Thinking back about 2018…
2018 was a good mix of building, repair and finishing work. The mixture of the three keeps things from being too monotonous I guess. The shows I attended this year involved travel to some new locations (Koblenz was fun) and it was a good year to spend some time thinking about changes to my building.
I don’t really think about how much my instruments have changed over the years till I see a guitar I made in the past. Right now, I have a guitar I made in 2013 in for french polishing and I look at it in astonishment. It is a testament to how we are always growing and learning and slowly changing no matter what. In regards to that, I am now starting to build the 3rd and 4th iteration of that “floating tie” type bracing. I was enamored with first two instruments I braced with those changes and so am now working on a third and fourth to start the year.
The shop has also changed a bit. This past year, I finally got rid of some wall cabinets and a workbench I had taken with me from my previous location that never really fit my current space. It was a wonderful feeling to destroy them and build a new bench. The newest addition is finally putting some better speakers on either side of the bench. As that is where I spend most my time, it is nice to have a good stereo image for music listening. I got a par of ELAC Speakers on sale and they are a big upgrade to what was previously downstairs in the shop.
Here are some random photos from this week showcasing the mess on and around my bench, the new speakers, a vihuela rebuild and a cool Framus Fret Jet circa 1965 that came in for a refret and some other minor work. Yes, the speakers are upside down so that I have the tweeters at ear level.
