Pear shaped off topic posts that have gone to the mangoes

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estebanana

Posts: 9351
Joined: Oct. 16 2009

Pear shaped off topic posts that hav...

I’m speaking only for myself, but my inclination is to exist in this Foro luthiers section as if I were hanging out in my own shop talking with people to stop by. I kind of see it as a giant room where all the guitar makers have benches and tools, they talk about whatever they are making or even whatever is on their minds that weave in and out of guitar making.

What I don’t see guitar forums as, sterile places that only list facts and figures over and over, year in year out, for three decades. That’s boring to me. Some people probably like it that way, I don’t.

Guitar making is boring, really. Once you’ve mastered the set of skills you need to do the work it’s up to you to discipline yourself to do the work. To pay attention to detail, accept that you must pay attention to repetitive task work, do and redo the work. You must work along a narrow and finicky route to a final destination. And the payoff is that after this work you put strings on it and see if you’ve improved at making guitars.

I read an interview with Paco wherein he described his work habits when he was composing Luzia. He said things like it was tough to put himself away in a room for 8 hours working out material. His mom was in hospital, if I remember correctly, and that the work of composing on a deadline was difficult and sometimes lonely. I don’t remember him saying it was boring at times, but I bet it was. I relate to that interview not because I think I’m in any way equivalent or even close to Paco as a guitar maker, but because I feel the same way about his human commitment to isolating yourself to accomplish a difficult task.

The artist Richard Diebenkorn said that a lot of the time in the studio he would be bored, or working and nothing was happening. Like saying it’s not all sweetness and constant transcendent light radiating down on you as you work. A lot of creative work entails slogging though things that need to be done that are repetitive, tedious, backbreaking, mentally exhausting. You go through it to get to the end and while you’re in it you try to make as much of it a meditation in a way that you can observe yourself doing these tedious things and transform it in a very small gentle way into something that is satisfying or helpful to your inner life.

These things are very difficult to explain. But those who aren’t making a guitar might stop to think that ultimately we’re not doing this to talk about the commercial side of it, or to create gimmicks and other hand jive or voodoo that is really ultimately non intrinsic to our work culture. We’re in it because it’s a way to work and meditate on our work. Sure we have to manage a marketing strategy and all that, but it’s secondary to our work after we’re sure we are making the money to support ourselves and family.

If conversations go pear shaped, or shaped like any fruits or vegetables that aren’t guitar shaped, don’t despair, it’s only alleviation of some boredom. Things will get back to raw data, numbers and arguments over how to voice a guitar soon enough. To me the most interesting part about reading what other guitar makers are doing is trying to figure out what they are going though when they work. I’m way more interested in how the practice of guitar making affects peoples inner lives, or much to my annoyance if they are being honest with themselves about what they’re saying online.

I’m willing to say I get bored sometimes, it’s not fun sometimes and it’s important to work even when you’d rather go fishing. Or even more nefarious activities…

I would enjoy just a big room of guitar makers letting everything go pear shaped. It’s not like we’re MI5 trying to save the planet from global destruction. That’s a TV show.

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https://www.stephenfaulkguitars.com

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Mar. 31 2023 2:32:07

Stu

Posts: 2529
Joined: Jan. 30 2007
From: London (the South of it), England

RE: Pear shaped off topic posts that... (in reply to estebanana)

quote:

To me the most interesting part about reading what other guitar makers are doing is trying to figure out what they are going though when they work. I’m way more interested in how the practice of guitar making affects peoples inner lives, or much to my annoyance if they are being honest with themselves about what they’re saying online.

I love the technical knowledge but I agree there's something more interesting about the mental, human process of guitar making. I'm only a beginner but the battle with oneself is just as interesting as the battle with the wood and tools.

Sorry I may not be getting the main gist of your post. I just pickd up on that one element.

It feels like this is related to some other posts that or havent made an impact recently.

I have been a little inactive so maybe I missed it.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Mar. 31 2023 8:14:10