was making a joke. Brint: Uh, Earth to Meekus, duh, okay I knew that! Meekus: Uh earth to Brint, I'm not so sure you did cuz you were all 'well I'm sure he's heard of styling gel' like you *didn't* know it was a joke! Brint: I knew it was a joke Meekus, I just didn't get it right away! Meekus: Earth to Brint... Derek Zoolander: Would you guys stop it already?
RE: Ruben Diaz needs to stop. (in reply to Tom Blackshear)
I understand why Andy began this thread, he was frustrated by having to explain that a concept one of his customers picked up off of Diaz video was dubious information. It's frustrating if you are a builder to separate the mythologies from what is real. So there's lot of misinformation out there and RD is not the only one who has ever said something that confuses the truth.
Not that I'm perfect or peaceful, but where i come from you don't beat up on a guy and make fun of him if he can't fight back. It's like the whole gang holding someone down while they beat him. He's not allowed here so it's easy to use him as the whipping boy. Maybe that's not really cool. yeah he's pain, but like I said he's stiil a person and he can play very well. And when he was here, he attacked my website and he attacked the sites of others I know. Not cool. But he stopped the attacks, so I say leave him alone.
Posts: 2007
Joined: Jul. 12 2004
From: San Francisco
RE: Ruben Diaz needs to stop. (in reply to Tom Blackshear)
I'm not hating dr diaz. The thing I've been thinking about is how much he must have been affected by Paco's death. I know how it hit me, but it must have hit him way harder. The guy loves flamenco, so we all have that in common with him. I don't condone some of the shady stuff he's done regarding the guitars, but he also put out a lot of instructional stuff that is valuable. As far as his playing, I think he's good. A little stiff, but still good. Certainly not better than some of the guys on the board, and not better than all of us put together :-) Reminds me of when I was playing in theatre flamenco SF and the other guitarist remarked "Between the two of us, we make up almost one decent guitarist"
Certainly not better than some of the guys on the board, and not better than all of us put together :-) Reminds me of when I was playing in theatre flamenco SF and the other guitarist remarked "Between the two of us, we make up almost one decent guitarist"
I used Hyperbole. Ok if Ruben had been there it would have made you guys a guitarist and half, hows that?
BTW it sound like a Keni Parker quote. Or one he stole from David.
__________
Ruben is the least of out problems now, we have a company and it's shill poster, telling people that bone saddles are bad and tossing out a bunch of misinformation that will have to get cleaned up. And that is waste of time. A lot of the information being broadcast on that thread is just subjective speculation. And the information given about the longevity of saddles and adjustment is not realistic. Oi vay.
My grandfather used to say: "Lots of fishing lures are made to catch the fisherman, not the fish."
Posts: 2007
Joined: Jul. 12 2004
From: San Francisco
RE: Ruben Diaz needs to stop. (in reply to estebanana)
I was really lucky to become interested in flamenco when I did. What characters the area has produced. Mariano, Augustine, Keni, David, Cruz Luna, Isa Mura, Benji Flores, Migel Santos, Ernesto Hernandez, Keith Baylor, Don Fontiwitz, Grillo, Monica, Virginia, Yaelisa, Jason, etc. so many talented people.
was really lucky to become interested in flamenco when I did. What characters the area has produced. Mariano, Augustine, Keni, David, Cruz Luna, Isa Mura, Benji Flores, Migel Santos, Ernesto Hernandez, Keith Baylor, Don Fontiwitz, Grillo, Monica, Virginia, Yaelisa, Jason, etc. so many talented people.
Don't forget Bill Burgess, David Guterriez, Sara Ayala, and my pal Meli Cruz. Also Patricia Velasquez who recently past away. I miss the music a lot, SF has a strong scene.
There's also Fibi ..gee I could go on and on.
Funi and Juan will be good. Funi comes to Japan, but he's 500 miles from me so I have not made t up there to see him.
RE: Ruben Diaz needs to stop. (in reply to estebanana)
Ernesto Hernandez and I would tear up the stage together when he was in Dallas Texas in 1966 and later on for a short stay. I had just gotten back from Spain at the end of '65 and was in good playing shape.
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