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I'm going to write about my trip to Minamata this week, I'll talk about the things you asked about. Meanwhile perhaps we should not get to out there again on this thread.
Thank you Stephen for supporting my thread, as usual you guys keep it going when I have little to say about my Spanish factory venture. I actually enjoy reading about your life style in Japan, and if you decide to open a new thread about it, then I will most likely have to view it with great interest :-)
Like many guitar makers I have built guitars over half my life in relative obscurity, until these past years, when things started opening up with sales to music companies, etc. It seems that this method of exploiting my work had a definite effect, with stores advertising my product... world wide.
But I have to admit, the competition is fierce. There are so many guitar makers out there that it is anyone's guess that us old guys won't be forgotten in the annals of time. And its nice to know that we can still build and sell what we build, but its time to share what we know, for the benefit of others who have a passion for the art.
Stephen, you have passed me with your knowledge about so many things, that I feel small in comparison with your out look and ability to manage so many different things, musically......I see so much potential in your life.
This is a picture of Manuel Adalid in my shop studying the aspects of fine tuning a guitar top. I have other pictures I'll install on my website in the near future:
Tom, were there any difficulties in communicating with Manuel or are you fluent in Spanish?
Most of it was show and tell with the help of a guitarist friend of mine who is fluent in Spanish. We all had a great time and with a lot of bonding in the art of guitar making. Manuel is due to return after the California NAMM show. Also, he speaks a little English and I speak a little Spanish, but the finer points of the class were translated.
Here is another picture of Manuel Adalid in my shop. Everything is a little quiet right now, but this is to be expected due to the new models being built.
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This notice may be a little premature but I have just ordered one of my designs from Manuel. This guitar will have a cedar top, cypress sides and back with color matched top, sides and back, with mechanical flamenco peg tuners, and priced in the mid range, even though it will compete with guitars at much higher prices This guitar will be fine tuned and ready to deliver sometime in February. It will have fine quality wood, and have a flamenco style playing action.
This notice may be a little premature but I have just ordered one of my designs from Manuel. This guitar will have a cedar top, cypress sides and back with color matched top, sides and back, with mechanical flamenco peg tuners, and priced in the mid range, even though it will compete with guitars at much higher prices This guitar will be fine tuned and ready to deliver sometime in February. It will have fine quality wood, and have a flamenco style playing action.
It appears that I'll be able to sell this particular guitar model in the US only and I'm not sure about music stores at this present time, as Manuel will be contacting them later, with his advertising campaigns.
I feel that I can offer a very nice mid priced instrument through my shop but I have no way to offer refunds on guitars, as I have to pay Manuel up front with no refunds available. But the redeeming factor, from my shop, is that I don't send guitars out unless they are complete with my design, and everything is working right.
So, yes, as it stands right now, I will be able to sell my design in the US only, without first having to sell to retail stores.
So, I suppose one advantage for retail would be that they would send it to you on approval.....
..... but I would try and make sure that the guitar is a fine instrument before I send it. Being a flamenco player myself, I'm very familiar with most players technical needs. Then, if for some reason it's not acceptable, my advice would be to resell it on the open market to someone who would appreciate it.
I think there is merit in what you say but for the fact that this is about a guitar and its progression of a business deal with a Spanish factory that I think every guitar maker could pull interesting information from.
If you would rather I not share this information with you, then I would be happy to leave this list and let you guys hash out other verble fisticuffs about guitars in general.
But remember this is also about fine tuning, its techniques and associations with a Spanish factory owner and training to progress with a model that can benefit players world wide.
And it is definitely about guitars and a form of ongoing advertisement for guitar sales. I make no bones about that. So you guys take a vote and let me know how you feel about this thread as an ongoing source of information that is designed to incorporate several different facets in the guitar idiom. I'm OK with it, either way.
At this time I have nothing more to say until the guitar is finished and available for the market, and it has been about one month since my last posts were made about it.
So, if this list is full of chatter, enough so that with-in a months time, my thread gets pushed off the front page, then the forum has done its job with other points of interest.
Here is a picture of a head design I'm building with a cypress body, for a friend of mine. The head has the mechanical tuning pegs, which seem to work real well. It's a different feel from my past wooden pegs but it has a nice way to tune with a 4 to 1 ratio.
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i am curious, what does "mid-priced" mean from Sr. Blackshear? I have my own idea as to 'mid-priced' but i'm not so sure that my ideas fit in with mr. blackshears.
we are hoping to keep the price down around $5,000 US, give or take a little but it will be determined by the Valencia prices when I get my first order from Manuel.
Again, I can only sell in the USA, not to Europe. But there may be some outlet for Europe when Manuel connects with a sales company.
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