“A love for real, not fade away.”

Charles Hardin Holly & Norman Petty

Well, this fret might not fade away, but I’m preparing to cut away to split it in half.  You see, I’m in the middle of one of the most historic, frightening, and romantic moments of my life.  I’m a founding member of the board of the Buddy Holly Guitar Foundation.  As I’ve blogged before, we’ve got the original frets from the 1942 Gibson J-45 on which Buddy wrote many of his most memorable tunes.  I’ve been installing these frets in label-like plaques that go into the 19 guitars that we are loaning to the likes of Pete Townshend, Brian May, Jackson Browne, Graham Nash, Phil Everly, James Burton, Albert Lee, and Waddy Wachtel.  We name the guitar for the artist’s favorite Buddy tune and engrave the song title on the headstock and into the hand-tooled leather cover.  Each artist receives his or her guitar for a two-year term, renewable by the agreement of the artist and the Foundation’s board.   When it’s time to move the guitar to another artist, the current custodial artist will nominate a successor.  The guitars will never be sold, never retire to a museum, never stop making music.  For eternity, the guitars and those 18 (yes, one fret’s been lost to the ravages of time and, yes, I am installing 18 frets into 19 guitars), gleaming pieces of nickel silver will spread the joy of song, illuminate Buddy’s legacy, and raise money for school music programs around the world.

This is s particularly momentous occasion for me.  Vince and Amy are going to share the “Not Fade Away Fret.”  So, I’m in the process of splitting it and gluing it into the Gurian Instruments made wood plaque that I designed.  When I got out the fret cutter, I decided to photograph the occasion for posterity.  I’d previously measure each fret to the 1/64 inch and had Gurian cut perfectly matching slots into the plaques.  The slots at had today are half the precise length of the “Not Fade Away” fret.

As the photos document, despite the historic burden, I did not slip up.  I had to get this right.  Buddy’s is a legacy that won’t fade away and Vince and Amy’s is a love that won’t fade away.