Official Luthiers Forum!

Just got finished reading a book a few days ago and thought some of
you might be interested.

It's called "Guitar: An American Life" by Tim Brookes. According to
the book jacket he's a commentator on NPR's Sunday "Weekend
Edition" and has been published in Nat'l Geographic and Vintage
Guitar among others.

The background -- baggage handlers did their thing with his guitar
and his wife offered to replace it. He couldn't find anything at the
music stores he liked, but then learned of a guy down the road who
built guitars. Rick Davis of Running Dog.

The book follows the construction of the guitar, interweaved with the
history of the guitar and it's effect on modern (and not so modern)
music.

No great secrets are divulged (it's written more for the guitar
enthusiast), but it's interesting to see the guitarmaking process from
the point of view of a guy who just plunked down a lot of money for
an instrument.

It tends toward the humorous side, too, even solving the age-old
question -- what is the difference between a guitar maker and a
luthier. According to the glossary, a guitar maker is one who charges
less than $1,000 per guitar.

Brookes' guitar, by the way, apparently accompanied Davis to
Healdsburg.

The book is published by Grove Press (ISBN 0-8021-1796-1). I don't
think it's due for release until next month, but some stores have it
displayed and others have it stored in back. At the bookstore I went
to they mistakenly had it listed in the computer as "Guitar: An
American Song" in case you have problems finding it.

Tim (or the publisher) got that one quote wrong. What I said was "A
luthier charges $1000 more and takes an extra year," compared to a
guitar maker.

That one thing -- and some typos -- aside, it's a fun book if I do say so
myself.

Rick

Rick,

Participating in this must have taken a bit of guts on your part. I
guess it's a good thing he liked the guitar.

I've been reporter for more than a few years now and business folks
-- or folks who are in business and have a reputation at stake --
tend to be the most cautious when it comes to agreeing to even a
newspaper article.

And that's just for a 45 minute interview and a 500 word story that'll
be lining the birdcage the next day.

My only problem with the book -- aside from the four or five typos
-- was that there aren't enough photos of the guitar.

Hmm... guitar makers make less than luthiers? I always use the term "guitar maker" since it is a more direct explanation of what I am.

Back when I used the term "luthier" it often went like this:

"I'm a luthier."
"Whats a Luthier? You mean a Lutheran??"
"No, a luthier. I make and repair guitars."
"Oh, I've never heard of that term before..."

After having that conversation about a billion times I converted to guitar maker.

Not to mention, every 16 year old who replaces the pickup in his strat calls himself a "luthier". Just my $1.50 (or $.02 if I'm a luthier)...

_________________
Instagram: @jfrenchluthier
Web: https://www.jfrenchguitars.com/

Joshua--start calling yourself a luthier again. You probably could use the raise, and the slower pace.

_________________
From Nacogdoches...the oldest town in Texas.

http://www.stephenkinnaird.com

Ryan -- It never occurred to me to be nervous. Tim's other books and
articles are fine journalism and I felt that he wasn't going to create a
conflict or drama where one didn't exist. Reading some of the quotes, I
wish I had been a little more subtle or circumspect ("Did I really say
that?"), but I bet that Tim quoted me accurately. He can be bluntly honest
but that's a lot easier to deal with than the alternatives.

Joshua -- It was a joke about pretensions, that's all.

Rick - just running with something I've given some thought to lately. I realize it wasn't serious. Congrats on the book!

best wishes,
Joshua

_________________
Instagram: @jfrenchluthier
Web: https://www.jfrenchguitars.com/