Hi,
I have been lurking for sometime, but I seldom post here. I lost track of my old account so began a new one. Anyway I have been writing a blog about my instrument making and I wanted to let you guys know about it. I've been doing it about eight weeks now and I have almost thirty entries, most of them totally worthless.

If you've heard of me I truly feel sorry for you and I send my deepest regards. If you have not, you're lucky and you can stop reading now and get away unscathed. To be serious, I'm a guitar maker and instrument restorer/repairer in Oakland CA. I began doing instrument repair work at the age of seventeen in Burdell Tenney's violin and bow shop in Redlands CA. That was in 1979 and since them I have made living on and off as an instrument maker and repairer.

Currently I am making flamenco guitars and my output as an instrument maker has been focused on this since 1998 when in that year to 2001 I spent a great deal of time picking Eugene Clark's brain when he lived in El Cerrito CA. just up the road from Oakland. My guitar making has matured the last few years and it's really been an extension of the ideas I learned from Gene Clark with an emphasis on the concepts of Santos Hernandez and other early to mid twentieth century guitar makers in Spain. In addition to Gene's information I also asked lot of question of Christopher Berkov a masterful and very knowlegable Northern California guitar maker repairer and flamenco guitarist who was kind enough to talk to me about guitar making when I had specific questions traditional Spanish style construction.

My shop is located in the Jack London Square district of Oakland near the waterfront next to the huge container ships which visit the Port of Oakland. I have been here almost four years, and previous to this my shop was located for a few months in a funky basement with a dirt floor, shared with three mad oil painters. I refer to those three transitional months while was waiting for my current secure location to come available as the Silence of the Lambs period, that basement was pretty scary. I've had many shops over the years and worked in a few shops run by other luthiers. Most notably in recent years I've spent lots of time working in the shop of master steel string repairer /restorer Stewart Port of Oakland who is known as one of the West Coasts foremost authorities on the restoration of American vintage guitars of the Martin-Gibson vein. I picked up few tricks from Stewart too.

The blog I'm writing is not only for keeping updates on guitars as I'm building them, but to write about anything I really damn well please to write about. Most of it is at least peripherally related to flamenco. I'm going to keep posting my wares and touching on subjects I think about while I build guitars. Sometimes I get a bit irreverent, but that is because I'm a grouchy guitar maker and we all know guitar makers can get really grumpy once in awhile, it's artistic license I suppose.

I hope you check it out sometime and leave off color remarks or any feedback you want,

http://hieronymusguitaricus.blogspot.com/

May your thumb nails live long and prosper,

Stephen Faulk

Welcome Stephen,

Hope you are as active and colourful on this foro as you are on the other .

Victor

Well we'll see, it takes a while to get into a group, but I hope so. Since my heart is in making guitars that are from that Santos - Barbero time I hope I will find people to appreciate that. I'm just not a Conde' guy.. that's a joke don't get all defensive about your conde's...

Stephen

Stephen Faulk wrote:Well we'll see, it takes a while to get into a group, but I hope so. Since my heart is in making guitars that are from that Santos - Barbero time I hope I will find people to appreciate that. I'm just not a Conde' guy.. that's a joke don't get all defensive about your conde's...

Stephen

Santos and Barbero definitely are conducive with this foro's love for the traditional flamenco. Conde, not so much. Great guitars for being loud and percussive, but fall short for players that want an instrument that can sing and guide your fingers into expressing emotions from the heart IMO. I have never heard or played a Conde that had enough bass growl or sweet enough trebles to my liking. Best Conde I ever heard was the one Vicente Saucedo of Albuquerque played back in the 60's. He later had a custom made Lorenzo Pimentel based more on Santos and it made his old Conde go into retirement. It is all personal preference. Hate that horrible orange varnish. Bought a can of it from a Spanish dealer in the 70's . Never used it. Found it unopened about a month ago and put it in the garbage.

You should fit in here. As Tomas says we are the little Bodega in the part of town where tourist seldom go. Many of us love the art of handmade guitars made by those of lesser fame. Impressed with the few of yours I have heard.

