Official Luthiers Forum!

Jim,

Get me an e-mail on the side and we'll track it down. Let me know the date, your full name and address,and what method of payment you used and we'll update the records. That is, unless Nadine is lurking here. In that case, she's probably already on it!

Okay, as the newest ASIA member, I'd like to say a few words: spruce, rosewood, glue, downcut spiral bit, and klemmsia clamp.

As a newly renewed member of GAL, I'd like to add: fretwire, string winder, and nitrocellulose. Grin:

Now for that nap.....

AAHHHHH! Somebody HELP!

Brock, you and Hank both have left private messages for me, and I've attempted to answer both - both times getting a catastrophic failure notice. Now Hank's original, but previously deleted, mail is back in my message box!

Just in case, anyone who ever wants to reach me may feel free to mail me at my regular address anytime.

Whoops! Brock just cleared that right up..... Never mind Bill Moll38402.7451736111

Just for the record I re-newed by paypal last week as well, and I am sure I'm still listed as not a member currently.
That, and why can't we start signing up for the next symposium on-line? I know it takes time to do it, but at least if there was a place to send the fee's too we could start to register. Dag Nabbit!! I've been bustin' my but on inlay and I have a really bad need to show off!
Of course everyone here already kows this....
There's no knowing when the magazine is going to get here. If that's the only way to get registered for the symposium it may never get full.
Craig Lavin

_________________
www.handcraftinlay.com

I am a former ASIA member. I was around at the start of
ASIA and have recently got back into guitarmaking. I was thinking of joining ASIA again but hesitated because of what I have heard about the lack of publications getting to the members.
I have been a member of the OLF since its beggining and find that very useful.
After reading John Osthoffs post I decided that his point of view was correct and I will be joining ASIA again.
I do have one off topic question for you. I noticed that your replies to Sylvan Wells are "Sylvain". Is that the name that his friends call him or is it a dig at him? I do not know Sylvan at all. I do not know you either. I hope it is not a petty dig...

Tom,

Not at all. Sylvain may correct me on this but, from coorespondence and e-mails with him over the years, his actual given name has always been spelled that way.

He IS a curmudgeonly old fart however, and I wouldn't hesitate to share that with him openly and personally. Bill Moll38402.7817824074

Bill, thanks for setting that straight. I just joined via PayPal. Do I need to email any information to anyone?

Thanks,
Tom D.

Thank you John for your articulate, spirited, and view-that-I-agree-with reply.   

Very glad you are here.

- Viv

First: I think it's hard to overestimate the impact organizations like the GAL and ASIA have had on lutherie in this country. Even those who never joined either organization have benfitted directly and greatly simply from the fact of their existance. Back when I started out, 30+ years ago, you _had_ to get 15 or 20 'luthiers' together in order to collectively know enough to make a decent guitar. H'burg, Stew-Mac, NCAL and NEL, and all of the other local get togethers, would probably be dreams if it weren't for those organizations. THe quality of the work that newbies are presenting these days is scary, and it's because of all of the know-how that these organizations have made available.

I go 'way back with GAL, and only joined ASIA when Rick beat me up at a folk festival a few years ago. Actually, he used flattery: he asked me to write something about a guitar I'd built. Prior to that I had felt ASIA was not 'going my way', but I do feel that Rick has done a lot to turn it in a more friendly direction.

There have been problems, for sure. I felt that the attempt to attract the public to the Symposia in Nashville was a gamble, although I did what I could to support it. I'm sure it was an expensive experiment, both in time and money, and that in itself could account for a lot of the trouble with late/missing magazines. Now that the 'east coast show' seems to be off and running in Newport RI the Symposia can get back to being luthier meetings.

