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From: Ross
Remote Name: 76.101.10.109
Date: 02 Aug 2007
Time: 14:10:42 -0400
Luthier’s Weblog 8/2/07 I want to believe in the concept of a Universal Consciousness, but it seems to fly in the face of the inability of any group of three or more people to achieve anything like a consensus. And yet there are words like “gestalt” . I know that the Nobel prize has been awarded jointly to researchers working independently on the same project. They must have been able to draw on some sort of common knowledge pool that didn’t exist in years prior. There has got to be a kind of vacuum formed that draws into existence a concept whose Time has Come. I want to focus on this idea in the realm of stringed instruments. To tune the ol’ mental antennae to ideas that WANT to coalesce. Chicken/egg : does the evolved instrument need to exist to enable the new music, or does the new literature need to dictate the changes to the instrument. Unless the luthier is an inspired musician, he probably needs to respond to changes in the idiom generated by forward thinking musicians. If he’s spending enough time playing to become the kind of musician capable of generating significant change, he’s probably not going to have enough time left over to develop the kind of building chops necessary to effect the indicated instrument evolution. He need’s good ears, though. He also needs a willingness to embrace experimental music. Traditional music has historically been adequately served by the instruments available at the time. Revolutionary music has required revolutions in luthery. A good example might be the locking tremolo unit. Until Jimi Hendrix inspired his legion of followers to abuse the Fender-style wang bar, it was not necessary to take drastic steps to ensure that the guitar would hold tune. Floyd Rose, Rockinger, Kahler, and others responded with machinery that insured tuning stability. This, in turn, lead to a new type of music by such stalwarts as Eddie Van Halen and Steve Vai. Of course, this does not explain Leo Fender (who was not a player) in his amazing invention of the Precision Bass. No doubt he was cognizant of the complaints of musicians frustrated by the physical limitations of the bass viol. But what was the momentary spark that first ignited the fire of his genius? He seemed like an ordinary guy. I mean, come on, country music and rimless glasses. The robot luthier looks for a spark. The radio dial spins…. Ross Teigen 8:50 am