Welcome to one of the most active flamenco sites on the Internet. Guests can read most posts but if you want to participate click here to register.
This site is dedicated to the memory of Paco de Lucía, Ron Mitchell, Guy Williams, Linda Elvira, Philip John Lee, Craig Eros, Ben Woods, David Serva and Tom Blackshear who went ahead of us.
We receive 12,200 visitors a month from 200 countries and 1.7 million page impressions a year. To advertise on this site please contact us.
|
|
|
RE: Why buy a handmade guitar?
|
You are logged in as Guest
|
|
Users viewing this topic: none
|
|
Login  | |
|
   
El Burro Flamencuro
Posts: 118
Joined: Nov. 28 2012
|
 RE: Why buy a handmade guitar? (in reply to Andy Culpepper)
|
|
|
In my opinion one of the biggest reasons to go with a luthier made guitar besides quality is the following: artists supporting artists. Guitar building is another art. If we do not support them, the art will be lost and we'll be left with factory made pieces of crap.
Think about the big economic picture, these large companies take the money and hold onto it...sure they have to pay their workers and buy material to keep it running but for the most part they hold onto as much of the money as they can...thus the money doesn't get circulated and the economy suffers.(Unless you buy a factory guitar used from the guitar player) The guitar making industry alone might not be big enough to have a large impact on the overall economy but it most definitely has to contribute. Also it affects luthiers. Luthiers have to lower their prices to compete with the cheap prices of guitars. Do some quick math to see how hard it is to make a living as a luthier.
12 guitars a year @ 4,000 = 48k/year before taxes, before cost of materials
15 guitars a year @ 4,000 = 60k/year before taxes, before cost of materials
it seems to me like the only way to make 70k/year +...you'd have to charge 4,000+ and make close to 20 guitars(80k before tax, materials)
(from what some of the luthiers say, i think it would be hard to make 20/year unless you had some help, some extra workers or used premade rosette/ neck blanks, and cut a few corners) in a year. Keep in mind though this is assuming they're charging 4,000...think about the guys who are selling hand made instruments for cheaper. so you either raise your prices or somehow make more guitars...due to competitive prices ...more guitars sounds like the answer but like i said...that's probably no easy feat.
ps. i'm not claiming to be an expert on any of this stuff haha, i come up with a lot of theories.
|
|
|
|
REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE |
Date Jan. 20 2014 0:51:44
 |
|
Mark2
Posts: 1871
Joined: Jul. 12 2004
From: San Francisco
|
|
RE: Why buy a handmade guitar? (in reply to guitarbuddha)
|
|
|
|
Why? I've asked myself that question many times. I'm left handed, and not having the ability to pick up and try out most all guitars has left me with little knowledge of how different woods sound, how different brands compare, etc. I found a couple pretty decent right handed name brand guitars a few decades ago and stuck with those two guitars. Never even really played any others. I was catching up with an old friend on the phone and he mentioned to me that he had a well known maker craft him a blanca. He visited the builder, picked the woods, discussed action, etc. He was so enthused he was considering ordering a negra. He was telling me I had to do it. Like me, his days of playing hours every day are long over, as family and business concerns have replaced the more carefree timetable of our younger days. No matter, he said, consider how much a handmade violin costs from a well known builder, and then weigh the value of the guitar. He said opening the case and just smelling the guitar is, well, whatever. Anyway, he sold me. I sent in my deposit and in three years or so, I'll post up my thoughts.
|
|
|
|
REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE |
Date Feb. 24 2014 22:27:41
|
|
Gildeavalle
Posts: 47
Joined: Oct. 26 2012
From: Granada
|
|
RE: Why buy a handmade guitar? (in reply to Andy Culpepper)
|
|
|
Orsonw, absolutely right with you. These days, I do not know of any professional guitar maker that tries to use arguments like handmade when it is not. Not everybody can afford bying a 100% hand made guitars, and thanks to factories and shops we have students introduced in the guitar world until they become professional guitarists that come to our guitar workshops and try our hand made guitars.
Also what you say "a guitar that suits my hands or one that does not (whoever made it)" is absolutely right. When guitar makers have recognitions for their profession and 1.sell guitars and are renown in their own town, region or country, and also internationally it is a guarantee that he or she is good, also 2. if they have both distributors or 3. guitarists meeting the guitar maker directly in their workshop or even 4. ordering a fine guitar not even having tried it, directly through the net. In my case, and I think that in the case of most of my established and renown collegues in Granada those are the 4 different procedures.
Otherwise when that guitar maker sells only abroad or through distributors after more than 15 years working (that's the time that the government establishes to become a master artisan), it means that he or she has good commercial connections, but why locals do not buy his or her guitars?
.
And also, respect and cooperation with our mates is very important. I respect every kind of business because it is the client the one who chooses and do not trust those who critizes or simply need an argument for selling guitars when it is your guitar the one that should sell not the argument of not having good guitarists around or with critics to other guitar makers o music stores, factories, etc.
So, again, if you start and cannot afford a hand made guitar, do no be afraid of buying factory guitars to start with and then change to a guitar maker, try his or her product, enjoy and fall in love with it, and when you take the decision, be sure that you made right, whatever the rest of the world say. If you liked, you liked and that's the good decision.
_____________________________
Daniel Gil de Avalle Guitar Maker/Luthier:
Classical, Flamenco & Historic Guitars
http://www.gildeavalle.wordpress.com
https://www.facebook.com/guitarrasdegranada
|
|
|
|
REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE |
Date May 31 2014 6:14:28
|
|
Anders Eliasson
Posts: 5780
Joined: Oct. 18 2006
|
|
RE: Why buy a handmade guitar? (in reply to orsonw)
|
|
|
quote:
As you say all guitars are handmade so maybe other categories are needed?
1.Individual luthier e.g. Jesus de Jiminez, Anders Eliasson, Andy Culpepper
2.Luthiers collaborating e.g. Pedro de Miguel (previous to 2008), Shelton-Farretta
3.Luthier with assistants e.g. Montero, Barba and Reyes padre when training his son
4.Workshops: Luthiers with assistants e.g. Bernal, Sanchis Lopez
5.Factory e.g. Yamaha
I dont agree with this categorisation.
I would put 1 and 2 togther. Shelton-Farreta, Hernandez y Aguado and others. Work, (worked) together 2 luthiers. Working alone can be very lonesome. Still they are building like Luthiers working alone.
Number 3 is greyzone.
Number 4: bad name. A workshop is what we all have . I work alone in my workshop. I call them what they have allways been called: Small factory. Look at the Bernal videos. Its assembly line and I think Bernal has more different models than Yamaha and Alhambra has together. Sanchíz and other small factories have less models, but they are still assembling in line, with individual persons doing indivudual operations. No reason for making their method sound more romantic than it is.
Number 5. yes, its a factory
_____________________________
Blog: http://news-from-the-workshop.blogspot.com/
|
|
|
|
REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE |
Date May 31 2014 10:36:58
|
|
 New Messages |
 No New Messages |
 Hot Topic w/ New Messages |
 Hot Topic w/o New Messages |
 Locked w/ New Messages |
 Locked w/o New Messages |
|
Post New Thread
Reply to Message
Post New Poll
Submit Vote
Delete My Own Post
Delete My Own Thread
Rate Posts
|
|
|
Forum Software powered by ASP Playground Advanced Edition 2.0.5
Copyright © 2000 - 2003 ASPPlayground.NET |
0.0625 secs.
|
Printable Version
