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GuitarShowMagazine.com
Welcome to the Premiere Issue of Guitar Show & Custom Luthier Magazine! There are already many guitar magazines in print today, so before launching this one, I thought I’d ask a group of professional luthiers on LinkedIn.com what they thought of a new magazine to help promote guitar shows and custom luthiers.
Premiere Issue
The comments were generally but there were some that constructive criticism, too. Here reading enjoyment are some replies…
Advertising Charlene Evarts adsales@guitarshowmagazine.com
positive, offered for your of the
Mark N. Sounds good Duane as a custom luthier we need all the help we can get especially when you have shops like (editor deleted) guitars in NYC trying to charge $1200 plus for an online mag published quarterly. They don't want to carry your guitar they just want the advertising. Bill A. There are a number of magazines that work on a subscription basis for online reading and/or have a print version as well. Unfortunately the publishers don't do much to promote their publications except in the case of the major players that already have an established user base from many years in the business and are not specialized to any target group or subject which gives them a broader appeal. For me there would have to be something pretty unique about the proposed magazine to get my bucks. Ads need marketing support from both the publisher AND the client to have any effect. For most luthiers that is not possible due to time and/or budget constraints. A luthier could spend a lifetime learning how to market and advertise effectively. The same thing goes for a new publisher. There is little doubt that the "boutique guitar" builders’ industry needs focused promotion and any effort to do so must be applauded. Perry O. Marketing is easy if you do it right. Most magazines are not "doing it right". It's too diluted, not focused enough. I had 1/4 page adverts in (editor deleted) Guitar magazine AND 3-5 pages of copy (my own column) for three years. They paid me to talk about my own stuff! I used those funds to pay for the adverts. I got a lot of "reputation" but only one sale that could be linked to all of this. Having said that, I had an email from someone the other day saying he paid $60 to get an old magazine to complete his "set" of my articles.
Guitar magazines are often made available FREE at guitar shows. Custom luthiers, boutique amp & pedal builders and other vendors are at a serious disadvantage if they do not advertise in a publication given out at the event. With the appearance of a traditional consumer-oriented magazine and a publication frequency of only two issues per year, Guitar Show & Custom Luthier Magazine helps level the playing field at guitar shows and other events by providing affordable display advertising to custom luthiers, boutique amplifier & pedal builders. Contact us today and let us help you to be remembered… “after the show!” - Duane
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Vol. 1 Num. 1
Editor-in-Chief Duane M. Evarts editor@guitarshowmagazine.com
Website & Social Media guitarshowmagazine.com facebook.com/groups/guitarshow twitter.com/Taylor816ce Publisher DMEvarts, LLC 720-432-1363 Cover Photo Guitar Collector Les Newberry of Littleton Colorado shows off his pride and joy at the 2014 Douglas County Guitar Show & Custom Luthier Expo. Photo by Jon Sorenson Guitar Show & Custom Luthier Magazine is published bi-annually and distributed at guitar shows festivals & expos; by direct mail, and music-related businesses. Copyright ©2015 by DMEVARTS, LLC - All rights reserved. The contents of this publication may not be reproduced in whole or in part without prior written permission from the publisher. The views expressed are those of the respective contributors and are not necessarily those of the publisher, editor, or staff. All advertising material is subject to publisher’s approval. Guitar Show & Custom Luthier Magazine welcomes, but assumes no responsibility for loss or damage to, any and all unsolicited articles, photographs, or art. Content for publication should be directed to: editor@guitarshowmagazine.com 3
3 Editor’s Column Welcome to Guitar Show & Custom Luthier! 6 The Guitar of Your Dreams Rick Shaw explains the benefits of having a professional master luthier build your perfect “Dream” guitar. 8 Highlights from the Douglas County Guitar Show & Colorado Luthier Expo Jon Sorensen and others share photos with commentary by Jim Black of RetroTone and guitar collector Eric Gray in this walk through the show 11 The Professional Luthier Directory A list of verified individuals actively involved in the professional art of lutherie.
12 First Build: A Student’s Perspective Mike Nash shares personal experiences in this first article about learning the art of lutherie at a local college.
