tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-66033570038588932962024-02-07T15:28:32.962-08:00Stephen Faulk - about guitar making and moreShort essays and observations about flamenco and classical guitar making.
Stories about making guitars as an American living in Japan.
My other interests are playing the cello, flamenco guitar and painting landscape paintings.
Please ask questions about guitar making or living in Japan. To contact me about commissioning a custom guitar write to me at: stephenfaulkgutars@gmail.comStephen Faulkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17209508901056780395noreply@blogger.comBlogger41125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6603357003858893296.post-2797170073765528962014-08-07T17:55:00.001-07:002014-08-07T17:56:49.529-07:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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4~ When the Jaded Write Guidebooks <o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Looking out my back window I can see the Hinokamisama deity in the park.
The rainy season has just begun. In the last week anonymous offerings have been
appearing in front of the statue. Glasses full of shochu and bouquets of store
bought flowers. Yoshimori is Yuko’s father. He was born in Akune. He’s nearing
eighty, but looks about sixty-five.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>A group of Akuneans did a short rededication ceremony at the deity site
this week. I saw them from the back window, Yoshimori included. It was mainly
older people, Akune is an old town, I mean mostly populated by those over sixty
as all the young people tend to move out to Osaka or Tokyo seeking employment.
There are kids here, lots of them and younger couples, but you see more old
people in the streets during the day. At the bus stop after school
kindergarteners wait for moms to pick them up. They wait by doing homework,
spilling the contents of their book bags on the sidewalk and excitedly pointing
at shared answers. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The kids wear “school kid uniforms” and all the old people
wear “old people uniforms”. The ages in between just look confused, like they
are displaced out of a big city and landed in Akune for no reason. Grandma
uniforms are housedresses with either cloth or plastic aprons, depending on
whether they are gardening or cleaning fish. Old guy uniforms are windbreakers
and drab loose trousers. Wide brimmed straw hats are worn by both genders,
especially if going fishing. Most of the young guys wear ball caps for fishing,
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Some young moms in the grocery stores wear glittery flat-rimmed
ball caps, and tee shirts tawdry messages in English text. The kinds of shorts
and hats last seen in an American gangsta rap video from 1998. The traditional
kimono clashes with any music post Run DMC, but as an American in Akune I see
personal and secret irony in the current trend of the kimono making comeback
among young women. The kimono is unquestionably more erotically mysterious than
gold jewelry and ass leaking Daisy Duke cut offs. I predict the next big rap
star will make press appearances surrounding himself with kimono wearing
beauties. Just you wait. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The old men’s
stalk legs were covered by dull ochre and grey trousers, shirts tucked in like
natty schoolboys. The average age was about seventy-two. The few ladies present
took off aprons in favor of knit sweaters or a long kimonoish light coat. They
gathered in front of the Hinokamisama shrine with the paid Shinto priest they
retained to perform the rededication ceremony. Yoshimori told me the mystery
offerings probably appeared because there was a small fire in town recently and
the person who felt responsible for it probably stepped forward to leave secret
offerings of shochu because they felt guilty. The fire reportedly started when
someone left a mess of paper trash in the garage and an electrical cord sparked
and set a fire. Yoshimori thinks someone felt bad and began the new round robin
of offerings at the shrine, which led to a the community noticing the shrine,
culminating in a rededication ceremony. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Hinokamisama was first installed 1635. The town has grown
around the sculpture and the park has seen many uses during the time he’s been
sitting on his lotus pad chair. Before the land was a park it was a cemetery,
they must have moved all the bodies because the kids’ massive play structures,
slides, monkey bars, etc. are all rooted in deep cement foundations and would
intrude upon the resting level of the dead if they were still there. Not to
mention the screaming elementary school brats and skate borders that I can hear
in the afternoons. The little sliders and swingers’ screeching would undo the
dead and the curb scraping skaters would soon finish them off. Poor dead. Good
thing they migrated long ago to the Buddhist temple mortuary storage cabinets. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Hinokamisama gave those old boys and girls of the Honmachi
district a good reason to get together to drink shochu. Shochu is a distilled
beverage made of sweet potatoes and is native to Kyushu, yeah the Koreans,
Chinese and other island nations make claim to shochu, but it is the product of
the Kyushuians from way back. Akune, like all towns and cities in Japan is made
up of small districts, they don’t give streets names in Japan, but send mail by
directing it to the proper district in town and the post man knows the name of
the person and where they live or he goes by a house or building number in that
district. Reminds me of the U-2 album with the song “Where the streets have no
name”. That song was written in Joshua Tree California, but it applies here as
well. Some of the twenty plus folks standing in front of old Hinokamisama were
gripping beaded & tasseled wristbands which are a “Buddhist prayer rosary”
for lack of a better way to explain the object. Many of them were not from
Honmachi, but from other districts in Akune where the streets also have no
names. The Shinto priest officiating gave a full rededication prayer and
prompted everyone in the group to make proper bows and gasshos on que as he
recited various chants. Gassho is the gesture of putting ones palms facing
together in front of ones chest and holding the gesture for a few seconds in
reverent peacefulness. Gassho is exactly the same gesture that Christians make
when praying, which makes you wonder about the origins of religion. If all the
religions use the same gesture maybe the game is a foot, as Sherlock Holmes
would say, but the mystery of why religions fight remains a mystery. Shintoism
is the main religion in Japan, but it’s pretty much like everywhere else in the
world. You have some religion enthusiasts who make religion a big deal, but
most people take religiosity in moderate amounts. It’s like drinking the
shochu, too much will give a bad day tomorrow. <o:p></o:p></div>
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I went to a shochu distillery a few weeks back, there’s
one in another district of Akune about a 20 minute walk from Honmachi. I can’t
remember how to get there, because I have not gotten used to the concept of
streets without names. However I can almost navigate by alcoholic beverage
global positioning, ABGP.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My
dad and my uncles used to drive around in San Bernardino, the town I as born
in, and wind their way from one end of town to the other by knowing where the
liquor stores were. You could give directions to a guy in San Bernardino by
telling them to drive past the Elgin Fagan Bar, turn left on Highland Ave. and go
down past Heywood’s Ice Cream, then left up Sierra Way past the Monkeys Hide
Out bar, and to grandmother house you go. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Wait, I’m sorry, I just got you lost. The Monkey’s Hideout
is down near Valley College. It’s all very murky to me because I was not actually
drinking at the time, being a child, wearing a child’s uniform in the back seat
of the car. Heywood’s Ice Cream was more my monument for reference in
childhood. Mr. Heywood built balsa model airplanes, I remember them hanging
from the ceiling of the ice cream parlor. There were crop dusting biplanes
covered with seamless bright blue and yellow tissue papers. He made olive green
WWII fighter planes and deep red Piper Cubs too. Maybe there was a Mitsubishi
Zero with a big red-orange meatball on the fuselage. The counter was long and
high, the stools were covered in some sticky vinyl and the ice cream tasted
much better than beer. I dropped my cone on the floor once and they gave me a
whole new one. That still does not help me locate that shochu making factory.
I’ll have to ask directions to visit them again in the late summer to early
fall when the big sweet potato crop comes in and they begin the next season of
shochu making. <o:p></o:p></div>
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On Kyushu, in the south, they drink shochu mixed with
straight hot water. No matter whether it’s the hot wet typhoon season or the
cold dry winter,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the dudes who
wear the old guy uniforms universally drink shochu in a water glass with the
ideal ratio of 7 to 3 - water to shochu. At first I was skeptical of the hot
water and drank shochu on ice, but soon I switched to the hot water mix. Shochu
on ice requires that one get up from the table, walk into the kitchen, take ice
from the freezer, put it in your glass, walk back to the table, reseat yourself
on the floor and then pour the shochu over the ice. Geeze, it’s too much work
in the heat. Best thing to do is hand your glass to the person nearest the push
top hot water dispensing thermos that is ubiquitous in Japanese sitting and
dining rooms and ask them to fill your glass with hot water for shochu. The
nearest person does not really need to be asked or told the proper ratio of
water to shochu. They will automatically size up your glass and shoot the local
Kyushu prescribed amount of H2o in your glass. Then they will measure out by
eye the exact ratio of shochu to water. These are universal skills in Kyushu.
