Official Luthiers Forum!

...well, that's the plan, anyway! Never been (unless you count when I was too young to remember, anyway), I've got two weeks off, enough money for the plane ticket, two long-time friends I've not seen in almost 8 years, a dollar at a record low, so I figured, why not?

The important question: what lutherie/guitar-related sort of things should I not miss out on? I mean, I can probably trust in my buds to show me around town a little, but they're not guitar builders. Also, any New Yorkers up for a beer and some geetar talk, that'd be cool too.

Planning on staying from the 31st to the 12th of January, give or take, although it sort of depends on me being able to find a floor (or couch) to sleep on for New Year's Eve (hostels are booked solid, and my friends are out of town until the 2nd..)

Mattia check out Evan Gluck who lives in NY.  He is a great guy and may even have a sofa for you in exchange for a frontal lobotomy.....

Congrats - it's a GREAT city and you will love NY!

No, Hesh, No!  He will  NY!

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Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

Mandolin Brothers guitar store on Staten Island is an absolute MUST SEE!!! Look it up first.

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JJ
Napa, CA
http://www.DonohueGuitars.com

My wife and I spent several days in Manhattan last winter and loved it. I only wish we were going again so I could meet you there! The food, the jazz clubs, neighborhoods, all wonderful. And we visited with Evan, who with his wife, were perfect hosts.

Funny story (both my wife and I are "foodies"). After all the days of fabulous food and wine, all I wanted was regular bar food at the end of our stay. I asked around and found a classic Irish bar, serving burgers and beer. Since we are from Chicago, it was like being home, and maybe the best meal of the trip. You will have a blast.

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"Building guitars looks hard, but it's actually much harder than it looks." Tom Buck

I live in NJ - spent mucho time in NYC.  Of course, wrt food - gotta have a bagel and cream cheese ....

As mentioned, Mandolin Brothers in Staten Island is a must.  Howerver, if you don't want to leave Manhatten, Mattt Umanov's on Bleeker Street is great.  Plus it is in Greenwhch Village, which is always fun.  For more main stream music/instruments, there is always 48th Street, and Manny's Music.

Did I mention the bagels?

Glenn

As well as thinking about guitars...think about live music when you're there. Every time I go to NYC there are a couple of musicians I like touring through - noone goes on tour in North America and skips NYC.

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David White, Toronto

"All my favourite singers can't sing."

Go to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. In their musical instrument gallery you will find not only Segovia's Hauser and Ramirez, but many other early guitars not to mention a few Stradivarius Violins as well......................  

[QUOTE=DP LaPlante]Go to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. In their musical instrument gallery you will find not only Segovia's Hauser and Ramirez, but many other early guitars not to mention a few Stradivarius Violins as well......................  [/QUOTE]

Yes, absolutely, go to the Met. We went in July, and I was flabbergasted by the inlay work on the lutes and early stringed instruments. Also the African and Oceanic instruments were fascinating and incredibly sculptural.

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Mountain Song Guitars www.mountainsongguitars.com

Mattia... Les Paul plays every Monday night at the Iridium Jazz Club.

long

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"No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it's not the same river and he's not the same man.” -Heraclitus of Ephesus

Mattia,
Definitely drop Evan Gluck a PM. Last Saturday Evan and I saw Bill Frisell at the Blue Note. Evan's pretty busy, but if you give him notice he'll make time for you.
   If you meet up at Evan's place, make him take you to Flor De Mayo.

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Matt Jacobs

"Don't tase me bro"

Hi Mattia, sadly my couch is spoken for during the New Years eve time (relatives) but I would love to get together and have lunch or dinner while you are in town. As Matt said my repair schedule is brutal but with a little advance warning I can block out as much time as I want. Don't hesitate to contact me and yes we can go to Flor De Mayo mmmmmm....
Chinese/Peruvian restaurant.
Best, Evan

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http://www.NewYorkGuitarRepair.com

Mattia, I love how we all "volunteered" Evan to show you around (me included). But really, it just shows what a good natured fellow we have found him to be.

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"Building guitars looks hard, but it's actually much harder than it looks." Tom Buck

Evan, if you ever come to Chicago, dinner is on me!

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"Building guitars looks hard, but it's actually much harder than it looks." Tom Buck

Hey Mattia, buy wood, have it shipped to NY and carry it home on the plane....big ol' shipping savings

[QUOTE=glasalle]

I live in NJ - spent mucho time in NYC.  Of course, wrt food - gotta have a bagel and cream cheese ....

As mentioned, Mandolin Brothers in Staten Island is a must.  Howerver, if you don't want to leave Manhatten, Mattt Umanov's on Bleeker Street is great.  Plus it is in Greenwhch Village, which is always fun.  For more main stream music/instruments, there is always 48th Street, and Manny's Music.

Did I mention the bagels?

Glenn

[/QUOTE]

Good thinking Glenn and I will add to make sure it is Breakstone's cream cheese  Sam Breakstone who founded Breakstone's Dairy Products was/is my great uncle.

If you visit NJ be sure to stop in at the pork store and say hi to Tony Soprano too.......

Thanks for all the replies, folks! Plane tickets are booked (31st in, 12th back out!), shopping list is being assembled, as is 'list of stuff to see'.

Evan, thanks for the kind offer, I'll certainly take you up on it! If you've got any specific dates/times that work out best for you, do tell, as I don't actually have any firm plans as of this moment. Chinese Peruvian sounds intruiging, I'll say that much!

Larry: I think I'm practically maxed out on my theoretical luggage allowance already! And that's entirely ignoring the fact that last care package I got (and those boards of quartered ribbon sapele I couldn't leave behind, destined to become necks and guitar sets) mean I'm really, truly out of space until I get the shop set up and start building FASTER.

I am getting some redwood billets to take back (flamed and non) from Rich, if all goes well, but I'm mostly planning on getting tools; a couple of routers (a triton 3 HP for table mounting, and probably a Bosch Plunge/Fixed base combo as my euro Bosch plunge has a cracked shaft/collet threaded bit and doesn't accept 1/2" bits), possibly a set of Blue Spruce chisels and some Lie Nielsen block planes.

The friend I'm staying with is a bit of a musician (went to Brown, studied non-musicy stuff, decided he preferred the creative side of life and got a degree in music tech, currently performs semi-regularly in an eleclectic indy-type band. Pianist, but hey, nobody's perfect, right?), so I'm hoping he's got some good gig addresses.

I'll definitely check out the Met and check the instrument collection, though!