Serge wrote:...My pride led us all into this debate and hopefully, Dennis can still forgive me ...
Your bro Serge
Hey Serge,
Take a big deep breath, and when you let it out, let it come out in a surge of laughter. You have done me no harm, and are in no need of my forgiveness. If you ask my opinion, I'd say you may want to lighten up a little bit, and focus a bit more energy on lutherie ideas at these luthier forums, because it is what draws us all together. I think it would be great to share more of this shared passion, and a little less time on divisive issues.
There is a very fine fingerstyle guitarist, Jim Earp, who put out 2 brilliant CD's of inspired and beautiful solo acoustic guitar music that he composed. (Some of which was played on the one and only guitar he built at Bozo Podunanvac's School of Lutherie.) After those brilliant CDs, his next offering was a CD full of cover tunes - Christian hymns. I had corresponded with Jim after I purchased (multiple copies of) both of his CDs of his own music, and when he wrote to me excited about his 3rd CD, the Christian music, I bought a copy from him. He asked me to let him know what I thought of it. I told him the truth. The CD full of Christian songs was played very well, but not one song came close to the passion and emotional content and joy in his own compositions. I knew Jim was/is a devout and passionate Christian, because he went overboard with proselytizing, never missing a chance to declare his love for Jesus, even including a fish symbol and a chapter:verse notation with each autograph. So, using words I thought would deliver my message, I told Jim that his God-given gift shone brightly in his first 2 CDs, and that I hoped that he would continue to share that gift of communication with God evident in his original compositions.
Maybe the wisest holy men know how to draw people to them, so that they can share their gift. Maybe our example, they way we live our lives and the way we treat other humans and other living things, can serve as a more powerful attractant than evangelizing and proselytizing.
So, what do you think of extra-wide saddles? Do you tuck your braces under the linings? I have read that modern guitars are only 5% efficient! Yikes! What do you think we can do to increase the efficiency of drawing more of that vibrational energy from the string into the box? Whose adjustable neck joint do you like best, and why? What do you think of the aesthetics of 3-piece backs? ... .... ...
Dennis