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My view In this age of digital relationships, digital sound, and immediate gratification, we often lose sight of the hands-on nature of the arts. To me, guitar making is more than technique or science, more than just the finished product. It is an experiential, hands-on relationship one develops over years of trial and error, and comes to life when one develops a deeper insight into the medium with which one is involved. These days, many builders feel it is imperative to maximize one's time; time is money. By designing a better jig or router combination, luthiers hope to make each part of the instrument more precise, more quickly. While I understand the need for efficiency, my experience tells me the more one physically removes the hands from the wood, the less one understands what that particular piece of wood needs. A truly great guitar needs the human touch, intuition, and insight; therefore, I still primarily use hand tools so that I may feel the wood as I work with it. Moreover, I still use traditional glues and finishes, for I believe this helps the instrument maximize its potential. I try to build each section of the guitar in such a way that all its parts work together, and the instrument becomes a unified expression. This, to me, is the art of luthiery. When a guitar becomes a "product", it ceases to be a true expression of musicality. |