I've played couple of Condes I liked very much, but they just were not my guitars. Many of them are very forgiving instruments and I like that for playing out, which I'm not doing much of these days. The one I really like is a Faustino that belongs to a friend of mine. Whenever Pepe Torres comes to town he loans it to Pepe to play. Have you ever heard Pepe Torres play? He's known as dancer, but he's a fantastic guitarist.

Once I was sitting with David Serva in a bar in Sevilla and David was playing to me at a table off by ourselves. I asked him to play a particular Diego falseta, and just then Pepe Torres walked through the door and heard it. Pepe turned his head and looked at us and came right over. David looked at him, and Pepe said how do you know that music? Davis said I learned it from Diego del Gastor, Pepe said I'm related to him and you look familiar to me. Then it came out pretty fast that Pepe's grandfather had a picture of he and David together from the 1960's and Pepe grew up looking at it. So then everyone was happy and huggy kissy and Pepe played the guitar for an hour or so. He was very modest and said "Oh it's just my hobby." He's a phenomenal Moron style player. If he tours here or there try to see him. It's joy to behold. His dancing and his playing.

I've been really lucky to have heard him play in private after shows four or five times. It was a good use of a Conde'.

Steven, I have never heard Pepe play in person, but have seen videos and heard audio clips. He is a phenomenal guitarist. Also his cousin Paco Amparo is an amazing guitarist. Many Moron gypsy artist can play guitar, sing , and dance at a highly accomplished level. I think Pepe could make a great living playing guitar, but enjoys the dancing. Did you see them last Nov. when they were in SF? Jairo, another cousin, is also a phenomenal dancer. Here is one of Pepe just messing around. My favorite is the one where he plays for a family gathering, but I don't think it is on You Tube.

Whoa!

That great stuff. If only all flamenco stage shows were just like that. ( would probably not want to see any batas de cola and the snarky asses that inhabit them again;) Yo said this bar is on the outskirts of town right? I can say stuff like that?

Moya seems to be enjoying himself. He wants one of my guitars, but I decided not to give them away any more even for promotion:) Got burned there. But love Moya's playing too. I'm a huge Pedro Bacan fanatic. Pedro was the (censored). I wish I could have met him. I have some recordings of Moya and Pedro playing together for baile that are amazing. They spin these lines with the familiarity and feel that Kieth Richards and Ron Woods have together, but different.

After all that ticklish noodely stuff in the beginning they get down to it. I love the way they play remates and the way they mark the 1,2,3 beats of compas for the singer.

I agree on the not giving away your guitars to name players for promotion. After all they are the ones with the money and should be charged more if anything. They certainly wouldn't teach you for free. Becan was phenomenal and I enjoy his style. I think what Tomas meant by our foro being the little Bodega in the part of town where the tourist don't go, is that this foro is about the roots of flamenco and not so much all the branches. Many walk by but few come in for a visit. The toruist seeking a fambouyant dress rehersal with guitarist playing 1/128th note 3 finger picatos, and unemotional singers that bring the room temperature down to freezer levels, don't visit this part of town that appears old, simple, plain, and quiet.

I would rather be at a small house or bar juerga where some kid is playing 3 chords on an old crappy guitar in compas to an old toothless unshaven geezer singing a tango that makes the ones we hear today, hailed as flamenco, sound sadly Argentine, than the big staged choreographed shows where tourist with cameras flashing and thumbs texting flock like flies on stink. At our juerga maybe one of the guys fixing tapas comes from the kitchen wearing an apron to dance. Of course others are doing palmas and the ones sitting around the table are using it for a rhythm instrument, making bottles dance, agitating the wine yet to be drunk. An old lady dressed a bit sloppy takes the floor to dance and yells something slightly derogertory at the previous male dancer that messed up a few steps due to being excessively gusto from drinking several bottles of the cooking wine she was saving for the paella.

Stephen,
That's such a great solea por baile; I hadn't yet seen it before.
I can't help but adding another one. Probably, everyone knows it anyway, but never mind. Although it's a movie, it has an atmosphere of intimacy, and greatness. (Of course, Farruco and Chocolate go way back).

Sam,
You are a romantic and a great story teller! I admit I am somewhat of a tourist, and this place you're describing sounds a bit scary and my Spanish is poor. Just one more question: How is the cooking wine?

Roland