14 Advertiser Index
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THE GUITAR OF YOUR DREAMS By Rick Shaw Every guitar player dreams of someday owning the perfect guitar - an instrument with an impeccable combination of tone, playability and elegance. It's the reflection of your own personality, playing style and unique sound. That's why a truly custom guitar is designed and handcrafted for just one person you. Your involvement in the creation of your guitar is crucial to ensuring that it is the perfect instrument for you. The journey to designing the guitar of your dreams begins with your vision, whether you're looking for something completely unique or a more traditional style guitar. Next, choose a professional “Master Luthier” and share with him or her everything about your perfect guitar – the body, neck, woods and materials, colors and finishes, hardware, pickups and other electronic configurations. You ask questions and ideas are shared. You must be able to work closely with your luthier every step of the process in order to create the guitar of your dreams together. Some custom guitar builders are little more than "guitar assemblers". In other words, they’ll simply use manufactured necks or bodies from a kit. Kits are fine for someone that wants to build their own guitar or to begin learning the art of lutherie, but a kit may not include specific parts or woods that you would have preferred for that perfect guitar you were dreaming of. The components of your perfect guitar's neck and body should arrive at a master luthier’s shop as raw wood, not parts. There is something very unique and personal when your guitar's neck is created and shaped by hand from start to finish. After all, you chose the materials, the radius of the neck, the finish, the fretboard, fret size and style, inlays and binding. You picked the style and finish of your guitar's body and the type of woods used to create it. You chose the guitar's individual hardware elements - bridge, tuners, switches, knobs, other electronics and of course, your guitar's pickups. A professional luthier’s goal should be to design and create for you the most beautiful, best playing, best sounding, one-of-akind guitar you have ever played... The guitar of your dreams. Rick Shaw is a Master Luthier at www.shawguitars.com Photo courtesy of shawguitars.com
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facebook.com/TexasToastCustomGuitars
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This was the second time that the Lutheran High School in Parker became the home of the DOUGLAS COUNTY GUITAR SHOW & COLORADO LUTHIER EXPO and by all accounts it looks like Duane & Charlene Evarts, the organizers, now have another successful event under their belt. Overall attendance was up from last year and people seemed to hang around for at least an hour or so. There were many very cool guitars and amps at the show. I was fortunate to meet so many nice folks coming by our booth. Likewise, I was surprised at how many Dads with grown up sons were in attendance. My booth was sandwiched between the show organizer's booth and a collector, Bill Swanson of Freedog Music.
I met a really nice guy, Tony, the owner of Flipside Music Center in Denver. Tony was generous enough to loan me his MXR Univibe for a Univibe shootout. I brought my 1972 Univibe to catch people's attention at the booth. I must say that the MXR copy is pretty damn good. The MXR has more gain than the original. The chorus is so close it is ridiculous. The vibrato was surprisingly accurate. Considering the low price on the MXR and that no-one in their right mind would take a real Univibe on the road, the MXR is worth every penny of the street price at Flipside Music. Just across the isle, Dawn Finnigan Kinder had some great looking guitar artwork. The detail blew me away. Check out her Guitar Art Creations at www.facebook.com/SerenityMosaics
I can't even begin to describe all the instruments Bill had for sale. I had my eye on a 1963 Gibson SG with a single P90 pickup. He also had a double neck SG with a 6 string on the bottom and a 12 string on the top. Very cool. He also had some really old Telecasters. If I save my money all year, maybe I can afford one of his gems next year!
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I had a nice chat with Doug Garvey from Colorado Music Business Organization, otherwise known as COMBO, at the show.
He told me how COMBO supports and promotes songwriters, bands,, independent musicians and others involved with the music business in Colorado. http://www.coloradomusic.org/
Duane Evarts, the guitar show organizer, happened to be driving through Parker and saw a garage sale. The woman asked him: “Do you see anything you like?” To which he said: “No, I usually go to garage sales just to see if there are any musical instruments”. She replied: “I have some guitars in my basement – would you like to see them?” She ended up showing him the three guitars in her basement and asked if he was interested in buying them. After some quick research, they agreed upon a price and these three treasures went to their new home. Since that day, Duane and his wife have been using this guitar show as a place where the story of Ted McCarty can be told and these instruments can be admired by the public. All three are really stunning and in un-played, true mint condition.
At one table, I saw three beautiful PRS hollow body guitars, set over to the side. I went up to see what the deal was. There was a Hollowbody I, a Hollowbody II, and an Archtop III “Artist” model with gold outlined bird inlays. All three were hand signed by Paul, and say "Custom Built For Ted McCarty“ on the back of the headstock.