Ice does have its place in shochu cocktails, delicious mixtures of plum wine or
fruit juices with soda water and shochu, mostly ladies drink them, but I like
them too. However the real man drinks schochu with hot water in the correct
ratio, unless the locals are trying to get you drunk to see how much shochu you
can drink. I was given glasses with as much as half and half shochu to water at
a party recently, and one recalcitrant fisherman by the name of Yuzo gave me a
glass with straight shochu. Afterwards that party was to be dubbed “The party
with one thousand legs” at some point in the future I’ll write about that one,
but it was over three weeks ago and I still have trouble remembering my name
much less the no name street it took place on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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The party in the park for the recognition of the fire
deity Hino-what’s is name sama completed the gasshos and paid the Shinto priest
his due. They walked en masse’ to the Honmachi Cultural Center a few blocks
away for a bento lunch and no doubt some shochu and hot water. The Honmachi
Cultural Center is an old building; some Honmachians think it’s not as good as
the other districts meeting halls. Each district has a performance or meeting
hall that can be rented for weddings, concerts or funeral events. But it makes
me wonder how those from other districts or out of towners find the damn things
because the streets have no names. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><br /></span>Stephen Faulkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17209508901056780395noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6603357003858893296.post-54265797908417394382014-08-07T17:32:00.001-07:002014-08-07T17:49:41.769-07:00<!--StartFragment-->
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Found in Translation Part II ~Trouble in the Kasbah<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Tachiko used to own a restaurant, I’m sure it had a name, but
I have not ventured to ask it, yet. It must have been called something tough
and scandalous like Samurai Village Coffee Shop or Rudy’s Can’t Fail Ramen.
Tachan drinks beer from a can, she wears her hair in a short brown perm. She
looks like a 1980’s MTV Japanese band leader, maybe she founded Shonen Knife?
She’s sixty years old and burps at the table with gusto. She speaks low and
deep, with force, like the big man in a “sword and sandal” film. She could
probably one punch your lights out in a fight, even though she stands ring side
at about 5 feet and a few inches. She gets up about 4am and cooks in a kitchen
she had added onto the ground floor. The kitchen door opens to the carport
where her trusty black steed “Honda” waits each morning to carry her on her
grocery store route. Tachiko and Honda deliver her delicious bento to local
stores that sell them to office workers who want a fast but satisfying lunch.
You seldom see her bento goods left in the store after 4pm. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Were the shrimp and fish fillets
swimming away from Tachiko’s freezer? To find out she called the police. Fillet
capers were low on the priority list said the Po-Po, but at some point they
would tear themselves away from the 7-11 doughnut section (It’s not bad I must
say) and make a drive by to “secure the ‘hood” and hopefully catch the fish
thief. They never arrived. The seafood kept swimming off into thin air, so she
called them again. This time she asked them for surveillance advice. She
proposed that she sit in the carport after the deliveryman dropped off her
daily food supplies, and then hide in her Honda with a baseball bat. The police
responded, horrified, that she herself might get hurt if she took that course
of action and that they would make haste to patrol the ‘street with no name’
during the times Tachiko was out delivering foodstuffs. Try as they did the
mighty Akune Police Force could not crack the case of the missing crab cakes
and purloined ebi. Joe Strummer the cat was pretty useless too, as Tachiko
thinks the thief bribed him to keep his mouth shut.<o:p></o:p></div>
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One morning after the baffled police
had abandoned the chase and resumed browsing the snack cake section of the ‘combini
store’, Tachiko forgot some of the bamboo leaf wrapped mochi that was expected
by the massive hordes of hungry businessmen across town. As she gunned Honda
back into the carport to grab the leaf swaddled mochi, she trapped the vile
shrimp predator in mid swipe with freezer lid open, one arm clutching bags of
frozen chicken gyoza! It was her rival at cottage industry cookery, the old
lady down the street. Tachiko threw open the car door and cussed her up a blue
streak, except that, um well, the Japanese language does not really have any
cusswords, you just have to get your point across by talking angrily. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Luckily no blows were exchanged. The frozen goods were dumped
back into the freezer. The brazen aggressor was chased down the street at broom
point. Tachiko has still refused to put a padlock on the freezer, it’s just not
that kind of street, or that kind of town. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Stephen Faulkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17209508901056780395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6603357003858893296.post-91671975692825547232014-08-07T17:31:00.000-07:002014-08-07T17:53:13.572-07:00<!--StartFragment-->
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The Minato ~ 'Old Port' of Akune ~ </div>
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1~ Found in Translation<o:p></o:p></div>
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Akune is far off the common track. The Shinkansen bullet
train does not stop here. The old Orange Line, orange for rust, oxidation,
pulls through. Pigeons and wattle carrying swallows own the nest pocked real
estate of the walls and ceilings above the ticket window of the terminal.
Crows, fishing boats, sea eagles. There are no gulls. I think the sea eagles
must have eaten them eons ago during the Jomon Period. Beds of white salty
potatoes grow in terraces perched on cliffs over the sea on up on Nagashima
Island. The water is Mediterranean, rocky bottomed. Viridian green shallows
blend to dark manganese blue depths. Small black octopi try to hide on
Styrofoam trays under the canvas tented fish market stalls.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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One could write all kinds of touristy road trip details
designed to flatter this countryside. Any real portrait of this town would have
to step over the stunning beauty of the East China Sea, the greenery of the
stands of timber bamboo, and cut to Tachiko’s story; how did big bags of frozen
of shrimp and gyoza constantly disappear from the freezer wedged between
cardboard produce boxes and plastic work buckets that inhabit her carport?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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Tachan, ‘chan’ the familiar endearing form of her full name
Tachiko, lives across the street from me. It’s hardly a street, unless you’re
from a really small village in Italy and the streets are narrow and strewn with
pea gravel and allow only one tiny non American sized car at a time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Where I am from it would be called an
alley, but I shy from judging this thoroughfare by naming it in a diminutive
way. It’s a tough little street full of amorpropio, but like most side streets
in countryside Japanese towns, it has no name. Taxi drivers would know my
street if you were to engage him to deliver you by saying: “Fumotosan’s
house”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>or “Tachikosan”. Off your
taxi man would go to present you to the precise door of the person you
requested, on a street with no name. <o:p></o:p></div>
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At the opposite end of Tachiko and I there is a large
hospital and a building behind it which is the Akune City branch of NTT, Nippon
Telephone and Telegraph. I have not seen any telegraph lines, yet, but it would
not shock me to see a man in an upper story window tapping out Morse code. I’ve
seen stranger things already. Fifty meters down our road a hospital sits on
massive angular haunches like a white stucco boulder. I imagine it as a giant
Japanese toy figure that transforms at night into an albino Godzilla. After
dark he climbs on the NTT’s reception tower, a wide octagonal observation deck
that is a grid work of steel mesh and circular radio dishes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He shimmies up the iron clipper ship
mast and tears satellite discs from their mounts, flinging them into the sea
and hills playing a game of monster Frisbee golf. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The rural funk, imaginary cult monster and metal sky clutter
structure would loom depressingly over this little delicate street with no
name, but it’s saved by a tree filled city park situated between us and
Godzilla’s playground. In 1765 there was a fire in Akune which burned a great
deal of the city. Part of the park is quite old, at least from the time of the
fire. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The old section features a Shinto figure three high tall
made of indigenous basalt rock, a fire protection deity. He is the usual demon,
scary angry eyes, a flaming mantle, stony feet that could stomp furiously on
the lotus shaped base. Not to represent the demonic in a Christian sense, but
to frighten fires by commanding fire to “stay away or I will kick your bloody
face in!” Not sure if fire has a face, but if it did this little rock bastard
would break free of its stony moorings and pick a drunken bar fight that would
rearrange Fires nose, mouth, lips and forehead. The protector deity
Hinokamisama rules from a verdant grassy slope, near enough to our house to
stave off any guitar incinerating conflagrations. The Japanese I must surmise,
while active in stationing fire prevention deities, gave up centuries ago
