Official Luthiers Forum!

Has anyone else seen the article on guitar swapping in the new American Luthierie spring issue? Our very own Steve Kinnaird and John Calkin build guitars for each other and swap it at the GAL convention. What a great article, and it looks like they had a lot of fun with this build. I think it would be kind of fun to have 2 new builders do this also. That way they can compare screwups and learn from each others mistakes!

Way to go Steve, your guitar was beautiful, and I bet you are very happy with John's guitar also, I love the Cedar/Koa combo, it makes a very nice fingerstyle guitar. Thanks for the great article.
Tracy

Thanks Tracy. Yes it was a lot of fun. And like John said, it charges your bench time emotionally. I was flattered, even stunned that John would want to do this. But it's not the sort of thing you can let pass you by. I'd been dreaming of a new guitar for a while, only finances couldn't justify such a purchase. Then this offer came along. Like most of us, I've got more time than money, so this was a perfect opportunity.

Glad you liked the article.

Steve

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From Nacogdoches...the oldest town in Texas.

http://www.stephenkinnaird.com

Do you think there would be a lot of benefit for 2 newbies to build one for each other? Maybe not totally new, but maybe have built 2 or 3 guitars?
Tracy

Certainly! For sanity's sake, pick someone that you'd feel comfortable trading guitars with. Someone you feel on par with. (I don't mean for this to sound arrogant...in fact I'm struggling with how to say this. For instance, I would not want to get into a swap-trade with the likes of Ervin Somogyi, and certain others. I'm just not there, and I can only imagine the disappointment he--and others--might feel having one of my guitars as an even trade.)

Does that make sense? Choose a friend, too. It does add to the experience; and love still covers a multitude of "flaws". You'll learn a lot from the exercise, and you'll have a new guitar to boot.

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From Nacogdoches...the oldest town in Texas.

http://www.stephenkinnaird.com

What also might make something like this fun is if you both built from the same plans. That way you could compare and contrast your intrepretations of the guitar.

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Brock Poling
Columbus, Ohio
http://www.polingguitars.com

Or what if you and your swap buddy had wood from the same flitch? Sister tops, for instance. Man, that would be some pressure for ya.

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From Nacogdoches...the oldest town in Texas.

http://www.stephenkinnaird.com