Hats off and a big thank you to Duane and Charlene Evarts for producing another great guitar show. If you missed it this year, find out more about the next one at guitarshowmagazine.com
As it turns out, a woman in Parker, Colorado had been Ted McCarty's caregiver late in his life. The story is that PRS built and gave a set of five McCarty guitars to Ted in 2001 only a few months before he died and he gave the set to his caregiver. She sold the two solid body guitars to someone on the east coast. The other three remained in their cases, in her basement for over ten years.
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Jim Black is the owner of RetroTone, an online store providing supplies and services for the “do-ityourself” and boutique guitar pedal builders. Co-author Eric Grey is an avid PRS guitar collector.
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www.OBrien Guitars.com 10
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Professional Luthier Directory COLORADO Mike Bashkin Bashkin Guitars Fort Collins, CO michael@bashkinguitars.com Bashkinguitars.com
COLORADO (cont) Ron's Guitar & Violin 10206 Progress Lane Parker, CO 80134 ronjonesviolinandguitar@gmail.com ronjonesviolinandguitar.com
Brian Deckebach Del Toro Guitars Denver, CO 720-570-2202 brian@deltoroguitars.com deltoroguitars.com
Stanley Plant Guitar Repair Doc Franktown, CO 720-987-9444 stan@guitarrepairdoc.com guitarrepairdoc.com
Matt Flaherty Texas Toast Custom Guitars Arvada, CO 720-638-706 flaherty500@aol.com facebook.com/TexasToastCustomGuitars
Victor Guitar 1457 S Broadway Denver, CO 80210 303-777-7411 edward@VictorGuitar.com edwarddickinstrumentrepair.com
Michael Anthony Michael Anthony Guitars Loveland CO 970-361-8577 MichaelAnthony@MichaelAnthonyGuitars.com
MichaelAnthonyGuitars.com Robbie O’Brien O'Brien Guitars Parker, CO 720-352-8647 robert@obrienguitars.com obrienguitars.com Bruce Clay Rarebird Guitars Trinidad, CO facebook.com/bruce.clay.315 Steve Rolig Rolig Guitars Pagosa Springs, CO Steve@roligguitars.com roligguitars.com
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FLORIDA Glen Perry Guitars 12802 SW 122nd Avenue Miami, FL 33186 Glen.Perry.Guitars@aol.com GlenPerryGuitars.com R&M Guitars. LLC 3425 SW 74 Ave Ocala FL, 34474 rmguitars12@gmail.com rmguitars.com
GEORGIA D. Bombliss Instruments 1320 Union Hill Industrial Court, Ste D Alpharetta, GA 30004 www.dbomblissinstruments.com dbomblissinstruments@gmail.com facebook.com/ninefingerguitars
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OREGON Steinegger Guitars PO Box 25304 Portland, OR 97298 steinyguitars.com steiny@aracnet.com Specializing in acoustic guitar repairs
TEXAS David Newton Guitars 4022 Fonville Ave Beaumont, TX 77705 dnewton4022@sbcglobal.net davidnewtonguitars.squarespace.com Shaw Handcrafted Guitars Waco, TX 254-722-3736 rick@shawguitars.com shawguitars.com
WASHINGTON Stuart Keith Guitars Nine Mile Falls, WA (509) 276-2637 stuartkeithguitars.com stuartgortsr@gmail.com
WISCONSON Petros Guitars Kaukauna, WI 920-766-1295 petros@petrosguitars.com Petrosguitars.com
To be included in our next printed and online Professional Luthier Directory, contact: Editor@guitarshowmagazine.com
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First Build: A student’s perspective. By Mike Nash, contributing editor The goal of this column will be to enlighten anyone interested in knowing what they can expect for their first build, and to introduce the “layperson” to the world of woodworking and more specifically, the art of lutherie. I’ll take you through the steps of this first build a bit at a time. For this first article, we’ll stick with a little overview, and treat it as an introduction (“Hi! My name is Mike, nice to meet you”) My journey to learn the art of lutherie started when my wonderful wife decided to look online for a guitar building course. After years of babbling on to her about all the different things that make guitars look and sound the way they do, we suddenly found ourselves watching a YouTube video of a master luthier. That’s when she turned to me and said, “You know Mike, you could be a great guitar builder too!” I was very pleased to find out that there was a school that taught lutherie in the Denver metro area and I wasted no time enrolling. They offered courses in classical as well as steel-string acoustic guitar construction. For the electric guitar class, it is probably best to just buy the recommended kit. The kit includes all the basic wood, hardware, and an instructional video. Just be ready to be set back between $350 to $400. Apparently there’s a run on alder wood for these kits every 12