making anti-mosquito Shinto deities, for I have not seen a single one. The
closest thing to a shrine are the stacks aerosol repellent cans in the drug
store aisles. I can see the TV advert scene: Ancient Shinto shrine, can of bug
repellent on the altar, priest devoutly hands a can to young acolyte,
says:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Here is the secret of peace
and harmony”……wait…..I could get a job in advertising here……<o:p></o:p></div>
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The mean street I live on has its feline denizens as well
and my favorite is Tachiko’s tom cat. He is a swaggering punk rock tabby. His
right foreleg is completely white; the outline of the white fur is a contour
drawing that perfectly circumnavigates the tip of his pointy shoulder. From his
chest to tail it looks like he is wearing a black tee shirt with one sleeve
rolled up around his boxers arm. He reminds me of Joe Strummer from The Clash,
so I call him Joe. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Stephen Faulkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17209508901056780395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6603357003858893296.post-5417440795460349632014-06-09T22:15:00.001-07:002014-06-09T22:22:54.834-07:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Most of the time guitar makers think about rosettes as patterns. Small tiles with designs are inlayed between veneer lines to create circles of patterns. I have done patterns as the primary way of organizing the rosette, but I also like to think in terms of color a light like a painter. Pattern drops away in favor of the blending of color by the eye when two or three colored veneer lines are set next to one another. </div>
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If you lay a blue veneer line next to red veneer line and back up a bit to view the rosette, you eye will blend the colors to make shimmering purple. I like to think about pure color and light in rosettes by juxtaposing both strong complementary colors and very closely tones colors to see what happens. </div>
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But there's always room for more patterns. I'll up date this entry when I work further on this rosette. The color will pop out when it has finish on it. </div>
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This also gives me a reason to post some paintings by Pierre Bonnard- Rosettes work differently than these paintings, but there's a visual kinship between the colored veneer lines in rosettes and the way juxtaposed colors shimmer and blend in the eye on these canvases. </div>
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Stephen Faulkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17209508901056780395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6603357003858893296.post-70292708648812056202014-06-07T17:56:00.001-07:002014-06-07T17:56:36.805-07:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I'm working on some baroque cello bows, here is the first one. Ipe stick and a snakewood clip in frog. </div>
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<br />Stephen Faulkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17209508901056780395noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6603357003858893296.post-80463579802375572442014-06-05T23:14:00.002-07:002014-06-05T23:14:46.209-07:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Stephen here, I've let this blog lapse for almost three years, but I am going update it and use it to show my latest work. </div>
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I live in Japan now and I have a work shop in a small town called Akune on the West coast of Kyushu, the southern most main island in Japan. I still work for customers in the US where I am from, but I also make guitars for musicians in many countries around the world a send them out. </div>
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I'm going to start by showing my latest work then gradually work back and show some highlights from the last three years. </div>
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Check out what I am working on now and I will post updates every few days or at least once a week. Promise! I have cello, baroque bow and more guitar work coming up on the blog real soon. </div>
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Thanks for looking and feel free to ask questions, </div>
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Stephen </div>
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These photos are from the project on my bench right now. I'm re-topping a guitar I made about 14 months ago. The top bracing was an experiment which turned out to be less then what I expected so I am re making the top for the client. We agreed this would be the best thing to do. I am making the new top more conventionally by making it a very straight forward Torres style fan bracing. </div>
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In the photo above you can see the pillar that the horizontal bar sit on top of. I added that and I also replaced the lower horizontal bar below the soundhole. </div>
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The brace is being fit and it sits just above the rim of the guitar on the pillar.</div>
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Gluing in the new bar. </div>
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The new top in place with finish nails as index pins to keep it from sliding around when I glue it to the block and bars. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiam1DDqWPZ_XdlwCt7HW0X6ve7fzNygWpwCBoIs-S62eOa4XR8Wi1BOdxEMsWwIMRHUALjBrqcYo_7U2CNd91PTx5BInTGTOsTtBbuCyLDLn_PEL5_nCS22eM7NfzkvPJ7G9qcD1dmbX0/s1600/skye6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiam1DDqWPZ_XdlwCt7HW0X6ve7fzNygWpwCBoIs-S62eOa4XR8Wi1BOdxEMsWwIMRHUALjBrqcYo_7U2CNd91PTx5BInTGTOsTtBbuCyLDLn_PEL5_nCS22eM7NfzkvPJ7G9qcD1dmbX0/s1600/skye6.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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The ruler on top of the bar allows you to see the arch I planed into he bar. I glued the bar in place an then honed the arching to the correct height and curve with a really sharp plane. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvytgmYh8zHezBFPW-xmNGwMI4LAU0vE8T4goOlvLNvU0mlZiO3IbA46g6IWB3RWkCjXS8_SfvLAHDzj-9agd5V3mTO6grAyTaLkaGzOVeXgmglqhmc22xyAtPVE2T2SXGdXu0nREmoSQ/s1600/skye7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvytgmYh8zHezBFPW-xmNGwMI4LAU0vE8T4goOlvLNvU0mlZiO3IbA46g6IWB3RWkCjXS8_SfvLAHDzj-9agd5V3mTO6grAyTaLkaGzOVeXgmglqhmc22xyAtPVE2T2SXGdXu0nREmoSQ/s1600/skye7.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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Using a combination of bar clamps, cello clamps and a few specially made cauls I glue the new top to the two horizontal bars and the neck block first. You don't have to glue everything at once when you use hot hide glue and I wanted to focus on getting the bars perfect.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje8TiVBqH-o_4L4mEYwqPfHfohaVoTIuRybOQFKNjKTXKC-tWsmoBwyfOdTi2G1LEU_zXxABzfdryCKGJ4zjXFG-mDiZcUdyY8AEm1XIUNxHCMs-JEgjZVALOuhFl5MRVMb9_O96oFuo4/s1600/skye8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje8TiVBqH-o_4L4mEYwqPfHfohaVoTIuRybOQFKNjKTXKC-tWsmoBwyfOdTi2G1LEU_zXxABzfdryCKGJ4zjXFG-mDiZcUdyY8AEm1XIUNxHCMs-JEgjZVALOuhFl5MRVMb9_O96oFuo4/s1600/skye8.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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After the to is glued to the bars and neck block I used a knife to slip hot glue into the seam of the lower bout between the top and the rim. Then clamped it all up with cello clamps!</div>
<br />Stephen Faulkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17209508901056780395noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6603357003858893296.post-15543620403264824872011-08-15T11:27:00.000-07:002011-08-15T11:29:08.561-07:00Headstock pic<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-nJ3UXLG-BUHW8hj93l0VOMfNxxcHVF-SQkpFsuN17SBO2SMtoEZhp6FbN79M9NBp3GuI7c-q2sQQm0V_cvVoyUseKeZ7kEs9mCwUwBrhG1sVRJaYHmzI7U0Tqqe71_UZW9nVrRSzYQc/s1600/1moranheadfront.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-nJ3UXLG-BUHW8hj93l0VOMfNxxcHVF-SQkpFsuN17SBO2SMtoEZhp6FbN79M9NBp3GuI7c-q2sQQm0V_cvVoyUseKeZ7kEs9mCwUwBrhG1sVRJaYHmzI7U0Tqqe71_UZW9nVrRSzYQc/s320/1moranheadfront.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5641151186816238210" border="0" />New Headstock design with a wash coat of finish. </a>Thai rosewood on a Spanish cedar neck. Sloane tuners
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<br />Stephen Faulkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17209508901056780395noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6603357003858893296.post-77354881956047347182011-08-15T11:08:00.000-07:002011-08-15T11:11:56.947-07:00Port Orfrd Cedar back and sides blanca with Red Cedar top Under construction now<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje7RoisoQqc5Y3il5yDzlyMJPA0Jk5c978XnpOW1YMTlvF37oJ8wAbHmlBiDxARUeTGsHaMM-YO2vLJRSBPZ_de91RxN6N2lbSeULiI2GyWJJy-UX7bs2J8hEkVvwBFV793BIpSi-tznM/s1600/greenrosesmall.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 284px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje7RoisoQqc5Y3il5yDzlyMJPA0Jk5c978XnpOW1YMTlvF37oJ8wAbHmlBiDxARUeTGsHaMM-YO2vLJRSBPZ_de91RxN6N2lbSeULiI2GyWJJy-UX7bs2J8hEkVvwBFV793BIpSi-tznM/s320/greenrosesmall.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5641146863911401762" border="0" /></a>
<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi17Tcovq-iWVGBFMdsKKPQ5xi88gxB_l3WXlbD9hKyfZtWIO9KH6bueSbb8a8gVA-QuCh9rikbAmrKErnu9cxXVGsTgm9MCuqLi5Dn7uA5x3YooL-8I4g0yW3xEFQpAGAOQzbH2dWRcKw/s1600/soleraribs2.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi17Tcovq-iWVGBFMdsKKPQ5xi88gxB_l3WXlbD9hKyfZtWIO9KH6bueSbb8a8gVA-QuCh9rikbAmrKErnu9cxXVGsTgm9MCuqLi5Dn7uA5x3YooL-8I4g0yW3xEFQpAGAOQzbH2dWRcKw/s320/soleraribs2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5641146467453119698" border="0" /></a>
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<br /> ETA late August- I'll post more in progress shot when the back is glued on later this week.
