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Went last week to visit my maestro Manuel Reyes at his taller in cordoba after 19years. The reason was that I have a current order for a Reyes 'copy' and wanted to have some inspiration from the great man himself. He and his son received me very graciously and we spent some time discussing all sorts of aspects about making, not too tecnical but a lot about stlye and feelings about guitars and being a maker. He has aged a lot and is at times 'in the other world' but then he looks at you with an intensity of experience and is right there. ageless. A very nice person and a true artisan. I will be showing him my efforts when I have made the guitar!
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RE: My visit to Manuel Reyes (in reply to stephen hill)
Stephen,
Thansk for sharing this wonderful information with us. He is truly a master. His guitars sing to you when you play them. They have some sort of a character that is very hard to find in other guitars. Truly, an exceptional guitar maker.
RE: My visit to Manuel Reyes (in reply to stephen hill)
Stephen, I'm a bit surprised. Someone has commissioned you to build them a Reyes 'copy'? I find that a bit odd because I have a feeling your own guitar is a lot better than a Reyes copy. Going to a well respected luthier and asking for a copy of someone elses guitar boggles me I would much rather have a Hill original.
RE: My visit to Manuel Reyes (in reply to stephen hill)
Thanks for that insight Stephen, I went to his taller in 1990 and this picture reveals a man much older than the seventeen years suggested he would be. I agree with Tom. A SH guitar is much much better than having a SH Reyes copy. It's a strange commission you seem to have. BTW the new guitar gets better each day.
RE: My visit to Manuel Reyes (in reply to stephen hill)
quote:
and is at times 'in the other world' but then he looks at you with an intensity of experience and is right there. ageless.
Stephen, Great post! I've had a similar experience talking to some great Flamenco guitarists in my time too. I don't agree with Tom and Jim on this though... I've tried one of your guitars (belonging to Jim) and it was great!
However, you can't develop in a vaccuum...so why not discuss methods and techniques with a famous maker?
I think very few guitarists here would turn down the chance to be commisioned to re-create...say..."Panaderos Flamencos" with a few hours to discuss the challenge and details and advice from Paco himself!!
It can't take away from you, but only add IMO.
cheers,
Ron
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A good guitar might be a good guitar But it takes a woman to break your heart
However, you can't develop in a vaccuum...so why not discuss methods and techniques with a famous maker?
Perhaps I can give my input on this question. When considering the challenges of guitarmaking (or just about any art), technique is easily learned and pretty basic. All it requires is time and some effort. You can, for all intents and purposes, master technique and still not get anywhere. The real challenge lies well beyond technique. Stephen says they discussed style and feeling. A much better use of his time with Reyes IMO. You can spend your life trying to understand the essence of this feeling and how to work within it, and never stop learning, witness Maestro Reyes. You also have to be fairly far along on the road to be able to really converse on that level, so it stands to reason that they wouldn't waste time with technical issues. I wish I had been there, it must have been fun and quite educational.
RE: My visit to Manuel Reyes (in reply to aarongreen)
Thanks everyone for the posts, very kind! Yes, it must seem strange to have a commision to build a guitar that is perhaps not my concept but the player who commissioned the guitar asked me if I would be offended to make this guitar,, in the style of Reyes. I was actually flattered that he felt I could input in this way into my guitars. It is not my style to make copies but to incorporate into this guitar some of the feeling and respect I have for Manuel Reyes as he was one of my biggest influences in my early days of making and it is in a sense a privilage to make this guitar. Yes, style and feeling is what we discussed, not details of thicknessing,etc.. I know a lot of this already having worked on many Reyes's when I worked in the uk. In a sense I am alining my work to his, but using my own judgements as to where I go with the details. The plantilla , body depths and head will be his, and the strutting layout is very similar to my own, but I will be using all my instincts to take my own decisions. The meeting was very fun, I told him a few funny stories about my making, he listened with a twinkle in his eyes. One such story was when I first walked in, those years ago, to see only his french polisher. I had before made a lute and used eggwhite to stop the bleeding of the rosewood edging so with my bad spanish in those days I asked the man if he too used egg white, something like blanco de huevo... looking at me in horror and discust he said' HUEVOS?? no uso huevos..! soy el mejor barnisador en todo espana.. I shrunk and went back to the front of the shop. A while later snr Reyes walked in and welcomed me to look around.. very kind and genourous. He told me last week that this man was an ex guardia civil officer and had not much sense of humour and No time for perceived idiots..!hmmm. We laughed! so, I'll keep you informed about progress and upload some photos when he sees the guitar.
RE: My visit to Manuel Reyes (in reply to stephen hill)
HI STEPHEN MUST HAVE BEEN A GREAT VISIT ENJOYED YOUR DESCRIPTION WHEN I VISITED CORDOBA AND VISITED REYES SHOP PACO SERRANO WAS THERE PLAYING ONE OF THE PEG HEADS OUT OF HIS COLLECTION AND WAS ONE OF MY TURNING POINTS IN FLAMENCO WHEN I SAID YES THIS IS THE LIFE!! MAKERS LIKE YOU LEAVE GREAT LEGACYS BEHIND -THE MUSIC SHOP WINDOWS DONT REFLECT THE LONG HOURS ENDLESS PATIENCE AND LOVE OF THIS ART ITS A BONUS WHEN GUITARISTS POST THEIR MUSIC PLAYED ON THESE INSTRUMENTS SHEER JOY TO HEAR THEM HOPE YOU DO A GREAT JOB OF THE REYES COPY SURE THE OLD MAN HIMSELF LOOKED AT OTHER GUITARS AND SAID YES ILL TAKE A BIT OF THAT MYSELF BUT ITLL BE WHAT I EXPRESS THAT COUNTS
On my second visit, I was graciously received once he reconised me.. he liked the guitar very much, as did his son. They were a little worried in case the guitar appeared on tv and everyonme thought it would be a Reyes, untill I told them that a. it wasnt going to appear and b. it sounded bloody good so it wouldnt hurt their name!!. I stayed in paco penas old house, now converted to appartments! A great couple of days! a photo of me playing the guitar in pacos house.
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I would much rather have a Hill original. 
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