Chambered mahogany and a hello

Thorn

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First post, so I'd like to say hello. Lurked too long, time to join the fun. I've had a few discussions and dealings with a handful of you over the years and am so glad to see Hans over here.
Here's a shot of some chambered mahogany for laughs.

Thornguildsmall.jpg


Ok, a couple of them aren't chambered :oops: .

Thanks for the membership Don, looking forward to talkin' Guilds.

Ron
 

jp

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Holy crappoly! Is that your herd, Thorn? If so, you are a May-niac! Sorry. . .couldn't resist. :oops:
Very impressive, and welcome to the LTG!
 

hansmoust

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Hello Ron,

Nice to see you here. I was aware that you were looking for these but I didn't realize it was that bad!

Very nice!

Oh yes, and in case some of you readers don't know .......... Ron makes really nice guitars himself!

Sincerely,

Hans Moust
http://www.guitarsgalore.nl
 

FNG

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8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8)

Is it really true that fat bottomed girls make the world go round? :mrgreen:
 

hideglue

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Welcome Ron,

Not sure which I'm more jealous of; the guitars or the twin AC30s.
Regardless, nice collection!

Paul
 

guildzilla

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Va-va-va-voom!

Great collection. The Ladies of Thorn deserve the exposure. Thanks for sharing.

Tell us more about the Brian May guitars.
 

capnjuan

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Hot stuff Thorn, welcome!!
 

Tim

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hideglue said:
Not sure which I'm more jealous of; the guitars or the twin AC30s.

Agreed.

BTW. I see you made the owners list as well. Welcome.
 

Thorn

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Thank you for the warm welcome.

Regarding the Brian Mays, there are a couple of the '80s versions with Kahlers. An early red one and a later chambered/aqua over flame mape top.
The 3rd Kahler/Red is from '92 with a #2 serial number. It's chambered, no locking nut, different shaped picguard and a few other oddities.
The 2nd generations are a few Signatures, a green Special and a sea foam green Standard.

Tim, good eye. I was one of Gonzalo's first listings. I had a pre-internet list going also and supplied many of the numbers to him.
Also...I like your avatar. Do you own it? I still have the soundboard, fretboard, headcap and bridge blank for the third one which never got finished. That was a fun project working with the artists at Disney.

Thans again everyone,
Ron
 

Tim

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Thorn said:
Thank you for the warm welcome.

I had a pre-internet list going also and supplied many of the numbers to him.

Interesting.

Thorn said:
Also...I like your avatar. Do you own it?

I wish. Had a chance to buy it off ebay when it was first listed about 8 years ago, but it was just too expensive. I think it was 10k or 12k. No one bid on it and so my brother and I offered disney (or whoever it was selling it for them) 5k. We did get an email back saying they were just listing it for them. So needless to say dont know where that one went.

I thought the second one went to sit in some display somewhere at one of the disney locations?

Thorn said:
I still have the soundboard, fretboard, headcap and bridge blank for the third one which never got finished. That was a fun project working with the artists at Disney.

Wow. Am i to assume you had a hand with building the first two? Do tell.

Plan on finishing that last one? If you build it....they will come.

Tim.
 

hansmoust

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Tim said:
Wow. Am i to assume you had a hand with building the first two? Do tell.

Tim,

I'm not sure if companies who do 'custom' work for FMIC are supposed to talk about this on the internet. If that's the case let me tell you that Ron's firm is responsible for a lot of the 'custom' inlay work you might see on guitars made by a variety of different American guitar companies and smaller makers.

Plan on finishing that last one?

I believe Ron was talking about the inlayed parts for a third guitar; he still would need a third 'custom' shop guitar to finish it. Right Ron?

Sincerely,

Hans Moust
http://www.guitarsgalore.nl
 

Thorn

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Most manufacturers will send me the component to be inlaid. In this case, the 2-pc spruce soundboard(without bracing), the fretboard slotted and radiused, the bridge and the headcap being a slab of ebony with the perimeter and tuner holes located. I inlay them, then return them so the rest of the instrument can be built and finished. I still have the components for the 3rd guitar, but I seriously doubt Guild would complete it. The first two were built at the Nashville custom shop.

Working with Disney on this was quite an experience. I walked into the meeting to find full sized "story boards" of the instruments on easels. All hand-drawn and in color. The artwork was simply amazing and the thought behind each one equally amazing. They didn't approach them as art guitars, they wanted them to be conceptual stories to go along with the musical piece. The concept for the Firebird Suite (Tim's avatar) was that the sprite representing Spring would be inside the body with the art-nouveau flowers and butterflies all around her (the sound hole and fretboard). She would be reborn from the fire of the Fall and Winter just as the Stravinsky's composition represents.. They used highly flamed maple in a red burst as the back and sides to represent the Firebird. Then, each year, the Firebird would re-consume her.
I had brought samples of a variety of inlays, including butterflies and bees, that I had done on other projects. Seeing the amount of detail that could be achieved with inlays, the main artist Chris Schnabel immediately starting drawing and modifying to suit, and like a true artist - watching the design flow effortlessly from the tip of his pencil was simply unreal.

I have no idea what happened to them, nor the other guitars from the Fantasia set either. What a nice set to own either as guitars or as Disney art.

Ron
 

Thorn

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I just dug this up, here's Disney artist and chief designer behind the Guild Firebird Suite, Chris Schnabel:

firebird1.jpg


Sorry about the glare.
 

Thorn

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Tim, is that your site? An excellent resource and beautifully done.
Very cool and I love the additional shots and info on the Firebird Guild. The other gent mentioned in the write-up, Edgar, sadly passed away shortly after the project was underway. This is likely one of the reasons the 3rd set was never completed since he was really the one behind it, being a guitar player and collector himself. He was as thrilled with working with Guild/Fender as they were with Disney.

Thanks for sharing that link.

Ron
 
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