Official Luthiers Forum!

To echo what others have said, enhanced search functionality would improve the value of the forum enormously IMO. Nowhere else is there such a wealth of information available on building guitars, but finding that information can be a challenge once it falls off the first page. Of course, I don't understand the technical implications of that or how realistic that is.

Sorry I couldn't help myself...



On a more serious note, I love the idea of the podcast, particularly if you sent the episodes around to different luthiers - a new guy on a new subject each episode.

It would be nice to directly upload pics that get automatically sized appropriately.

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Doug

Don't let fear or common sense stop you from trying to build something

I agree that would be great! I know that when I use Tapatalk it resizes the photos automatically.
Its nice for sure.

I love all the comments and I ideas! This is exactly what I was hoping to read!

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Lance@LuthiersForum.com

Tapatalk (depending on which upload option is chosen) does either:
1. Uploads and resizes but significantly degrades resolution
2. Retains high resolution but does not resize.

A better solution would be great here as pics are so valuable to this forum. Thanks for looking into all this Lance.

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Doug

Don't let fear or common sense stop you from trying to build something

Starting the "how to build a guitar" section could be as simple as ordering the tutorials we already have. There is no real order to them at the moment, is there? Just date descending.

I can start that forum today. I will bump it to the top or just under the main forum. We can start to populate it today.

This by the way is a awesome idea! Thanks!

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Lance@LuthiersForum.com

How about that stars in the forum index? Do you guys want me to axe them?

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Lance@LuthiersForum.com

Definite yes from me! They don't seem to be a fair rating of a thread at all.

Lance I like this forum. It's very helpful . I posed a question concerning a blade insert on my table saw and was re-assured by the guys that my idea was not only valid but many of them had done exactly the same thing. Now I feel better and my table saw is fixed and it didn't cost me $60 bucks to replace the pot metal one from the internet. So I consider this forum to have saved me money. Also I use Tapatalk have no problems with it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yes from me too.
Also I can't really imagine why anyone would need the facebook like and share buttons. I would imagine the majority of most peoples facebook friends aren't really into guitar making so why share it? It really slows down the loading time for me too.

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"I am always doing that which I cannot do, in order that I may learn how to do it."
Pablo Picasso

https://www.facebook.com/FenskeGuitars

Personally I like the LIKE buttons and the Share, but that's just me. It costed a bundle to have a coder add it to the forum, I imagine it will cost something to have it removed as well.

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Lance@LuthiersForum.com

I can also live without the stars/ratings. They don't seem to relate that much to the value of the topic thread's content.

I would also like to see an improved search function.

My only original idea is that I would recommend we require all photos to be uploaded to the OLF server and no longer allow links. It is disappointing to finally find an old topic I want to read only to find all of the photos are gone because the photo links are no longer valid.

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

Sorry I have nothing really against them. Just my opinion

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"I am always doing that which I cannot do, in order that I may learn how to do it."
Pablo Picasso

https://www.facebook.com/FenskeGuitars

I would never use them in a millennium of Sundays (despise Facebook) but they don't bother me either.

+1 I agree. Also I would like to see 'tool tip' text so that when you hover over a thread title you can read the first few sentences of the thread. Also when you go to http://luthiersforum.com it takes you to a splash page. it should just take you to http://luthiersforum.com/forum/.

Personally, I'm fine with the look as it is.

If I had my druthers, I'druther not have to scroll a mile down on every page to pass by the battery of ads.

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Cheers,

Frank Ford

FRETS.COM
HomeShopTech
FRETS.NET

A recent post in the mado forum got me thinking. . . There is a new member who would benefit from meeting up with a maker in his area. Wouldn't it be nice if we had a way to look up members by area (city, town or even zip code). I suppose one would have to have the option to not enter ones location but those who are willing to help or network with others could list his or her location.

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Bryan Bear PMoMC

Take care of your feet, and your feet will take care of you.

+1 Brian Bear


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I for one would love to see a new updated color scheme. I know we all come to expect the same look when we log in, but the OLF has turned a few corners over the last year or so, and it might be cool to see a fresh new look.

There also seems to be a large amount of space at the bottom of some posts which would be great to curb a bit.
To some degree, the sponsors are owed a presence on the pages, but perhaps there's a way to shrink things up a bit..?

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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."

First thing that comes to mind for "new feature" would be a members only repository of instrument plans, or links to the owners site if they aren't free / member contributions plus info about the design.

Any way, my two cents.

Nate

I'm still here guys! Had a guy at work leave unexpectedly and I am covering. No forum time

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Lance@LuthiersForum.com

My suggestions:

1) Keep it simple. Adding stuff makes things more complicated, not necessarily better.

2) If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

3) In terms of keeping it simple, I think one of the most important ingredients in a good website is that it minimizes the number of mouse movements necessary to see what you want to see. There are two small "broke" things about the site that, if fixed, would reduce mouse movements:

a) The sponsor stuff/header/tool shed/etc. stuff at the top takes up so much room that, every time you visit a page, you MUST scroll down to get to the stuff you're trying to see. Having to scroll down is a mouse movement. Find a way to organize that material such that, when you open the OLF, it doesn't take up an entire page. Ideally, people would be able to see at least a few threads without having to scroll down.

b) Getting back and forth between sub-forums is a bit of a hassle, especially in light of (a) above. If I'm on the main subforum and I want to move to the CNC subforum, I have to scroll up, click on board index, then scroll down past the sponsor/header stuff to get to the index, then scroll down again to get to the CNC link on the index, then once I'm on the CNC page, I have to scroll down again to get past the sponsor/header stuff, and finally I can see whether there are any new posts on the CNC subforum to reward me for all the effort I made to get there. That's six mouse movements/clicks to see whether there's any new posts on the subforum. That's too many.

Obviously, you can't eliminate the sponsor advertising. But maybe there are other ways to organize it that will reduce the mouse clicks significantly.

First things first: Great forum as is.

Second...only because you asked: I like the colors, personally. Many of the other things you mentioned, like an image gallery, expanded profiles, and podcasts are more in line with social media habits and other popular forums. Implemented well, they would add to the positive experience for current members, and draw an ever-growing number of budding and experienced luthiers to the forum.

Adding to one of the first replies: People DO hate change. That is exactly why we all gather the family to listen to our favorite radio broadcast each Saturday night - to keep things as they always have been.

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I would like to see an "honest appraisal" forum. This is politically sensitive. But this would be a build forum where folks would give honest input. Not a place for thin skinned folks, nor would it be a place for know-it-alls. The idea is to provide input to builders who are serious about improving their technique. Maybe use "rep" quality of contributors to filter. I know this is a charged subject, but I'd love to see it tackled in a way that helps the community