avimuno -> RE: FINE TUNING A GUITAR (Aug. 15 2013 5:45:54)
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quote:
I like Tom, I had difficulty in the beginning, but he's made a lot of good guitars and he is not a vanity builder. He makes guitars that he wants to go to players. I've never heard Tom talk about how he wants his guitars to go into collections, or be decorative fodder for guys who fetishize the guitar, but never really understand it profoundly. I believe Tom understands the guitar profoundly, but I don't have agree with how he gets his results. However that does not matter, it will all wash out as history sorts things over the next ten decades. Long after I'm gone. For now maybe Tom's marketing is annoying, it sometimes annoys me, but then again Mc Donalds marketing annoys me and so does Monsanto's marketing. Tom seems a lot less annoying than Monsanto and I can actually give my seal of approval on his profound product, which I could never say about Monsanto. Tomas seems to want to leave a legacy to guitar making, history will sort that out for us if we wait. We look at 17th and 18th century Italian violins now and recognize them as the apex of the craft, we may be too close to guitar making to make sense of all the opinions we live with. Regarding marketing, P.T. Barnum said: "There's a sucker born every minute." As Mr. Spock says: Tom, Live long and Prosper. You make nice guitars. Don't get too bogged down in this marketing stuff, you have better things to do. HappY summer vacation! Everyone one go to the beach! Very wise words as usual... I am fortunate enough to own one of Tom's guitars and there's nothing bad I will ever say about his work... it's up there with the best of them, baring in mind that my guitar was entirely built by him. Tom must have his reasons for making this deal. And Adalid will definitely built a top notch guitar, which will allow Tom to work his magic on, with his fine-tuning skills. Whether the fine-tuning justifies such an increase in price is up to the judgement of the buyer, as with all guitars, you really should try this instrument before judging it. Let's not forget that Tom is also tied to the dealer selling that guitar, and that the said dealer seems to be applying a huge markup based on Tom being famous for his Reyes copies. It took me a little time to get used to my Balckshear Reyes, but it's the only guitar I have now, having sold both my Condes, my Raya Pardo, my Kenny Hill, my Bernal and my Sanchis. It's all the guitar I need, it does everything I need it to do and it has a very unique voice... very sweet and expressive, with trebles I have only heard on a Reyes I played at Postigo's... there's a sort of inexplicable "hollowness" (this is an analogy but by hollowness I mean that difference you can hear between a Les Paul and a 335) and natural reverb to the sound, yet it's thick and meaty... it really has to be experienced. It is also "pleasingly aggressive" when pushed, not harsh at all... and this guitar can take a serious pushing. It's also very loud. These are all the characteristics of the Reyes design, and Tom has nailed them. This design works for the people who like a very rich sounding flamenco guitar, and will not suit the people after a dry sounding one. I am of course not a concert guitarist and this is only my subjective appreciation, but I have owned and played a few very expensive instruments and Tom's guitars are in no way inferior (in terms of building quality, playability, feel and sound - the pulsation is also very "alive", if that makes sense) to DeVoe, Barba or even Reyes. Like all great builders, Tom's guitars are alive and have a strong personality. The issue around him fine-tuning a "factory" guitar and charging a concert-level price for it is a real one, but again, this guitar should be played before it is judged. And at the end of the day, this is a free market and if Tom feels like he wants to do things this way, then he is free to do so... and if the buyer feels that he does not want to buy a guitar made like that, then he is also free not to buy it, nobody is putting a knife at anyone's throat to force them into doing what they do not want to here. Ricardo has raised the right issue in asking whether Tom's fine-tuning actually makes a difference or not... the answer will depend on one's personal appreciations. I know what my answer to this question is, but I do not claim it to be a universal truth. Happy summer vacation to you too sir! (although it's winter here in the southern hemisphere)! I am actually writing this post from the beach... here's a picture of my view! Saludos!
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