As such I think they are indispensible. These online fora are great, and I spend 'way too much time on them, but there are things they just can't do. Much as I might like to handle an instrument by Bill Moll or any of a number of you other guys, I can't do it on line. Some things don't come across well in pictures, like sound, for example. I could not have run the 'Al Challenge' anywhere but at a meeting of luthiers like the ASIA Symposium, and the input I got from all of the luthiers was priceless. It even made up for drinking the lousy water. On top of that, I got to see some old friends, meet some new ones, and get a ride to the airport with Frank Ford: thanks again Frank! Where else can you get a deal like that? And on top of _that_ I picked up a couple of good building tips and some great wood and tools. There's no substitute for those luthier meetings, and I'm glad there's one I can _get_ to now.

I am most emphatically _against_ the setting up of another lutherie magazine! Mercy, people! There are barely enough articles being written for the two we have! If we can't get folks to submit stuff to them, how are we to get them to submit to a third one? Pay for articles? With what money? The Catgut Society just folded itself into the Violin Society because of lack of support, and somebody is suggesting another magazine?

I will confess that I haven't been writing much for some time, but I'm on track to redress that fault now. Rick has one article in hand as we speak that I hope will be useful. Other stuff is in the works. Where's yours? I bet if we just raked together a pile of the posts that some people have put up here, or on MIMF, or 13th fret, we'd have some neat articles.

Jim and Clavin,

Not to worry, our membership director assures me that all of your memberships and renewals are current, but that the web site directory hasn't been updated in a little while. Commander Ford usually takes care of that job and, I suspect he's probably been waiting to get a pile of them before up-dating the entire page.

Tom D, Nope. The PayPal option should generate an e-mail simultaneously so, as long as you included your personal information there, we should get it here. And, Thanks!

[QUOTE=Dave Rector] OK, that did it! Bill Moll, Dan Erlewine and Frank Ford coming to the forum just to explain some of why things are as they are at ASIA.

Looks to me like the new leadership is certainly worth taking a chance on. I'll be joing up next week, if not sooner.

Seriously guys, thanks for coming here and sharing your thoughts and opinions with us. It give me the confidence boost I need to shell out the bucks and give it another chance.[/QUOTE]

I haven't been a member of ASIA but recently joined. I was motivated after having a sneak peek at parts of the article Al Carruth alludes to above at the last NEL meeting. Now if only I could get to the symposium!

You're right Jim. That kind of treatment sucks.

That's another one of a bunch of changes we're making. As I said above, there's no need to worry, you ARE current, the site just hasn't been up-dated recently and, according to Rick Davis, the magazines are in the mail, and you should be receiving your last issue of 2004 within a few days. That lateness of magazines is one our largest problems, and what started this whole thread in the first place.

I'm also in the midst of a complete web site re-do, and your subscription info update, and a nice thank you letter, for on-line renewal, should be automatic once the new site is up.

No matter what changes are going on, if you ever had a question, there are addresses on the ASIA web site that will get you to someone who'll help you or, if you really felt mistreated and got peeved, you could always post a complaint on the ASIA forum for all the world to see. (please exhaust all other options first)

Finally, while not all of the board members may want to be so public, you certainly know where to find me, Dan, or Frank now. If you ever have another problem with ASIA, and one or the other of us can't get it taken care of for you, no one can.

Bill Moll38402.9864814815

You guys don't know how good you've got it.

Here in Australia we've got bugger all when it comes to lutherie associations - we've got to join yours! And we don't get to go to these great symposia and festivals, we've got to look at pictures of them on the web.

And buying stuff from US suppliers, well, don't get me started... (no I'm not talking about you wonderful sponsors of our forum, the service from US companies is second to none, it's just what they can't send by airfreight. Dang, I got started)

Seriously though, if you've got enough builders to reach the critical mass where you all can support a local organisation (I'm talking in the same country) like ASIA or GAL, then you guys (and gals) should jump at the chance. I would, 'cause I've got a pretty good idea what I'm missing out on.