<br />Stephen Faulkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17209508901056780395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6603357003858893296.post-5692465881898325342011-08-15T11:00:00.000-07:002011-08-15T11:08:06.916-07:00A new rosette<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhO2wKwaP8upE6uSxYRKqV2Agwu9MBprgJQUSILgZLIDMndBEiwZeimeEypca4qw-uWNAgQf5paJ9IJ9ZYGjGVEFlpATOMPR5aIRveCs1fdYtoEe34DjsuFltMxi6ddrtLxZEl3i7nEls/s1600/IMG_2479.JPG"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhO2wKwaP8upE6uSxYRKqV2Agwu9MBprgJQUSILgZLIDMndBEiwZeimeEypca4qw-uWNAgQf5paJ9IJ9ZYGjGVEFlpATOMPR5aIRveCs1fdYtoEe34DjsuFltMxi6ddrtLxZEl3i7nEls/s320/IMG_2479.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5641145730004813538" border="0" /></a>
<br />A new moth pattern rosette. Moth pattern tile with green lines and red bars. This one will look nice under a finish.
<br />Stephen Faulkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17209508901056780395noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6603357003858893296.post-80869835001672089292011-08-15T10:57:00.001-07:002011-08-15T11:00:26.333-07:00Back to the blogI've taken a break from blogging for about two months now. It was due to too much to do and a some back pain issues with typing at the computer. I decided to save my back for guitar work and the last two months have been under the excellent care of Eric Smith, a guitar playing chiropractor in El Cerrito CA.
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<br />I will be posting more blog entries now, perhaps two a week. Stay tuned.
<br />Stephen Faulkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17209508901056780395noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6603357003858893296.post-58865278037952054562011-05-20T22:07:00.000-07:002011-05-20T22:37:22.500-07:00Friday Afternoon with Igor<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu4nN8TaxaSGGyvTtL-la5Ue_xmMq0J-cegAK6e3k98ydMWah0wQFb3-UflvzyKtn-D0J-X2xUcY5VtjW0g9NvijvXEoLU_UJ7-tQ26IEB2nWqzb7UgBVzQdp5UZXCGBQaSoZgl0g63-w/s1600/images.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 290px; height: 174px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu4nN8TaxaSGGyvTtL-la5Ue_xmMq0J-cegAK6e3k98ydMWah0wQFb3-UflvzyKtn-D0J-X2xUcY5VtjW0g9NvijvXEoLU_UJ7-tQ26IEB2nWqzb7UgBVzQdp5UZXCGBQaSoZgl0g63-w/s320/images.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5609037888000841538" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLM0ZIzn2fvwWlGUsfYTHY7D1LVHuPjpfc0HVGYLJri1qRLlnOhpuhnfP9f8VQscRdr86o3qH23Fqfg6o2TzYJhx5sc8idQh-vJS3Ojp6rW7uYjz1quoQ1h5t6Ou2WabbH6Aj2gHxhVok/s1600/2141062-igor-stravinsky-petrushka.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 247px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLM0ZIzn2fvwWlGUsfYTHY7D1LVHuPjpfc0HVGYLJri1qRLlnOhpuhnfP9f8VQscRdr86o3qH23Fqfg6o2TzYJhx5sc8idQh-vJS3Ojp6rW7uYjz1quoQ1h5t6Ou2WabbH6Aj2gHxhVok/s320/2141062-igor-stravinsky-petrushka.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5609037729950686706" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhsj6FV90RF3lBB8mGZOfa4uiyPJJGnNL4PFkxXKoA8hwwUGVdRrRbrCo8dMjEnL7kTqtAkrmvZ4R9IpKtbBwZgk4OK2tqaGA4gLsXGzBbXf7x5nKycFxaqp7K99lGRLWzoazxnt6O1RQ/s1600/stravinsky_album_63904t.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 294px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhsj6FV90RF3lBB8mGZOfa4uiyPJJGnNL4PFkxXKoA8hwwUGVdRrRbrCo8dMjEnL7kTqtAkrmvZ4R9IpKtbBwZgk4OK2tqaGA4gLsXGzBbXf7x5nKycFxaqp7K99lGRLWzoazxnt6O1RQ/s320/stravinsky_album_63904t.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5609037606663510690" border="0" /></a><br />I was washing my clothes to day at the laundromat on Piedmont Ave. in Oakland California. I loaded my clothes in the cylinder, added the detergent and two dollars in coins. The coins fell into the slot and made a sound like a xylophone. Coin operated washing machines are really musical if you listen to them carefully.<br />After I listened to my round metal disks drop into the gears and guts of the washing machine making sounds like a few triangle strikes in an orchestra, I waited for the flood of water into the perforated metal barrel that my clothes were lumped into.<br /><br />I walked up the avenue to pass time while my clothes spun in the water. I looked into the window of the nail salon five doors up from the laundry. It was kind of dark in there with a row of big cushy chairs in which women were sitting. At the foot of each chair was a big black rectangular basin of water. The women were soaking their bare feet the water, some with pants rolled up to mid calf. I did not want to stare so I decided to move on, but before I did I saw one man in the middle of two corpulent women. He was diminutive in stature, hunched forward with an intensity to his gaze that did not seem to fit in the indolent calm of the nail salon. He grasped at a magazine, and held in his mouth a cigarette holder in which was stuck a long unlighted white cigarette. He leaned back in his chair, but his gazed never relaxed, it was then that I was struck by how much he looked like Igor Stravinsky.Stephen Faulkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17209508901056780395noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6603357003858893296.post-831674175245268152011-05-19T15:17:00.001-07:002011-05-19T15:28:44.339-07:00Two in progress- Uke and Guitar<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1qVlmp982nAqwbenVO6tvtSyjFU-OwgZUUQlk5Drrq6OX7hYtO6vi8_XaFwiQgrP7kGoYsLACAAAojUe6y1dwWp7C3mLiuUSqXH6FFuVO4MgIR0zl6Aj1rHCQPky3YymNK6nwZWQhdSU/s1600/lizauke.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 159px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1qVlmp982nAqwbenVO6tvtSyjFU-OwgZUUQlk5Drrq6OX7hYtO6vi8_XaFwiQgrP7kGoYsLACAAAojUe6y1dwWp7C3mLiuUSqXH6FFuVO4MgIR0zl6Aj1rHCQPky3YymNK6nwZWQhdSU/s320/lizauke.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5608555226656859554" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1MTk-W4V2qYqbg6pL2698CmCPgj6D1P58J71-AiAL1s9KNuq1Kk6HA7HEfPyw5GOlndA6RnH4txGJBS4yLzetsQMSDit5f-XyzTG1fqX-du0-xp9SpzACcUS_739ax5ZY77bulHrGwi0/s1600/Moranback.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 217px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1MTk-W4V2qYqbg6pL2698CmCPgj6D1P58J71-AiAL1s9KNuq1Kk6HA7HEfPyw5GOlndA6RnH4txGJBS4yLzetsQMSDit5f-XyzTG1fqX-du0-xp9SpzACcUS_739ax5ZY77bulHrGwi0/s320/Moranback.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5608555047543251970" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />In progress images of two instruments which will be done soon.<br /><br />On the left a Concert Uke with Birds Eye Maple body and Port Orford Cedar top. the headstock veneers are made of slices of Ebony laminated together to create stripes from dark and light colored variations in the Ebony. Sometimes Ebony has light colored sap wood that can create dramatic stripes in the wood. I like to utilize the dark on light wood for detail work on instruments.<br /><br />On the right is the back of a flamenco guitar made of Malaysian Blackwood. it also has naturally occurring light on dark striping.Stephen Faulkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17209508901056780395noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6603357003858893296.post-72045393422055432382011-05-12T13:14:00.000-07:002011-05-13T13:41:00.873-07:00Seven string Classical / Brazilian jazz guitar<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXXX8nm7aWMTga6K71U0SSjNJ7PXxw2YY15yO85yWY6ChhjX3GVxIknkmlry99Ox2uq0lNePkhusLd1TtFhVwVcZzSYffhT5rEcGTlTf1sCpi2SaO3Uv8p6YByGUHOfwwu9ncgBlDunUM/s1600/3_4backseven.