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enrollment period, so you’ll get whatever wood they give you. I was pleasantly surprised to find that my body blank was not alder, but a gorgeous three piece swamp ash instead. Another student had a one piece mahogany body in his kit. I find that body blanks that are made from two or more joined pieces are commonly painted opaque colors, so mine was more desirable both for it’s species, and for the option of allowing the wood to show through. I was surprised at the different levels of expertise each student had. Some of my fellow students had previously taken this course one or more times before. One student was building FIVE guitars during the course, while another wanted to try two, but settled for just one based on his time constraints. Some stuck to the specs of the kit, while most, including myself, added a wide variety of personal touches that challenged those specs. I should also mention that this degree of creative license was one of the strong points of appeal of this class for me. During the process of building the guitar I had a few minor difficulties that I think of as… “Creative Learning Experiences” For example: My wife is originally from California and she really wanted some redwood on this guitar. So we purchased a redwood burl drop-top, and a complimentary faceplate for the headstock. GuitarShowMagazine.com
During the process of building the guitar I had a few minor difficulties that I like to think of as… “Creative Learning Experiences” - Mike Nash While I did a great job getting the faceplate onto the headstock, I ended up drilling a 2-½ inch long tapered trench in the middle of it for the truss rod access. So now I know to drill the access hole before gluing the faceplate. Yet another time, I had drilled the hole for the output jack and afterward I put the back of the guitar body face down on the router table to round over the edges, and forgot about that output jack hole. I caught it quickly, but a little damage had been done. Now I’m hoping that some black wood filler will hide it after I stain the swamp ash black. So that’s a few “quick-hits” from my first-build experience so far. Next time we’ll begin looking at a few basic tools and their alternatives. I’ll get into some descriptions of the steps we took in school, beginning with the truss rod. By the time this series is over, you should have a thorough knowledge of what to expect for your first build, and hopefully, I will have peaked your interest into the world of woodworking and lutherie. I hope you have enjoyed some of the pictures of my build. You can see the entire project’s photo spread on Facebook. Just search for…
The Alien Guitar Factory
Mike Nash recently rediscovered an interest from his youth about how electric guitars were made and decided to become a student of lutherie at Red Rocks Community College. For more information about future projects and availability, you can drop Mike a line at: alienguitarfactory@gmail.com – Editor GuitarShowMagazine.com
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Advertiser Index Company Name Page Brian Davis Photography 7 Colorado Guitar Show & Luthier Expo IBC Colorado Music Business 7 Crosley Hotshot Band 10 David Newton Guitars 11 Del Toro Guitars 10 Flipside Music Center 10 Guitar Hands Lotion 7 Guitar Repair Doc, LLC 10 Guitars For Vets 10 Marini Music 7 O’Brien Guitars 10 Pick Guy Picks IFC Petros Guitars 11 RetroTone 5 Ron’s Violin & Guitar 10 Southcoast Guitar Show & Swap Meet IBC Stuart Keith Guitars 7 & 11 Tempe Guitar Show IBC Tacoma Guitar Festival IBC Texas Toast Custom Guitars 7 ToneVille Amplifiers 14 Shaw Guitars BC Victor Guitar 5
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Web Address BDavisphotography.com Facebook.com/groups/guitarshow ColoradoMusic.org CrosleyHotshot.com DavidNewtonGuitars.squarespace.com DelToroGuitars.com FlipsideMusicCenter.com GuitarHands.com GuitarRepairDoc.com GuitarsForVets.org MariniMusic.com Obrienguitars.com PickGuy.com Petrosguitars.com RetroTone.com RonJonesViolinAndGuitar.com SixStringMusicCompany.com StuartKeithGuitars.com TempeGuitarShow.com TacomaGuitarFestival.com Facebook.com/TexasToastCustomGuitars ToneVilleAmps.com ShawGuitars.com VictorGuitar.com
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