David Alford -> RE: FINE TUNING A GUITAR (Oct. 4 2014 4:29:50)
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I've been following this thread with interest as Tom made this guitar for me and it has just arrived! Due to travel, I'll have to be brief in my comments and these are just my personal impressions of course. If I were able, I'd like to retitle this thread "Tom Blacksear's Vindication"...I feel pretty strongly that Tom's fine tuning had indeed been vindicated despite the critics who say it's smoke and mirrors or much to do about nothing. To the contrary, the voice of this guitar suggests entirely the opposite conclusion. Fine tuning works and while not everyone may appreciate the refinement it achieves, more and more luthiers are undoubtedly paying closer attention to what Tom has been advocating for years. The analogy (albeit a much simpler example) I would make is leather stropping a knife edge. Is leather stropping necessary to achieve a sharp edge? No, it's not. But leather stropping achieves a refinement, a sort of perfection of a knife's edge despite the fact that very little change is being produced to the edge. Hardly any metal is removed in leather stropping, so it's remarkable the difference achieved. But in art and craft, as well in life, it's the little things that often make an appreciable difference... Back to THIS guitar, I'm lucky to be the owner and I know it. The guitar means a lot to me, in large part because Tom and I have a bit of history that goes way back. It really is a marvelous instrument. Let me compare it to two other guitars I have, a Gerundino and a recent Navarro (also based on the Reyes model). On a scale of 1 to 10.... 1. Build/Craftsmanship: TB - 9, G -7, N-8 2. Bass: TB-9, G-8, N-7 3. Treble: TB-9, G-7, N-7 4. Volume: TB-9, G-8, N-8 5. Playability: TB-9, G-8, N-8 This guitars' voice will improve over time, but the fundamental difference between it and the other two is that this instrument has a crisper more immediate response. Definitely, more raspy/flamenco although the Gerundino is quite good as well. I do like the Gerundino sound. The one I have is just not quite as good as Tom's guitar. However, that raises the question of whether the Gerundino could be fined tuned and it's voicing improved a notch or two. I suspect the answer to that would be "yes". One of the best guitars I ever played was Paco Gastor's Gerundino. I know Tom has the precise measurements of this very same instrument and I hope someday he will offer his version (and with his fine tuning). I expect it would be an interesting project. Perhaps one he might undertake with Manuel Adalid? At any rate, I'm very happy with this Reyes/Blackshear model and the years ahead should be fun. This guitar beckons to be played..a wonderful feeling. Thanks, Tom. Well done, my friend. David Alford
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