Cypress Knee
Member
Hi West, you know that Greco I picked up some time ago? Well, it had really high action. I had brought it with me to a little jam session a few weeks ago and the host told me his brother could fix it up for me. I was a bit skeptical, but he volunteered that his brother built guitars and he couldn't afford one. He and his wife, practicing physicians, living in an old country manor and playing Martins and Taylors couldn't afford a guitar from his brother?
So I left the guitar up there and googled his name - Gary Flowers. Look what I found:
[img:403:590]http://www.flowersguitars.com/garyandbob.JPG[/img]
Bob Benedetto with Gary Flowers
and this:
[img:584:390]http://www.flowersguitars.com/johnnysmith.jpg[/img]
Johnny Smith playing a custom Flowers archtop
Is this Guild heritage or what?
He was puzzled by the fact that the action was so high right off the bat, but we came to the conclusion that if the other guy was in Carlo's shop all the time that Carlo might have just handed him the raw unfinished product to test the sound, and maybe the guy strummed a chord or two and said, "Great, I'll take it now." without having the final setup completed.
Anyway, the guitar is fantastic. Gary said not to worry about the all crackle, its there, and there would be no change in the voice of the instrument if he refinished it.
CK
PS- Oh, he also told me that "Sunburst" colorations were originally designed to hide minor defects in the guitar. Luthiers would find areas, usually around edges, that had minor grain flaws or just didn't fit together 100%, then would decide to color that area black in the finishing process to hide the flaw while working towards a traditional lighter color in the center. He showed me a guitar that he intends to finish with a sunburst, but on a quick inspection he couldn't remember where the flaws he once saw were and I couldn't see them at all.
Then the color process caught on.
Just an interesting aside.
So I left the guitar up there and googled his name - Gary Flowers. Look what I found:
[img:403:590]http://www.flowersguitars.com/garyandbob.JPG[/img]
Bob Benedetto with Gary Flowers
and this:
[img:584:390]http://www.flowersguitars.com/johnnysmith.jpg[/img]
Johnny Smith playing a custom Flowers archtop
Is this Guild heritage or what?
He was puzzled by the fact that the action was so high right off the bat, but we came to the conclusion that if the other guy was in Carlo's shop all the time that Carlo might have just handed him the raw unfinished product to test the sound, and maybe the guy strummed a chord or two and said, "Great, I'll take it now." without having the final setup completed.
Anyway, the guitar is fantastic. Gary said not to worry about the all crackle, its there, and there would be no change in the voice of the instrument if he refinished it.
CK
PS- Oh, he also told me that "Sunburst" colorations were originally designed to hide minor defects in the guitar. Luthiers would find areas, usually around edges, that had minor grain flaws or just didn't fit together 100%, then would decide to color that area black in the finishing process to hide the flaw while working towards a traditional lighter color in the center. He showed me a guitar that he intends to finish with a sunburst, but on a quick inspection he couldn't remember where the flaws he once saw were and I couldn't see them at all.
Then the color process caught on.
Just an interesting aside.