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 179px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXXX8nm7aWMTga6K71U0SSjNJ7PXxw2YY15yO85yWY6ChhjX3GVxIknkmlry99Ox2uq0lNePkhusLd1TtFhVwVcZzSYffhT5rEcGTlTf1sCpi2SaO3Uv8p6YByGUHOfwwu9ncgBlDunUM/s320/3_4backseven.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5605925988183261410" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAda12PG2cxNJ5cxwLivlhNq_bO-EuIlrQWjPYcnG9c2P23X8t8-QIr18VhsUZ24ycjBCfKYZqkihWv_3qfK1FHTaF146hXtyCqklROYw_9pZ1hlPc8WbcRGdJ96GDWxTV4WlX-AbwSE8/s1600/7front.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 192px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAda12PG2cxNJ5cxwLivlhNq_bO-EuIlrQWjPYcnG9c2P23X8t8-QIr18VhsUZ24ycjBCfKYZqkihWv_3qfK1FHTaF146hXtyCqklROYw_9pZ1hlPc8WbcRGdJ96GDWxTV4WlX-AbwSE8/s320/7front.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5605925842483536802" border="0" /></a>A new 7 string classical and a link to a sound sample .<br /><br />This guitar features a Western Red Cedar top with Indian Rosewood back and sides. It is designed with seven strings tuned BEADgbe.Stephen Faulkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17209508901056780395noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6603357003858893296.post-53051824371137101592011-04-22T09:56:00.000-07:002011-04-22T09:58:55.634-07:00Stephen Faulk Blanca Flamenco guitars-special promotional price<span class="msg">Many people have been responding to my email with questions about guitars, but at this time can't make a commitment at the price range on my web site which is 4600.00. I've decided to make a limited run of blancas and offer them at a reduced price to promote my instruments. They will be made with Port Orford Cedar I have been saving for ten years. I have built three very nice guitars with this wood. <br /><br /> Not an imitation of some famous builders guitar; an original hand made guitar by a maker who understands flamenco guitars with a track record for making tasty <br />blancas. <br /><br />The price is $3300.00 <br /><br />The offer stands until all five sets of Port Orford Cedar are spoken for. <br /><br />The details: <br /> The rosette will be simple, but elegant. Concentric circles lines with one small tile element, my modern versions of the rosettes on Esteso, Santos and Manuel Ramirez blancas. <br />My new head stock design<br />Twelve hole bridge<br />Binding on the back plain, binding and purfling on the face. <br /><br />Options:<br /><br />1. Spruce or Cedar top <br />2. Pegheds mechanical Pegs or Gotoh<br />3. Soundport<br /><br /> Terms: $400.00 deposit to reserve a place on this special list. The first person in line will receive their guitar in August. You can return the guitar in five days in perfect condition for a deposit refund. Buyer must pay shipping both ways.<br /><br />Shipping: <br />Shipped with exterior box in a light weight foam nylon travel case. Buyer pays for shipping. I can provide the package weight and dimensions ahead of time to calculate shipping price. <br /><br />An example of this type of Port Orford Cedar blanca guitar can be seen in this video:<br />http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UrXCxmESUZI<br /><br /></span>Stephen Faulkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17209508901056780395noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6603357003858893296.post-76180311224516820582011-04-18T20:13:00.000-07:002011-04-18T20:28:58.179-07:00Comments open to the public<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim3035gLJRTE0KDVnWzonKCXAqBweX5rh447TxZgKfEzigb5hKXtTzN78iUiYBoR8GfQuSxlacX86SRorihbRu1dFAsj_n38QncsQ4GJnCsVc-X_lqb7-ZLlOoiq2k3SwBIYKkhmlZVro/s1600/aaamothrosettestrip.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 118px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim3035gLJRTE0KDVnWzonKCXAqBweX5rh447TxZgKfEzigb5hKXtTzN78iUiYBoR8GfQuSxlacX86SRorihbRu1dFAsj_n38QncsQ4GJnCsVc-X_lqb7-ZLlOoiq2k3SwBIYKkhmlZVro/s320/aaamothrosettestrip.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5597128255519208322" border="0" /></a><br />I reset the comment format to accept comments from the public. I make guitars professionally with an emphasis on flamenco and classical guitars.<br /><br /><br /><br />This is an example of one of my rosettes. It's a white moth design on a black background. You can hear this guitar by looking at the videos in the YouTube window on the right hand side of the blog. It's is being played by Don Soledad.<br /><br />I hope you look through my blog and leave messages and feedback about my guitars. Please inquire via email about prices, I'm happy to talk publicly about my designs and building philosophy.<br />A full price list with standard options will be published soon.Stephen Faulkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17209508901056780395noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6603357003858893296.post-23633231068548935482011-04-11T20:24:00.001-07:002011-04-12T20:17:16.596-07:00New headstock design<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWCUi1suwugWRYshaL29w0S7_rOTa3b6fdU1Y9BHNq5y3476e12d4IYYeGiStQAxUuAfu3H1JNUqUBNMOqegUdEg4o4vYBMWDLU77YH_9sliVw9s6KWBzJtNKsn_in2LEWg9XQ6tOClTo/s1600/newheadstock.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 256px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWCUi1suwugWRYshaL29w0S7_rOTa3b6fdU1Y9BHNq5y3476e12d4IYYeGiStQAxUuAfu3H1JNUqUBNMOqegUdEg4o4vYBMWDLU77YH_9sliVw9s6KWBzJtNKsn_in2LEWg9XQ6tOClTo/s320/newheadstock.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5594532954636356882" border="0" /></a><br />I've reworked my headstock design. Let me know what you think. This one is roughed out, ready to assemble with the body. When the whole box is put together with the back on I'll refine the shapes.Stephen Faulkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17209508901056780395noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6603357003858893296.post-24859392604240715772011-04-06T10:22:00.000-07:002011-04-07T14:07:26.911-07:00Two new guitars coming up- A rosewood and a blanca, both flamenco guitars<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTL5x8K2hTnNhdUeib9eeRWBs8Bl6u3BjRVdiQ-kJixgjV79zxm1EA1_LZMIDRyDIAB2_8PHwJuSNAKuKdp9-dQlyFHfGmBZXhqdOg987K4g9yRPSjewbqaUMdRN_QePndX9eXy5gdS88/s1600/briantop.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTL5x8K2hTnNhdUeib9eeRWBs8Bl6u3BjRVdiQ-kJixgjV79zxm1EA1_LZMIDRyDIAB2_8PHwJuSNAKuKdp9-dQlyFHfGmBZXhqdOg987K4g9yRPSjewbqaUMdRN_QePndX9eXy5gdS88/s320/briantop.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5592522904467704898" border="0" /></a><br />Oh my goodness, could it be? Yes it is that Malaysian rosewood spruce top flamenco guitar I've been working on. My, my.<br /><br />Good old Barbero /Santos bracing pattern. This guitar should rock........<br /><br />The rosewood guitar has a spruce top and the blanca a cedar top. Updates coming soon......Stephen Faulkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17209508901056780395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6603357003858893296.post-4984864097331137872011-03-24T21:46:00.000-07:002011-03-24T21:51:15.187-07:00New Projects- Concert Uke<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6n7r29H-oRRLWnsuqAfcMvcJvo1jPlbgI0PGbLooW-H-UH6vTSkvT7ezj6w0sgHSChdTgLueCwdmqxa9XOA9FxbpldAeHuC_p4XGftgYabneG9iMw8AgtwsVF8YgOKAUChAXN6_xD45U/s1600/uke1.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6n7r29H-oRRLWnsuqAfcMvcJvo1jPlbgI0PGbLooW-H-UH6vTSkvT7ezj6w0sgHSChdTgLueCwdmqxa9XOA9FxbpldAeHuC_p4XGftgYabneG9iMw8AgtwsVF8YgOKAUChAXN6_xD45U/s320/uke1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5587874557923763794" border="0" /></a><br />Yup, I'm starting a Concert Uke, got the neck and the wood picked out. It's going to be Birds Eye Maple back and sides and Spruce top.