Official Luthiers Forum!

So I recently posted one of my guitars on Facebook and got a tremendous response like I’ve never had before. I literally had 100 comments on this Guitar and all I did was show the back of it and it wasn’t even finished…

I’ve never really experienced anything like that before so as an experiment, I posted another back of a Guitar which I personally thought was equally as “beautiful“ maybe even more so to me, but literally got 100th of the response so there was something that struck a chord( pun intended) with people, and I’m just trying to figure out exactly what it was. I just found the whole thing very interesting…
This was the photo.



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I want Brad Goodman to pick my tonewoods... He has an eye for beauty.

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

Thanks! That's a very nice thing to say....

It’s a beautiful guitar, Brad.

Here is my take…. You’re basing the response you received of a high number of comments and likes on the idea that the content itself is what created the response. That is only true for the first 5-10% of people who engaged with your post. The rest is the algorithm. Likely a few folks shared a link to your post. This, combined with content engagement like comments and likes triggered the post to be presented into more people’s feed. This has a force multiplier effect.

I’ll give you an example, I have one video on Instagram that has 52k views, 1200 likes, and 320 “bookmarks”. However, it’s the 250+ shares of the content that triggered the algorithm to prioritize it in peoples feeds. I watched it happen in real time.

It gets prioritized not just for followers, but anyone. 95% of the views of that one video were non followers of my Instagram account.

What’s the point? Nothing! It’s all for sport until you get to exponentially more engagement than you or I have combined!

I’m just sharing because people get discouraged when they post their best work and get very little engagement. Don’t take it personally. It’s the machines decision on who sees what. Keep plugging along and sharing!

Brad


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I don’t take it personally. It doesn’t bother me… Just seems that so many people liked it in the first place to start the algorithm going. I don’t get all that stuff anyway
That still doesn’t explain to me why that piece of wood and not some other piece of wood…



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I think see where you're coming from...

To understand better I'd have to see something you think is better...

I look at that back and say meh...sure, it's a dramatically figured set of wood, but it certainly doesn't bookmatch cleanly because all of that wild figuring...it's so wild you can't really slip the joinery a tad to make the flaming line up...I'm thinking you would probably agree with those sentiments...

At issue is the general public is going to think "OMFG! that's some wildly unparalleled wood"

Whatcha gonna do?

Maybe buy up the rest of the slab and know you'll have willing buyers?

I wouldn’t have liked that picture, my idea of beauty in an instrument is understated quiet elegance but my impression is the general population likes wild figured stuff and lots of bling.

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It's not what you don't know that hurts you, it's what you do know that's wrong.

I look at it and say WOW! ....Just like most people whohave seen it..

as far as the bookmatch-that's part of that type of wood-it never "lines up" just like quartered white oak

I think you are right, more people like bling.


I never met a piece of wood I didn't like....

In the 80's when my shop was in a large local music store, I happened to meet this mom wandering the store while her kid took lessons. She was stopped in front of a gorgeous flamed Les Paul. I asked if she needed help. She looked at me and said, "What's wrong with that guitar?". I replied, "Nothing at all. It's beautiful". She did not agree...

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

Can you share the other photo here?

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Yeah, the first one is flashier, more three dimensional from the first glance. They are all beautiful. I tend to go for the more understated beauty myself. While they were both beautiful, I preferred Mary Ann to Ginger.

This is why Brad gets ALL THE UPVOTES.

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

Indeed!

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

Brad,
You sure have an eye for beautiful wood, an enviable knack for finding it, and a more enviable talent for knowing what to do with it.
Keep up the beautiful work.

The first photo has a lot of things going for it besides the figure of the wood. The workshop looks inviting and well organized. The guitars on the upper shelf are kind of intriguing. The composition of the shot emphasizes the guitar. The amount of the guitar side you can see is a nice touch. The photo sets up a story of someone who is relaxed and happy in the shop.

I really like the last picture.

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It's not what you don't know that hurts you, it's what you do know that's wrong.

Not sure what beauty is, but I know what I like.

It's like the old saying says, "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder."

It would be interesting to see which of your guitars (the 5 pics) would get the most beauty votes from the same set of people.

For me, the curly Koa would be the hands down beauty winner.

One of the "beauty's" of instrument making is you can find adequate quantities of very special wood to build with. It's also a way to introduce folks to the wonders of exceptional wood they may never otherwise come in contact with.

Nice guitars Brad!

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Brian R, Wood Mechanic
N8ZED

Thanks!
Yes, that koa is incredible...My client paid $1200. for it which I thought was overpaying but that's what he wanted....

Thanks! I love my shop and working in it.

Thanks,! I love the "hunt" for the wood, although I am slowing down since I have enough wood to last a long time at my current build rate- about 20 guitars a year....

I like the White Oak for it's honesty. Did you fume or stain that?

Thanks!

Bill

Mohawk Brand stain.

Yep, Mary Ann wins every time for me

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Say what you do, Do what you say.