Wisdom from down-under. What else

[QUOTE=PaulB]

Seriously though, if you've got enough builders to reach the critical mass where you all can support a local organisation (I'm talking in the same country) like ASIA or GAL, then you guys (and gals) should jump at the chance. I would, 'cause I've got a pretty good idea what I'm missing out on.[/QUOTE]

Paul, pretty much what I was saying, like you in Australia we Brits just don't have a critical mass of luterers, for any organisation like ASIA. All we have is a few guys (and girls) who get together in the pub now and then or meet up at the tonewood yard. If we had enough to form a group like ASIA it would almost be a criminal offence not to be part of it. And you know what happened to British criminals don't you, they got sent to Australia!!!!



ColinColin S38403.2813888889

_________________
I don't believe in anything, I simply make use of a set of reasonable working hypotheses.

This is a little late, but I am joining and I am going to the symposium. this will be my first time and I am looking forward to it very much.

Dan thanks for chiming in, your the man, I owe so much of what I know to you.

see you at the symposium
Matt

It's encouraging to read all these comments. Some, it seems, have turned
from negative to positive right on this thread. If Symposium happens this
year (it's supposed to), it will be by the skin of our teeth, so please plan
on attending. Bring the family. It's a nice college and the cafeteria food is
gourmet!

If we get 350 or 400 warm bodies at the event, let's be sure to hold the
most-attended general meeting ever, and create a bond, a commitment
to the future of ASIA, and share our ideas and plans, OK?

Thanks, for understanding and supporting!

I am anxious for this site to get the new server — it's great. How many
members belong to OLF?

Dan Erlewine

Dan, take a look at the Bios page up top for a non-exhaustive overview. For actual numbers of registered users, you'll probably have to ask Brock or Lance someone else with access to all the user data!

As for this whole discussions, it's inspiring me to stop procrastinating/thinking about joining both ASIA and GAL, scrounge up a bit 'o' cash, and just doing it. Maybe I'll even make it over for a symposium some year in the future, who knows?Mattia Valente38403.3129513889

Dan, currently there are 157 registered members, however we've only been (registering) folks for 8 weeks. The OLF has been around for about 1.5 years, and Jan 1 we updated to this new software where were able to actually register people. Until then is there was no registration system.

Lance

_________________
Support the OLF! Bookmark our STEWMAC link Today!
Lance@LuthiersForum.com

I did a quick spin through and we had about 500+ lurkers over the past week that reviewed more than 10 pages and were not registered.

_________________
Brock Poling
Columbus, Ohio
http://www.polingguitars.com

Bill M, Frank F, Dan E and other ASIA leadership...

Thanks for jumping into the fray by joining the discussion. I am a current member of ASIA and for a while the ASIA forum was getting a little traffic but around the time that the traffic died down, I found this forum.

The amazing thing about this forum is that in a very short time it has become a very lively meeting place for new and experienced guitar builders to throw out ideas, brag about BRW stashes found in a dark corner, and ask for help.

I think that it was tremendous that Sylcan started this thread as it is a cry for help to the luthier community to be aware of ASIA's current state and to let the leadership know how members and former members feel. This has been accomplished but what I am wondering is how can we help? Obviously not everyone can be at the Symposium (although that should be a lively members meeting) but are there other things that can be done...is the lack of an issue due to a lack of articles, photos, sponsors (advertisers)?

Bill, Frank, Dan (who have recently joined here because of this thread) What this forum has done in terms of a fundraiser for Tsunami relief, raffles, members getting in the car and visiting each other after meeting on this forum...all of these things could be mentioned in a column as to Luthier things happening on the web, around the country, trends in lutherie in Europe, amazing woods in Australia, etc.

Who is in charge of organizing the symposium? Who is arranging calldowns to vendors to see how many are coming? How are members and other being contacted about the symposium?

How can those of us that live near where the symposium is held pitch in and help?

I think that if there were more communication with the members (and forums like this) as to what is needed, we could get plenty of help and this years symposium could be awesome.