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PostPosted: Sat Dec 21, 2019 7:28 am 
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Koa
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We've had a string of very nice, extraordinarily expensive luthier-built instruments in for work lately, to include the guitar which Mr. Somogyi aptly describes as his masterwork (it is as he has christened it - the acme of his career); however, this morning while perusing the Facebook Marketplace feed, I stumbled across what must be the most spectacularly priced - and thus, highest expression of the luthierish arts - custom-built small-shop instrument of them all:

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/it ... 123758799/

What I take from this artist's efforts is that, contrary to the doom-and-gloom prognostication of more builders chasing fewer dollars heard from established builders, his Facebook Marketplace post announces a new Golden Era for small shop craftsman. No longer will we be forced to choose between the mundane-but-barely adequate compensation of repair work at $100-$120 per hour, or the purity of artistic expression enjoyed while building, albeit at 1/4 to 1/3 of the repairman's hourly rate. We can boldly price our efforts at whatever seems desirable with complete confidence in the marketplace - at least Facebook Marketplace - beating a path to our workshop or studio door.

Good news indeed!

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PostPosted: Sat Dec 21, 2019 7:40 am 
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Koa
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I cannot click on the link and get to the site that I think you posted.


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PostPosted: Sat Dec 21, 2019 8:40 am 
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Brazilian Rosewood
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It just takes me to the overall facebook market place.

I just got in the shop a classical guitar made by a Bulgarian luthier, Boyan Matev, and I have to say it's one of the finest guitars I've ever played. I love getting stuff in like that.


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PostPosted: Sat Dec 21, 2019 8:58 am 
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You'd think at that price you would get a truss rod cover.

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The name catgut is confusing. There are two explanations for the mix up.

Catgut is an abbreviation of the word cattle gut. Gut strings are made from sheep or goat intestines, in the past even from horse, mule or donkey intestines.

Otherwise it could be from the word kitgut or kitstring. Kit meant fiddle, not kitten.


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PostPosted: Sat Dec 21, 2019 9:07 am 
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All I got was local crap....

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PostPosted: Sat Dec 21, 2019 9:10 am 
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Brazilian Rosewood
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The link just took me to facebook marketplace, with the note the item was no longer available.
I guess I may as well duct tape a banana to the wall. gaah


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PostPosted: Sat Dec 21, 2019 9:54 am 
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Koa
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Sorry! Who would have thought that a $123,456 OOO 12 fretter from an unknown builder would sell so quickly!

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We have become a civilization that elevates idiots, prostitutes, and clowns. Am I still to defend it? Yes, for its principles. Yes, for what it was. Yes, for what it still may be.

-Mark Helprin, The Oceans and the Stars: A Sea Story, A War Story, A Love Story (A Novel)


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PostPosted: Sat Dec 21, 2019 10:02 am 
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Brazilian Rosewood
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Oh I know what you are talking about now. I've seen that on the FB market place before and thought maybe it was a mistake in a decimal place or something?


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PostPosted: Sat Dec 21, 2019 10:06 am 
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Koa
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Woohoo!
I can quit my day job now and make a good living
Building a guitar a year!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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PostPosted: Sat Dec 21, 2019 10:09 am 
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Koa
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Wow... after browsing luthier guitars on that page I feel so much better about mine all of a sudden:/


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These users thanked the author SnowManSnow for the post: Bri (Sat Dec 21, 2019 11:40 am)
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 21, 2019 10:10 am 
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Brazilian Rosewood
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Who would have thought a banana taped to the wall would sell for $120,000

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zM2U5bL1lNY


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PostPosted: Sat Dec 21, 2019 12:55 pm 
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Well worth the $$$. It took 17 years of his life. I wish I could muster up that much sticktoitivness!


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PostPosted: Sat Dec 21, 2019 3:18 pm 
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Brazilian Rosewood
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Y’all are getting 100-120$/hr for repairs? Perhaps I should up my prices...


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PostPosted: Sat Dec 21, 2019 4:51 pm 
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I can’t see the post in the link, but if the price really is $123,456, I think that is something people put in the price Geile at marketplace to indicate they are not listing the price. Not sure about that, but I have seen that price listed for several things.

Edit: I didn’t mean this post to spoil the fun, I was really meaning to ask what that price actually means since I’ e been curious.

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PostPosted: Sat Dec 21, 2019 11:05 pm 
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I think Facebook marketplace is dangerous. A friend was recently scammed buying something by credit card from a company that apparently does not exist.

On a happier note I was just at Jim Olsons place buying some wood. He still has clients actually calling and offering $45-$50,000 for one of his instruments. Some are very well known folks.

If anyone deserves that kind of success Jim does. He is a wonderful person. I played a Cedar topped BZ SJ that was about to go out for over 40K. It was set up perfectly and had spectacular tone.

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These users thanked the author Terence Kennedy for the post: Pmaj7 (Sun Dec 22, 2019 2:30 am)
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 21, 2019 11:35 pm 
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Brazilian Rosewood
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Terence Kennedy wrote:
I think Facebook marketplace is dangerous. A friend was recently scammed buying something by credit card from a company that apparently does not exist.

On a happier note I was just at Jim Olsons place buying some wood. He still has clients actually calling and offering $45-$50,000 for one of his instruments. Some are very well known folks.

If anyone deserves that kind of success Jim does. He is a wonderful person. I played a Cedar topped BZ SJ that was about to go out for over 40K. It was set up perfectly and had spectacular tone.


40K will only get you about a third of a banana and a little piece of duct tape in the Art world. As luthiers we foolishly spend weeks building things and "performance art" is when someone spends a couple of hours, sweating on a stage playing them.
Oh well! Tough Bananas!