<br /><br /> This should be easy right? <br />Check back for updates. Ukes are FUN!!@WHOO HOO!!@@<br /><br />now I feel manic.....Stephen Faulkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17209508901056780395noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6603357003858893296.post-29502665411406041132011-03-09T09:22:00.000-08:002011-03-09T09:31:15.042-08:00New Seven String on the way<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLWlY8k6Ja7keVEgdMBw2COgHkXwUu1zVvgEs1Uh8zqinUg4N91iK5Mhmb1rUkVw8yLRBk3VshHGi9pzbv1-AnHYdcoDRO70BUDPyTjGV9UZg4Vj9Rk94O2Us7zRZ3lGGioLqpoBK153Q/s1600/cgwashcoat.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLWlY8k6Ja7keVEgdMBw2COgHkXwUu1zVvgEs1Uh8zqinUg4N91iK5Mhmb1rUkVw8yLRBk3VshHGi9pzbv1-AnHYdcoDRO70BUDPyTjGV9UZg4Vj9Rk94O2Us7zRZ3lGGioLqpoBK153Q/s320/cgwashcoat.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5582133559083808450" border="0" /></a><br />This is my second seven string. The first one was a Spruce top with California native Black Acacia back and sides. This second one is Indian Rosewood with a Cedar top. I'm getting excited to see how they each sound. This one will be strung up in the next week after I put on the binding make the fingerbaord and glue on the bridge.<br /><br />The back is on now and the sides are being scraped and sanded to get ready for the binding. The top has a light coat of shellac to protect while I do the binding process. I think it;s looking good and when I thump on it I'm getting all the main air tones and response I'm listening for. I think the guy I'm building this one for is going to be very happy.Stephen Faulkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17209508901056780395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6603357003858893296.post-8900371563183765592011-03-05T19:01:00.000-08:002011-03-06T00:46:13.104-08:00Seven string guitar - almost ready to close up the box<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUsxPrVl6H7_YmcL-ETYSq4PWJku48HvjoTM89mmnAxfS5Fwy3nACnog0k6kLmb-72yaPf5tukHfAqw4PT36fEjSoQORFqe3EmDyxKWw_SxBG_ndhUNZP5RsvnPzcjh5kqU5mcZ_zBkeo/s1600/carlosguitar1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUsxPrVl6H7_YmcL-ETYSq4PWJku48HvjoTM89mmnAxfS5Fwy3nACnog0k6kLmb-72yaPf5tukHfAqw4PT36fEjSoQORFqe3EmDyxKWw_SxBG_ndhUNZP5RsvnPzcjh5kqU5mcZ_zBkeo/s320/carlosguitar1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5580797064535312946" border="0" /></a><br />I had to go out and buy some clothes pins to glue the back liners on. Why? Because buying something you already have is the best way to find the thing you have if you can't find it because it's lost between the other crap you have in your shop. This usually happens to me with, paint can opener keys, caulk guns, brushes, glue and socks.<br /><br />Usually I make solid back liners by laminating them together out of thin strips of mahogany bend over a rib shaped form. My friend from the most excellent online guitar maker information source, Musical Instrument Makers Forum, Ellie Erickson sent me a bag of kerfed Spanish Cedar liners. Not sure if I should tell the tale of how those liners were found by Ellie, but it involved dumpster diving. And I'm a believer in dumpster diving.<br /><br />Thanks Ellie, got any spare clothes pins?Stephen Faulkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17209508901056780395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6603357003858893296.post-84041205854945921712011-03-05T18:53:00.000-08:002011-03-05T18:58:21.274-08:00Building a Cello<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrkzC8yUiIiPa-8PPWSCl_jfPLzCTiL5IgkPlCeWbS_wyd57RGzC-zJXPoOMQsrgBWrXcofUF50ZUDPHBubfnAYm_1pyVwkLIziltPHl5HhpZ0sEvriq8elBUbCTxKOC3q-Dwy75jkTvs/s1600/scrollside.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrkzC8yUiIiPa-8PPWSCl_jfPLzCTiL5IgkPlCeWbS_wyd57RGzC-zJXPoOMQsrgBWrXcofUF50ZUDPHBubfnAYm_1pyVwkLIziltPHl5HhpZ0sEvriq8elBUbCTxKOC3q-Dwy75jkTvs/s320/scrollside.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5580795619670770322" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYkE0x_Va087XmVBRIfgwgS_zWR2pnjxDvPV6EYIbJHyx2gyisfpvMxjXf0W-IdQbEOQZA8Sr-SVSmkLU3Rg8R9MbYvQCd0sSN4I6kQc-Rea_A3dYNuCNG5ssleaxuI_cKeBGh3LNQ5Kw/s1600/scroll3%253A4.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYkE0x_Va087XmVBRIfgwgS_zWR2pnjxDvPV6EYIbJHyx2gyisfpvMxjXf0W-IdQbEOQZA8Sr-SVSmkLU3Rg8R9MbYvQCd0sSN4I6kQc-Rea_A3dYNuCNG5ssleaxuI_cKeBGh3LNQ5Kw/s320/scroll3%253A4.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5580795460979842370" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL3hDI2RG67kUA4mA6vC-MAdV0qrKeoQ6qxQkM4IivM4yuFFw-yG4stofPEhSrSLcX9ueN3-cODNHiUBnSTO2tWcZcsulq6ElzPbzdzuNhBPU_qi0ye0BeIk1cCLRzJi0PUO1LaKWYqlA/s1600/scroll.back.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL3hDI2RG67kUA4mA6vC-MAdV0qrKeoQ6qxQkM4IivM4yuFFw-yG4stofPEhSrSLcX9ueN3-cODNHiUBnSTO2tWcZcsulq6ElzPbzdzuNhBPU_qi0ye0BeIk1cCLRzJi0PUO1LaKWYqlA/s320/scroll.back.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5580795279125774930" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs4vrTgDKkYtNO775-v57feTFkOdz9PDKlS2ER9Y1WgHnzo45GKFAPAyJstRW7N6FCttTX64ZRhoH30bTgMMHNFhcbOUfvDhI_QcCAIxQv7sGfqgttYyx2eAPXsEishnxWgqHU0RRBXCI/s1600/scrollfront.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs4vrTgDKkYtNO775-v57feTFkOdz9PDKlS2ER9Y1WgHnzo45GKFAPAyJstRW7N6FCttTX64ZRhoH30bTgMMHNFhcbOUfvDhI_QcCAIxQv7sGfqgttYyx2eAPXsEishnxWgqHU0RRBXCI/s320/scrollfront.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5580795129434855330" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />A second start, on a very old project.Stephen Faulkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17209508901056780395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6603357003858893296.post-21468893396958084672011-03-05T14:00:00.000-08:002011-03-05T15:05:32.702-08:00Roses of Baetica<a style="font-family: times new roman;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijPhbTSiVYd5g5ntochBaNgl8hWUfeTZAVVHQGb8cFYAoQDfbHNlCKf-Hbz28tJKDXfxdEQEQvGuPmZwL37RYARdpwpvC14ihUGxZP8zGv2Tt-Occ7RW8K-e9QFE6SpYV-AxM7bxUWU-8/s1600/italica+Hilas+mosaic.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 224px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijPhbTSiVYd5g5ntochBaNgl8hWUfeTZAVVHQGb8cFYAoQDfbHNlCKf-Hbz28tJKDXfxdEQEQvGuPmZwL37RYARdpwpvC14ihUGxZP8zGv2Tt-Occ7RW8K-e9QFE6SpYV-AxM7bxUWU-8/s320/italica+Hilas+mosaic.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5580688175573824850" border="0" /></a>*A three part musing on Roman mosiac tiles and guitar rosette design.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-family:times new roman;"> If you've ever been fortunate enough to spend time in the southern Spanish city of Sevilla you may have taken note of one of the cities two professional football teams, called Real Betis. The team was named after the ancient Roman name for the Andalusia region, Baetica. Long before the Arabs took lower Spain and marched up to its northern limits in the 8th century, the Romans had settled in the western land they called Hispania, the Iberian peninsula of today. The Romans lived along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea from Barcelona to Cadiz for six hundred years. There are a few "minor" historical points as to why the soccer teams of Sevilla are not named The Moors or The Caliphs, least of all that the Romans were there before the Arabs and stayed almost as long. </span> <span style="font-family:times new roman;"> The Romans were one of the great builders of towns, aqueducts and monuments in ancient Spain. Along with public buildings there were houses, libraries and baths.