I go to bed and wake up early, so leaving at 6:30 AM was not an issue other than lack of sleep due to apprehension over my inability at times to travel. My wife and friends thought perhaps my mental stability was a bit off kilter wanting to make this three hour by auto trip along the Columbia River, knowing my vestibular disabilities. After all I had reasoned, it was the Oregon Trail and Lewis and Clark did it before the auto was invented and had only a vague idea where they might end up. Also this was part of my 60th birthday gift. This is how I conned my wife into this same day 6 hour road trip. Last time we had embarked on this trip to see the Neuro-otologist, I had vomited all the way totally freaked out from the motion of the car, and the trip ended in a Portland emergency room. Makes one a little shy, especially just to talk guitars for a couple of hours.



I had a long delayed mission. To visit Peter Tsiorba and see his shop, talk guitars, and get his idea on finishing the improvements I had started on my 1974 homemade redwood and rosewood. I made the trip in good repair and was pleased to find his place easy to locate. Peter is a great guy in every respect. After seeing photos and videos of his shop, I thought it would be a large area with all his tools laid out. Amazing his main work area and humidity controlled room was very small and designed extremely efficient. I loved his custom handmade tools and how each one mounted on his singular work bench when it’s turn came. He demonstrated his edging plane and within less than a minute a new back was fit perfectly and shavings adorned his bench.



What is the secret to Peters guitars? In one word, shavings! Producing shaving rather than dust testifies to becoming one with the wood. I played on the only guitar he had of his make, a classical and it was phenomenal and the addition of a tap plate would make a fine dark toned flamenco. My playing was horrible. Peter treated me to one of his special tapas and coffee and I enjoyed visit and old world ambience immensely. I love the simple things in life.



Peter agreed to take on finishing my negra and getting the action perfected making it more enjoyable to play. I was leaving as my daughter, granddaughter, and wife had returned from their visit to the waterfront. Time to finish off the extended birthday celebration at a small old world Italian café that Peter recommended. However before I was out the door, Peter wanted me to take some shavings from some Port Orford cedar he had acquired. While he was making some shavings, I tone tested the four sets he had in his stash. One of them called me loud and clear. I could even hear it in my deaf ear. The final test was where I use my jaw bone to conduct vibrations to my ear … this piece conducted sound like no other. Peter put my name on it, we shook hands and I left. 

Happy recent birthday!

Sounds like a great trip, notwithstanding the tribulations overcome.

byron

Manos Lentas wrote:Peter agreed to take on finishing my negra and getting the action perfected making it more enjoyable to play.

You may not want to sell it after Peter does those things!

-Bob

Bob wrote:

Manos Lentas wrote:Peter agreed to take on finishing my negra and getting the action perfected making it more enjoyable to play.

You may not want to sell it after Peter does those things!

-Bob

After removing the top varnish and thinning, I had decided not to sell it anyway as it opened it up and made strumming chords sound clean and beautiful. Also I thinned the neck and corrected the bridge spacing. After Peter works it over chances are I would never sell unless a concert player offers me an outrageous price. With just the changes I made you would not recognize it from when you were here.

It sounded better before those improvements than you had led me to expect. I think you should keep it, not only because it will be even better when Peter finishes with it, but because you made it with your own hands.

-Bob

What a lovely story.
Sounds like you had a great birthday and I hope the return journey was kind to your health.
Great about your guitar improving so good that you will keep it.
In a way your journey reminds me of the various three hour journeys I made to see Gerundino..his wife always made lunch although he always insisted we go to the local bar first to erm build our appetite!
May you have many more happy birhtdays.
Tomás