Official Luthiers Forum!

I hope this doesn't set off any flame wars or offend anyone but....

G.A.L. vs. A.S.I.A? Who belongs to which? How many of you belong to both? Is one better than the other? Why?


Disclaimer: I joined A.S.I.A yesterday. Main reason was that I got a free one year subscription to Acoustic Guitar Magazine along with my membership. Now I'm wondering if I should join G.A.L., too. Thoughts?

Depends on what is more important to you??, I joined GAL the guild of american losers

I've belonged to the GAL for 15+ years, with intermittent memberships in ASIA.
There's a lot of good information flowing from the GAL and I suppose ASIA too. I'll probably try ASIA again some time.

If I could only belong to one it'd be the GAL for me, but it's been a long time since I've been an ASIA member so I'm not current on what that organization's like.

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Jim Watts
http://jameswattsguitars.com

Being a relatively new guy, I'm starved for info, so I joined both. A couple of observations.

I prefer the GAL magazine to ASIA's. More depth. The GAL Big Red Books are, to my mind, worth their weight in gold.

I went to the ASIA symposium last year and had a great time and learned a lot. Can't wait for next year's.

The 2 organizations certainly aren't mutually exclusive, but if money's an issue, I'd go for the GAL and its magazine.

Steve

The big difference is that GAL is a for profit and ASIA is run non profit. Both or decent groups. I am a member of both and a board member on ASIA. I like them both but I feel more loyalty to ASIA as many of my early mentors were of that group. Hope to see many of you at the June Symposium in 2013.

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John Hall
blues creek guitars
Authorized CF Martin Repair
Co President of ASIA
You Don't know what you don't know until you know it

I joined both for two main reasons.

First, both are a valuable source of credible and reliable lutherie knowledge. Forums are great, but in depth articles that are validated by a board of experienced luthiers are precious. I have read multiple articles where demonstrations and explanations of techniques were detailed to a level I don't see often on forums, or the web for that matter. So for that alone, they are worth the money.

Second reason is a business reason. Marketing wise, more precisely. Being able to tell my customers that I'm part of GAL and ASIA gives me credibility from their point of view. Of course, any screwed up a--hole could be part of those organisations, but nonetheless, customers see this as a good thing. And I think they should. Being part of such associations shows we are thirsty for information about our field of work, which can't be bad. And that goes for any field of work. More so, I have had the chance of having two articles I wrote be published in Guitarmaker. That also gives me credibility. I can tell you a few customers got convinced to place an order with me after seing I got published in Guitarmaker.

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Alain Moisan
Former full time builder of Acoustics, Classicals and Flamencos.
(Now building just for fun!)

Used to be a GAL member way back in the 70's and 80's. Then the head guy Tim Olson went nuts, and a bunch of professional luthiers (like me) left and started ASIA. I dropped out of ASIA in the mid 90's a few years after I closed my retail shop, and haven't followed either organization since. Finally re-inserted myself into the luthier scene when I found the OLF awhile back.

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"Act your age, not your shoe size" - Prince

I'm a member of both. I know more of the ASIA people but that is primarily because ASIA has a greater presence on the east coast. I've been to 4 or 5 of the ASIA symposiums but I've never made it out west to a GAL meeting.
The GAL magazine is more consistent since it has a single editor. The ASIA magazine varies more in quality and focus since the editor changes every few years.

I'd recommend joining both. Your participation level is entirely up to you.

John Hall wrote:

"The big difference is that GAL is a for profit ..."

Just for the record, this is incorrect. From the GAL website, http://luth.org/aboutus.htm:

"The Guild of American Luthiers is a non-profit educational membership organization whose purpose is to facilitate learning about the art, craft and science of lutherie."

rm

Both. If it had to be one it would be GAL - my feeling is that the mag is more content rich, particularly with my focus being on classical guitars.

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Jim Kirby
kirby@udel.edu

It's an east coast -west coast thang.........

But seriously folks....I am a member of both. Both are very worth while organizations without which this craft would not be what it is today and a forum like this with such open exchange of information would not exist.

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Brian

You never know what you are capable of until you actually try.

https://www.howardguitarsdelaware.com/

I'm a member of both, and confirm what's already been said. They're both basicly magazine subscriptions, and the GAL mag is a little better.