<br /><br /><br /> In an American library at Dumbarton Oaks Museum in Washington D.C. there is an original Roman mosaic floor from Andalusia during the time when it was called Baetica. One day in 1998 I was walking the grounds of the Dumbaton Oaks library with my stepmother Mitchell and we perused the collection of Pre Columbian art and contemplated Igor Stravinsky writing the Dumbarton Oaks Concerto when he stayed there. One of the museum galleries has an original reconstructed Baetic mosaic floor and it caught my eye. As I looked down and studied it I had an insight into a mystery that had intrigued me for a long time.</span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"> </span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"> It's common in the Spanish classical guitar construction lore to assume that the influence for the mosaic tiles in the rosettes that adorn the sound hole of the guitar is from the Arabs. After I saw the Roman mosaic floor in the Dumbarton Oaks Library I began to think the mosaic tile goes back much further than the Arabic design influence in Andalusia. I'm not proposing a complete challenge to the Arabic influence in guitar making, I'm simply saying it opened my eyes to a bigger story which goes back several centuries earlier than the Arab grip of Spain. </span> <span style="font-family:times new roman;"><br /><br /> When one is in Spain and talk goes to the past, of conquests by the Romans, Arabs, the expulsion of the Jews and other non football related subjects, the eating of Jamon Serrano often accompanies the conversation. Jamon is the delectable cured meat of the pig which was fed on acorns, away up in the hills. It was during one of these chats with the guitarist David Serva that I first heard the term "Cult of Jamon". The cult of ham means that during certain periods of time in Spain it was not proper to observe the kosher rule of abstaining from eating the cloven hoofed animals; Catholic power was in full bloom during some of these times and some of those times were dark and difficult for the people of Jewish heritage. Witch hunting, Jew bashing and Moor chasing were all part of the history of the country under the hood of Catholic control. The Cult of Jamon refers to some notion that to be seen eating the ham in public would make one safe, as a non observance of the kosher laws of Judaism and the halal food codes of Islam one could be assured of not being mistaken, by a spy of the Inquisition, for practicing Judaism. The Cult of Ham follower would demonstrate for all to see that he or she could eat with gusto the flesh of the cloven hoof beast thus ensuring they would be seen in public as a good Christian.</span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"> </span><span style="font-family:times new roman;">So where you ask, looking skeptically over your glass of Cruz Campo, is the connection between the Cult of Jamon and guitar making? It's hard to say definitively, but like all things that happen in bars in Spain the more cerveza consumed, the clearer the details of the story can appear to be. And often it's not the perfect accuracy of the story that counts, after all, a bar in Andalusia is hardly the fact checking department of the New Yorker Magazine. What counts is the masterful act of telling the story as an amusement and in this department the Spaniards are kings, or at least as good as the Moroccans.</span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"> Not long ago I had this odd notion that the Spanish guitarreros, or dealers of guitars, had been fibbing or inventing mythologies about their guitar making for a long, long time. I thought back to that day in the Dumbarton Oaks Library when I stooped to examine the Roman mosaic floor carefully and up close. The floor was made of different shades of brown, ochre, grey and whitish square stones about the size of dimes. The floor was comprised of a predominantly white field with some curvy lines running through, and geometric shapes with borders layed out through the entire floor. The room was large and situated near a line of doors that opened onto a courtyard, not a Roman courtyard exactly because the Dumbarton Oaks Library was at one time the residence of a former diplomat and his wife, both patrons of the arts named </span><span style=";font-family:times new roman;font-size:100%;" >Mildred and Robert Woods Bliss</span><span style="font-family:times new roman;">. Dumbarton Oaks has an extensive garden which is quite famous, and the house itself gives the feeling of a proper Washington D.C. Georgetown home created around its antiquities and art collection.</span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"> In the borders around the geometric patterns of the mosaic floor were pixelated representations of human faces made of square stone fragments. The faces were lined up ear to ear making long belts of tiny heads, each from a distinct group of characters that repeat in series. These mosaic faces were used as border strips to wrap around the various larger pattern compositions in the floor. When I saw these faces, each could have been I imagined, a single mosaic tile in a classic Spanish rosette, I had an instant shock of recognition. It dawned on me that perhaps this idea of mosaic in Spanish guitar work was not simply the influence of the Moorish art and architecture in Spain, but that it had also come with the Romans several centuries earlier.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:times new roman;"> To make this connection between the ancient Romans and the development of the style in modern Spanish guitar in the mid 19th century is quite far fetched. But is it? What about that Cult of Jamon attitude and the thoughts of the average Spanish citizen in the 19th century on the occupation of Spain by the Arabs? How much did the artisans and guitar makers of the day really seek to cash in on the influence of Arabic design in the guitars they made? </span><span style="font-family:times new roman;">Did they consciously set about to form an Arabist aesthetic in the rosette mosaic designs? </span><span style="font-family:times new roman;">After seeing the Dumbarton Oaks Baetic floor I thought it is possible the Arab influence explanation is an idealized origin myth or fiction created by those who wrote about guitars in the early to mid twentieth century and that this lore went un questioned because it sounded so romantic. Just previous to the time period when the granddaddy of the modern guitar was working, a man named Antonio Torres, one of the main influences to Spanish art culture was the Neoclassic period in France which as highly inspired by images and comparisons to the Roman Empire. I've always wondered, did the Spanish guitar makers of the 19th century all sit down in a meeting and say "Ok we shall all use Mosarabic design motifs for our rosettes." Not likely, but the history books on guitar making that document the period are always bubbling up with this concept that the Arabic design motif is the influence for the rosette. What if there were enough old Roman floors and other decorative arts carried out in mosaic still in place in public buildings and used in common furniture decoration, like chests of drawers or silver ware boxes for those guitar makers to have grown up around? Or copies of copies of copies of floors that may have been intermixed with Arab design over the centuries which utilized the borders, lines and patterning, stemming originally from the Roman times? What part of Spanish design was distilled into the common vocabulary of decoration which may have come down from the Romans of Baetica?