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Sad news indeed. I never knew Lance, but after checking out his guitars I wish that I had. My thoughts are with his family too. Events like this make one keenly aware of just how fragile life is, and not to waste a single moment on stuff that doesn't matter....

Dave F.

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Cambrian Guitars

"There goes Mister Tic-Tac out the back with some bric-brac from the knick-knack rack"

Sorry to hear this.Lance will be missed by many here at olf.I wish his family well.

Wow...life is so fragile. Please pass my best wishes to his family. He will be in my thoughts and prayers.

Bill

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Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines.

I cannot put my finger on it, but I know I have been to his website before. Lance's username shows hardly any activity... did he change his username? I am pretty sure I have read his stuff before, either here or at harpguitars.net.

His work is incredible. So sad.

Mike

What does one say? We will miss Lance greatly. Please pass our condolences on to Dawn and the kids (and to you as I know you were great friends).
Natalie - LMI

Very shocking and terrible news. I have always admired his work.

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Web: https://www.jfrenchguitars.com/

Wow, that is shocking and sad news! What a loss to the Lutherie community. He will be greatly missed. My sincerest condolences to his family.

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Tracy
http://www.luthiersuppliers.com

Very sad news. My thoughts are with his family.

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Bob Connor
Geelong, Australia

I'm shocked. My job here will never be the same without Lance's calls!
Here's something I wrote, which I think we will be posting on the LMI website:

"In our business, we meet a lot of people, become acquaintances with some of them, and fewer still become friends. Lance was a friend, and a good one and I will miss him dearly.

The first thing I think that should be said about him was that he supported his family with guitar building. His family was everything to him and so consequentially, he approached luthiery with tremendous passion and seriousness. He tirelessly and proudly promoted his work -and was good at promoting himself. He knew that it was the connections and friendships he created as he built his business that would sustain him. To a great deal, it was his many repeat customers who helped him to become successful.

Still, with the many friends he made over the years, it was never easy. Everything Lance created for himself and his family was the result of his own diligence, intelligence and hard work. Those who choose the path of lutherie as a profession know full well that it is very often difficult going.

I talked with him often. He would call me frequently to share a joke, a rumor or some frustration or success at the workbench -or with life in general. Inevitably, he would find an opportunity to speak proudly of his kids.

He relished the opportunity to share his deep knowledge of guitar building with me and others at LMI, and as a result he generously contributed to the development of many LMI products over the years that will be a benefit to luthiers for years to come. He was a great lover of wood. Whenever I was mulling over introducing a new species in our catalog, I would call Lance for an opinion and he would inevitably say "Oh yeah, I built a guitar out of that..."

Builders like Lance -who think outside of the box, who love music and who value quality and good taste over all, have helped to set the standard for the future of luthiery. And people like Lance, who love laughing, good wine, good waves and a good story are sometimes the hardest kind to say goodbye to."

Chris thanks for that insight on Lance. Very touching.
While I didn't know Lance personally I was a big fan of his work.
See you at ASIA Symposium?

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Beautiful and unusual tone woods at a reasonable price.
http://www.rctonewoods.com/RCT_Store
The Zootman
1109 Military Rd.
Kenmore, NY 14217
(716) 874-1498

Hi Bob,
Thanks. Yes, we should be there!
-C

That is tragic!

Peace be with those who Lance loved and were left behind.

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My Facebook Guitar Page

"There's really no wrong way, as long as the results are what's desired." Charles Fox

"We have to constantly remind ourselves what we're doing....No Luthier is putting a man on the moon!" Harry Fleishman

"Generosity is always different in the eye of the person who didn't receive anything, but who wanted some." Waddy Thomson

This is very tragic and sad. I did not know Lance personally, but as a fellow father and husband my heart goes out to his family.

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Randy Muth
RS Muth Guitars Website
RS Muth Guitars Blog
Facebook Fan Page

Such a loss, my thoughts are with his family and friends.
Evan

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http://www.NewYorkGuitarRepair.com

I have known Lance for about eight years now. I place him with a select few guitar makers that "held my hand" so to speak as I was getting started. Hank was another as well as Matt Gage and Kathy Wingert.
Very important people to me and Lance was no exception. As a matter of fact, I still use a pair of radius dishes that Lance
made me all those year ago.

I remember a phone call with him where the whole time he was hammering away at the roof of his house while He was giving me the "what for" with regards to guitar building! He always spoke his mind, and was mostly right

My only face to face with Lance was at the last Healdburg in 07. He stopped by my table and shook my hand, said a few words, we exchanged smiles and he was on his way back to his table.

His lose is very sad, but today I have thought more about what the man meant to me personally and how he helped get me started off on the right foot with guitar building.

What a great guy.....

Oh yeah, and he always referred to himself as the "Original Lance" He was and will always be!

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Lance@LuthiersForum.com

This is terrible news. My prayers go out for Lance and for his family.

I was stunned/saddened to see the title of this thread. I did not know Lance, but I definately knew his name, and that this was a loss to the luthier community. My prayers go out to his family and his friends.

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Mike

The only thing nescessary for evil to thrive is for good men to do nothing.

Hank,
Thanks for the information about the loss of Lance. What a tragic blow to the guitar building community.
He was truly an artist and a great guy to boot.

Please forward my condolences to his wife. Our thoughts and prayers are directed to her and his family.
My initial response to seeing your post was a loud, "NO!". We are shocked and sad to say the least.

Regards,
Kevin Gallagher/Omega Guitars

I met him at the first Healdsburg I went to and marveled at the resonant quality of his guitars. Definitely one of my favorites at the time. He seemed pretty young. What a shocker.

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"Preoccupation with an effect gives it power and enhances the error"
from "Your Owner's Manual" by Burt Hotchkiss.

It is always sad and tragic when one sees a thread titled as such ....

Our prayers to Lance's family, and friends.

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Tony Karol
www.karol-guitars.com
"let my passion .. fulfill yours"