Official Luthiers Forum!

Classical builders David LaPlante and Marc Dickinson proudly represented the OLF at last week's Guitar Foundation of America Convention and Competition in Austin, Texas. Their guitars were phenomenal, and I thoroughly enjoyed playing them and spending time with these fine gentlemen and fellow luthiers. This year's GFA was incredible, from the state-of-the-art Long Center for the Performing Arts and its enormous(!) concert hall, to the endless line-up of jaw-dropping performances. Thanks to the Austin Classical Guitar Society and the GFA for their superb organization of classical guitar's premiere event. The convention's slogan was "60 concerts in 6 days", and by the end, everyone was worn out, but didn't seem to mind.

John Gilbert was deservedly inducted into the GFA Hall of Fame with the Industry Leadership Award for his profound contributions to the craft and teaching of contemporary lutherie. John's philosophy that lutherie is "95% science and 5% art, and the art is what you do with the science," ushered in a new era of rigor to the craft. Like countless others, I am proud to call him my mentor. The vendor fair was extremely large this year and was represented by many of the finest builders in the world. This surely was one of the most impressive collections of contemporary classical guitars assembled under one roof. See you next year in Columbus, Georgia!

Nice pics Gary !
Thanks for the update and info .

I'd like to be there next year but already have orders to fill
that will keep me away !

John is definately a guitarmakers hero !

Mc

_________________
Mike Collins

Great to see you again Gary and very nice to meet you Mark!
I enjoyed this convention very much.
The highlight for me was having Pepe Romero play my guitars and hearing him and the Austin Symphony perform the Concierto de Aranjuez, which was breath taking.
Gary, I see you met Fred H. who also lives near Albany and is active in the local classical guitar group.
We also got across the street to Threadgill's (where they have "both types of music, country <and> western") to see a show as well as visited the LBJ Museum and library.
Best!

My first GFA , it was fun and a good experience. Gary, it was a pleasure to meet you in person. I really appreciate you taking the time to play my guitars and the kind words. By the way, you’re an excellent classical guitar player.
David, it was nice meeting you in person as well, I enjoyed the opportunity to see and discuss some of your work and our conversation regarding Landsdorfer tuners was informative.
I most enjoyed the Luthier showcase. To listen and compare 30+ classical guitars each from a different builder in a quiet performance style venue was a unique opportunity. I liked the two pieces chosen and both the performing guitarists played them expertly. I particularly enjoyed Torija (the first 5 or 6 times). Although many of the differences were small, each guitar had its own distinctive sound. I left with a better understanding of the range of different character of classical guitar. I also came away realizing there are many builders making remarkable sounding guitars.
I also enjoyed playing my first double top,--Gary’s cedar top guitar in the picture. It plays easily, has beautiful tone and incredible dynamic range. Gary, you made a wise choice in investing the time, work, and research necessary to learn this technology. It’s something I’m going to wade into in the future but will definitely take me a few years to learn.
Austin was fun too, many restaurants, live music, jogging trail, a great time overall.