</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:times new roman;"> This all starts to sound very intellectually seductive and tantalizing to your ham eating beer drinking audience as you mortar together an answer to the puzzle one tiny stone tile at a time. Then you go to the Alhambra palace in Granada and your intellectual construction of the Roman origins of the guitar rosette falls right off its Doric columns.<br /><br />To be continued in three parts...<br /></span>Stephen Faulkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17209508901056780395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6603357003858893296.post-58905404906302641652011-02-28T18:30:00.000-08:002011-02-28T18:46:31.359-08:00Doing time, doing fret work<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJht-pNvSCOm58PpIEnbvbGzwLSRls1_6E8bCuC2rxLlfjRm8DwSUuZEUc_vgopz96NXPuULKT4RbmuE2mpCOV5vC8C1JXvWloBrZfxgGo2iNZvQO7Rt7u-aHbSBIYcK6FSTD9y3H___o/s1600/PICT0539.JPG"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJht-pNvSCOm58PpIEnbvbGzwLSRls1_6E8bCuC2rxLlfjRm8DwSUuZEUc_vgopz96NXPuULKT4RbmuE2mpCOV5vC8C1JXvWloBrZfxgGo2iNZvQO7Rt7u-aHbSBIYcK6FSTD9y3H___o/s320/PICT0539.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5578933700907654258" border="0" /></a><br />Doing a re-fret on a mando. That's me!<br /><br />I learned to get my fret work together by working for Stewart Port, repair man extraordinaire.<br /><br />I've known Stewie, as he is fondly called by the other gutiar makers, for about fifteen years. One of the best things he taught me was the technique of filing. Files are an essential tool for guitar making and repair work and like any activity whether it be athletic or artistic there is technique to be learned.<br /><br />If you look at my left hand thumb you can see that I am putting pressure on the file an guiding it while giving it motion and pushing with the right hand. Files cut in one direction, and it's essential to attune your ear to listen to how the file is cutting, deep or shallow, fast or slow. You use the senses of hearing, vision and touch to use tools. I'm really thankful I studied with and associate with Stewart because he is a talented repair man and a stickler for developing good technique in shop work.<br /><br />I have some pictures from projects going on in his shop and I'll write more in depth about Stewart Port and what he does real soon.Stephen Faulkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17209508901056780395noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6603357003858893296.post-2447017445621650972011-02-28T17:40:00.000-08:002011-03-05T19:23:32.507-08:00Electric Saz for the Secret Chiefs<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMHp0kUrM9jZqW9A-pIOnYtmbiCxKmI5PNb0wf2QqUvchzSQ9mSHI2xpYcdCkdlveAMsf7VmfnrHYxQtvB54Itr8EY0IznFcZYsrHx47JH1dCy0qp3rXrRLR9VmFM_nFtGHrFqXN1EmRI/s1600/25427_10150177547475603_537705602_12083865_7991820_n.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMHp0kUrM9jZqW9A-pIOnYtmbiCxKmI5PNb0wf2QqUvchzSQ9mSHI2xpYcdCkdlveAMsf7VmfnrHYxQtvB54Itr8EY0IznFcZYsrHx47JH1dCy0qp3rXrRLR9VmFM_nFtGHrFqXN1EmRI/s320/25427_10150177547475603_537705602_12083865_7991820_n.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5578920682362386114" border="0" /></a><br /><br />This is The electric Saz played by Trey Spruance the leader of the band Secret Chiefs. (Trey is on the right, that's me on the left. )<br /><br />This instrument is the brain offspring of my friend John Beal of Bealtown Guitars. John and I went to the San Francisco Art Institute together in the early 1990's. Since those days at SFAI John has become a real Orthodox priest and he has a deep interest in Byzantine chant. Now I mean to say John did not get his priestly vestments from a Cracker Jack box or some flim-flammer online buy a degree website. He went to seminary, put in his time as a novice and eventually became a full priest. Among his many talents, he can play the blues and he puts together the odd electric guitar. He also wheels and deals in vintage amplifiers.<br /><br />John put this very nice electric saz together by putting a traditional saz neck on a Danelectro Longhorn body. And then Trey bought it from John and played it so much in Secret Chiefs that the sunburst saz became identified with Trey's band. Do a youtube search on Secret Chiefs and you'll likely find Trey with saz in live concert footage. ( here you go- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1p4Qa_z65g&feature=related )<br /><br />After a few tours the saz' neck began to work loose and move forward, that is when John mentioned to Trey I could re work the neck joint. He brought it over and I changed the headstock to accommodate guitar tuners to replace the wooden pegs on the saz neck. Then I grafted some new wood onto the end of the neck and made it a bolt on neck that could easily be reset. I did some touch up work to the finish to make it all look original and then Trey ran off with to Europe on a tour with the rebuilt saz. I also found him a case for that thing which was not easy. Ended up after trying several cases a Gibson 335 case fit it perfectly.<br /><br />John wants me to make more of these sunburst saz'. I've got ideas, lots of ideas.<br /><br />What is the plural of saz? sazzes? // If you know, let me know!Stephen Faulkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17209508901056780395noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6603357003858893296.post-14054967663747789912011-02-25T00:00:00.003-08:002011-02-25T00:10:38.709-08:00A new top, Spanish style construction: neck to top joining.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUfjbhVKXJC1bUw_EGqZczD0Vr-MvMJ-N7m7kSEhtY9sCJ_DFCn9ifjeOStVw8-SzWzNqcFtiHS9Qh3rpGC-p1IdADWtEFy_ZdQea3KUk4WhwYpkcXnngZ9c6NAuoabtT4Q52KyDYeh8E/s1600/75bc0f44c3f7.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 256px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUfjbhVKXJC1bUw_EGqZczD0Vr-MvMJ-N7m7kSEhtY9sCJ_DFCn9ifjeOStVw8-SzWzNqcFtiHS9Qh3rpGC-p1IdADWtEFy_ZdQea3KUk4WhwYpkcXnngZ9c6NAuoabtT4Q52KyDYeh8E/s320/75bc0f44c3f7.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5577534309374934978" /></a>On the left is a new bracing scheme I'm trying out. It's a crossed fan brace pattern. It's for a classical guitar. We'll see what happens. I think it will scream....err...sound great. <div><br /></div><div>Below this top is being joined to the neck Spanish style. the neck and top are aligned with a straight edge and then the top is glued and pinned to the neck with a couple of small brads. This lines up the center seam of the top with the center line of the neck in one swoop. It's a fairly ancient way of working, this method can be found on extant guitars made as early as the 1580's. </div><div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYdrKrnowLI259LHTYnjHcOtlHDlbCad-tUEWi70vacDzxTPZ19wiDgILBEw9pki6a9ZXJK8_4JQltkUrcw0Mcn4UJyAnofEQN-gAT9fV7eIETCGged-9IumrOtjbod2VPiTJ7oulIWq8/s1600/44913f5f680e-1.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 256px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYdrKrnowLI259LHTYnjHcOtlHDlbCad-tUEWi70vacDzxTPZ19wiDgILBEw9pki6a9ZXJK8_4JQltkUrcw0Mcn4UJyAnofEQN-gAT9fV7eIETCGged-9IumrOtjbod2VPiTJ7oulIWq8/s320/44913f5f680e-1.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5577534017410055378" /></a><br /></div></div>Stephen Faulkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17209508901056780395noreply@blogger.com0