Archive for August, 2007
In our new Fall 2007 issue, we printed Tim Olsen’s story about eccentric electric guitar builder Harvey Thomas. In the ‘60s and ‘70s, Thomas built some truly out-of-this-world creations–guitars shaped like Maltese Crosses, headstocks that look like elf shoes, crazy conversions to otherwise innocent Gibson archtops–and, as a kid, Olsen was lucky enough to work for the builder. The story turned out fantastic and the photographs (taken at Guitar Maniacs in Tacoma, WA and at the Experience Music Project in Seattle) were great, but we left out one minor detail: Olsen is on the lookout for additional Harvey Thomas guitar sightings so he can add them to the Thomas photo gallery he’s building! Check out his Harvey Thomas site and you’ll learn a lot more about these unique guitars. And be sure to check out where Olsen works when he’s not writing about funky electrics–the Guild of American Luthiers. –JV
August 30th, 2007
Fretted instruments, it goes without saying, are made from trees. So, I have to say I was quite pleased to find the Vegetable Orchestra making music from other members of the plant kingdom. The carrot flute and the pumpkin drum may not have strings, and the leek violin doesn’t have frets, but then again, you can’t make soup from your guitar at the end of a concert.-MJS
August 29th, 2007
Howard Klepper had a nice batch of guitars. As you can see from the closeups, he’s a man who really knows how to cut a dovetail. I played this guitar, and I have to say that it really sounded good. The half-and-half style of top has a balanced tone and a lot of clarity. I forgot to ask Howard about what sort of neck-joint he uses, but it would be very cool if used something other than a traditional dovetail.-MJS
August 29th, 2007
Harold says: “Toru Nittono’s highly crafted Telecaster-style guitars, reinterpreted with glued necks, fabulous finishes, hollow-carved bodies, and even nylon strings, were a standout offering.” Michael says: “Look closely at the sunburst guitar. At first glance it looked like a regular solid-body but notice that it has a floating bridge, a tailpiece and an elevated pickguard. This guitar is actually hollow and weighs almost nothing. As Harold mentioned, there is also a nylon string version, the natural finished one on the right, that weighs even less. The archtop is one of the first gutars in that style Toru built. Toru’s URL is www.nittonoguitars.com, but as of this writing it’s still under construction.”-MJS & HF
August 29th, 2007
Or in this case, 529 unanswered questions. If you want to know how many roads a man must a man walk down, why do fools fall in love, will you still love me tomorrow or what’s so funny ’bout peace, love, and understanding, you won’t find it here.-MJS
August 29th, 2007
I profiled the viola da gamba player Jordi Savall in issue 5 who talked about playing the music of the 17th century French composers Marin Marais and Monsieur de Sainte-Colombe in the movie Tous les matin du monde. Savall spoke about the intense study needed to recreate the styles of these masters for the film and the imaginative leap he had to make in order to perform this music in an authentic style. This story about his recent travails on a plane trip to Scotland show that it’s probably getting harder and harder to put himself in a Sainte-Colombe state of mind. I mean, I bet that Marin Marais never had to deal with a flight attendant trying to lock his gamba in the toilet.-MJS
August 28th, 2007
Harold says: “Allan Beardsell’s work shows great versatility, adapting techniques from mentor Sergei de Jonge, and other luthiers, to produce instruments that combine Selmer-esque, traditional elements with modern sound distribution techniques such as side soundholes, and beautiful silhouettes.” Michael says: “I love Selmer guitars and Beardsell’s instruments draw on some of the visual elements of that tradition and incorporate them in his very modern designs. They are cross-braced like a traditional flattop instead of using the ladder braces of the Selmer. They have some of the Selmer’s sonic clarity wedded with the warmth and sustain of a flattop. The guitar on the right is strung with nylon and the one on the right is steel strung.”-HF & MJS
August 28th, 2007
One one of the most visited benches at Healdsburg was Ken Parker’s. Parker was the subject of a New Yorker article a while ago, which created some buzz, but as you can see from the photos, even without the national press exposure, people would have been lining up to peek inside the unusual soundhole. Harold says, “The dauntless Ken Parker showed some examples of his current and past work, on the heels of a glowing article about him in the May 14 issue of The New Yorker. Never encumbered by history, Parker brought the ultralight “Olive Branch” archtop that the New Yorker featured. If you promised to mind your manners–and turn your belt buckle–you coulda tried it. The guitar is a first article, with great projection and sustain, and starts a promising next chapter in the saga of this unique builder, whom most know as the developer of the Parker Fly guitars.” MJS & HF
August 28th, 2007
Modcloth is a store that sells vintage clothing and new items in a retro style. One item they are currently offering is this set of hard rocking pillowcases. As cool as they are, though, I think that I would worry about them making noise and they would probably keep me up at night.-MJS
August 28th, 2007
Fred Carlson had some of his marvelous creations on display. The one on the left is called a Sympitar and features a number of sympathetic strings that run through a hollow neck. The instrument in the middle photo is a Harp-Sympitar and includes sympathetic strings, sub-basses and super-trebles. I’m sure glad I don’t have to tune it but I do wish I was the guy who supplied Fred with strings. In the photo on the right that’s Fred in the hat with Gregg Miner, the Head Fred at Harpguitars.net and an FJ contributor. Speaking of Gregg Miner, NPR just did a segment on him and his harp guitars.-MJS
August 28th, 2007
Previous Posts
In our new Fall 2007 issue, we printed Tim Olsen’s story about eccentric electric guitar builder Harvey Thomas. In the ‘60s and ‘70s, Thomas built some truly out-of-this-world creations–guitars shaped like Maltese Crosses, headstocks that look like elf shoes, crazy conversions to otherwise innocent Gibson archtops–and, as a kid, Olsen was lucky enough to work for the builder. The story turned out fantastic and the photographs (taken at Guitar Maniacs in Tacoma, WA and at the Experience Music Project in Seattle) were great, but we left out one minor detail: Olsen is on the lookout for additional Harvey Thomas guitar sightings so he can add them to the Thomas photo gallery he’s building! Check out his Harvey Thomas site and you’ll learn a lot more about these unique guitars. And be sure to check out where Olsen works when he’s not writing about funky electrics–the Guild of American Luthiers. –JV