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A man hears what he wants to hear, and disreguards the rest. Paul Simon

I guess Gal is the same management and ASIA is more volunteer . Both are fine groups . I do think ASIA is more traditional and GAL does have more contemporary. Still if you can joint both or choose one , you will be the better for it.

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John Hall
blues creek guitars
Authorized CF Martin Repair
Co President of ASIA
You Don't know what you don't know until you know it

Thanks for the input. I now have a clearer idea of how the groups differ. I've already joined ASIA and I plan on joining GAL soon.

Are there any other associations or groups I should know about?

I also belong to both. I like the publications from GAL best but I think both are good for the craft and worth the support.

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

I rarely join organizations. At one point, when I was an very active pilot, I was a member of AOPA. When I was building experimental aircraft, I was a member of EAA. I eventually dropped both because their articles and focus had absolutely nothing at all to do with me, and I felt as though my membership was wasted other than the occasional political action they took on my behalf (which pilots can do on their own simply by picking up the phone and speaking with their vote). Incidentally, AOPA has been sending me "Your membership has expired!!!!!!!!!!" ultimatums for 5 years (every 2 weeks or so, despite requests to leave me alone), all but insuring that I will NEVER send AOPA another red cent.

So now I'm looking at these two organizations. I wonder why I should join them. Please take this an an ernest question. I just wonder what a membership actually gets me? I hope that doesn't come off as a criticism or loaded question, but I'm really just wondering why it's worthwhile other than being able to say that I belong to them.

For example, I build and fly radio controlled planes, and am generally a member of AMA. Through the AMA, I get insurance, I get a magazine that generally have plans (or did at one point, anyhow), techniques, reviews on new items, etc. What do I get from GAL and ASIA?

There was another discussion on this topic a few months back.

viewtopic.php?f=10112&t=37397

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Brian

You never know what you are capable of until you actually try.

https://www.howardguitarsdelaware.com/

The big benefit is the symposium. That will be in June in East Stroudsburg PA . While I enjoy the workshops , it is meeting fellow builders where the real enjoyment comes from. Learning from each other and just plain fun. I don't look so much as they are competing with each other but more like a meal One has the meat and the other the .

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John Hall
blues creek guitars
Authorized CF Martin Repair
Co President of ASIA
You Don't know what you don't know until you know it

On one of Erlewine's DVDs, he has some fretting demonstrations from one of the symposiums. They were quite good actually, especially Frank Ford's very no nonsense fret dressing demo.

I belong to both, attended the last ASIA symposium and will be at the next one in June. My only question is why GAL moved their conference into the same year cycle as ASIA, it makes it difficult for people that might attend both. I also agree the GAL is a better publication but both provide great information and getting the new issue is always looked forward to.

Fred

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Fred Tellier
http://www.fetellierguitars.com
Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/pages/FE-Tellier-Guitars/163451547003866

It's almost like there's a rabid competition between the two entities. I know that the history between the two was formed out of a falling-out of people who didn't like the direction that the GAL was heading, and so ASIA was formed. It does seem like an East vs West coast thing, but maybe that's a good thing, since it really is such a large distance between the coasts. That's one of the reasons why Julius Borges started the Newport Guitar Festival, so that there was a big show on this coast so that folks didn't need to go all the way to Healdsburg. All that said, a lot of West Coast folks come out to the ASIA Symposium, as well as a good number of Canadian builders. Most of the builders I associate with in my region are ASIA members, so that's what I tend to support as well.

I think what has bothered a number of people about the GAL is that in spite of it being a non-profit, it is a family-run business... and that seems to get under some folks' skin.

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"I want to know what kind of pickups Vince Gill uses in his Tele, because if I had those, as good of a player as I am, I'm sure I could make it sound like that.
Only badly."

I recently rejoined GAL after a 5 yr absence. Better colour photos.Easier to read print.Better written articles. More colour ads. They have improved . I haven/t ruled out joining a.s.i.a. yet either . There is IMHO more diversity on instruments if one is interested in GAL.I/m guesing that asia. is mainly focused on steel string guitar. but I could be wrong .Depends on ones interests.