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PostPosted: Sun Dec 22, 2019 12:27 am 
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That's funny. We did a gig years ago at a cultural center and there was a painting prominently displayed that consisted of two 3' X 3' squares of canvas. One painted blue with a white stripe across it and the other white with a blue stripe.

The curator proudly talked about how it was the product of a three month grant funded residency of a regional artist. "He 's a minimalist" she proclaimed.

I mentioned that I could do the same thing in my basement in about an hour. It was not well received :)

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PostPosted: Sun Dec 22, 2019 12:48 am 
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Terence Kennedy wrote:
That's funny. We did a gig years ago at a cultural center and there was a painting prominently displayed that consisted of two 3' X 3' squares of canvas. One painted blue with a white stripe across it and the other white with a blue stripe.

The curator proudly talked about how it was the product of a three month grant funded residency of a regional artist. "He 's a minimalist" she proclaimed.

I mentioned that I could do the same thing in my basement in about an hour. It was not well received :)


Yeah but its the context, what came before, what has informed the artist, what is it they were trying to say, is it representative of their unique voice and perspective all that stuff. If I took enough art classes and worked hard enough I could replicate the Mona Lisa too, but there's no way I have an ounce of Leonardo's vision or creativity.



These users thanked the author Conor_Searl for the post: Ken Jones (Thu Dec 26, 2019 2:33 am)
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PostPosted: Sun Dec 22, 2019 8:39 am 
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Terence Kennedy wrote:
That's funny. We did a gig years ago at a cultural center and there was a painting prominently displayed that consisted of two 3' X 3' squares of canvas. One painted blue with a white stripe across it and the other white with a blue stripe.

The curator proudly talked about how it was the product of a three month grant funded residency of a regional artist. "He 's a minimalist" she proclaimed.

I mentioned that I could do the same thing in my basement in about an hour. It was not well received :)


Terrence—

My wife is an artist (well, a clergyperson who creates visual art on canvas, in the same way that I am a lawyer who builds guitars), and my daughter works at a decent sized art museum. I made a similar comment to them over a year ago about a modern art collection at my daughter’s museum. I still don’t think I have climbed my way out of that hole. I’ve learned the hard way that I need to apply my attitude about music to visual art. That is: every kind of music has validity and value to somebody, no matter how much I personally dislike it or think it is worthless or contrived or whatever.

It is tough to maintain that attitude, though, when we are talking about a banana taped to a wall.


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PostPosted: Sun Dec 22, 2019 9:41 am 
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I dunno... sometimes you just have to be the kid who says the emperor is naked.

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These users thanked the author Greg Maxwell for the post: Ken Jones (Thu Dec 26, 2019 2:35 am)
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PostPosted: Sun Dec 22, 2019 10:06 am 
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Brazilian Rosewood
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Conor wrote:

"Yeah but its the context, what came before, what has informed the artist, what is it they were trying to say, is it representative of their unique voice and perspective all that stuff. If I took enough art classes and worked hard enough I could replicate the Mona Lisa too, but there's no way I have an ounce of Leonardo's vision or creativity."

The person who taped a banana to the wall doesn't have an ounce of Leonardo's vision or creativity. I can appreciate many forms of Art, both traditional and modern. Some of it I appreciate more than others. It is not so much that someone taped a banana to the wall and called it art, as that someone gave it validity by buying it (for a modest sum by art standards).
Think of the lost opportunities we had as luthiers - instead of "hanging" our failures we should have been taping them to the wall. gaah laughing6-hehe


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PostPosted: Sun Dec 22, 2019 10:27 am 
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Koa
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I should qualify my comment, I don't mean to excuse pretension or snobbery (is that a word?) and if my wife wanted a painting like some of these modern art things we're referring to, I'd head straight to the garage and slap some paint on a canvas, (If she wanted a banana taped to the wall I'd tell her no, that's weird.) Buying art isn't high on the priority list to spend money on anyway.

But I do feel there's something to be said for the artist's intention. However baffling, dense, or ridiculous it may appear.

And I hear you about the consumption thing, the way people validate and consume art (or anything really) can be problematic. But I don't know that the line is that thick between the person who's hobby is art collecting and feels that buying a taped to a wall banana would bring them status or prestige, (which I assume is what we're criticizing here) and the loaded, hack guitarist that walks into the music store and buys the most expensive guitar hanging on the wall just because its the most expensive.

And Clay, if I can poke the bear one last time, your comment about luthiers hanging failures on the wall implies the banana man failed. ;)



These users thanked the author Conor_Searl for the post: Clay S. (Sun Dec 22, 2019 12:21 pm)
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PostPosted: Mon Dec 23, 2019 10:58 am 
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Maybe I should just tape my unsold guitars to a wall, with coloured duct tape perhaps.

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The name catgut is confusing. There are two explanations for the mix up.

Catgut is an abbreviation of the word cattle gut. Gut strings are made from sheep or goat intestines, in the past even from horse, mule or donkey intestines.

Otherwise it could be from the word kitgut or kitstring. Kit meant fiddle, not kitten.


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PostPosted: Mon Dec 23, 2019 12:20 pm 
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Colin North wrote:
Maybe I should just tape my unsold guitars to a wall, with coloured duct tape perhaps.


With a banana in the sound hole?

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PostPosted: Mon Dec 23, 2019 12:49 pm 
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SteveSmith wrote:
Colin North wrote:
Maybe I should just tape my unsold guitars to a wall, with coloured duct tape perhaps.


With a banana in the sound hole?

Guitar porn?

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The name catgut is confusing. There are two explanations for the mix up.

Catgut is an abbreviation of the word cattle gut. Gut strings are made from sheep or goat intestines, in the past even from horse, mule or donkey intestines.

Otherwise it could be from the word kitgut or kitstring. Kit meant fiddle, not kitten.


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