Spearfish Declaration | Video

Absolutely wonderful email last evening. My clients tend to be deeply kind and thoughtful human beings. I am very fortunate to have the privilege of sharing this bond of music with them. Thank you, Carl.

Rick —

Happy New Year! It has been 6 months since I picked up ‘Declaration’ Spearfish.  I have held off on writing this letter, as every time I began writing, I realized that I was still learning more about the guitar’s character. The full impact of this guitar has finally hit me.

Craftsmanship: The word that comes to mind is precision. Although the artistry of your guitars is what drew me in, what blew me away was the precision. The care you put into the build, and the perfection you strived to attain are clearly evident in every part of the guitar. As a hip and knee replacement surgeon with some experience in design, I especially appreciate the design/stability of the unique neck/body interface. This thing feels like it should be a part of a high-end military aircraft!

Ergonomics: My 10-year-old’s first response when I let him play the guitar was “why does this feel so easy to play?” This also sums up my feelings. The unconventional shapes and materials in this guitar hide the quite substantial considerations to size, weight, balance, and texture. Simply put, the result is an instrument which doesn’t get in the way of playing music. I find myself playing for longer periods of time, with less fatigue. The choices you have made with respect to neck shape, materials, and body shape constitute an unquestionably discernible advance in the ease and comfort of playing.  

Versatility: An unexpected surprise, which took me a very long time to fully appreciate, was the breadth of sounds that could be created with ‘Declaration’ Spearfish. I have found myself playing less with pedals, now focusing more on the guitar’s native controls. Whatever magic you injected into the electronics and wiring, I love it.

Art: The art is what drew me to your guitars. Not sure if you remember, but when I asked you to take this guitar to wherever your imagination leads you, I suggested the words: elegant, industrial, strong, depth, and striking. You nailed it. Declaration is a stunning work of art. It is the clear expression of imagination, emotion, and freedom that art inspires.

So, in case you cannot tell, I love this guitar. It is extremely special to me, and I am very grateful that you have created it for me. Thank you, and keep pushing the limits!

Carl

VIDEO: Chris Buono tests Declaration Spearfish™ before I shipped the guitar to Carl (July 2020). Relaxed six minute improvisational loop as he explores pickup settings and tone control using clean Fender Deluxe amp setting via Strymon Iridium direct into Logic. Listen for dynamics and sustain.

Imbricate | Killick

IMAGE: Imbricate by Killick Hinds.

Most of us approach music through a learned set of cultural filters. We are anticipating melody, harmony, a sequence of chord progressions structured and arranged around twelve notes separated by semitone intervals spaced with rhythmic regularity.

Killick bypasses all that with Imbricate. I love the surprise.

It may be useful to reframe his music in context of visual artists. He is possibly most similar to Jackson Pollock, in intention to avoid conventional structure. Splashes of texture and color created with appreciation for coincidences inside improvisation.

There is the deliberate meticulousness of sculptor Andy Goldsworthy. Use of natural materials, organic acoustic sounds, placed within form-following human intervals of breathing and pulse. Sudden changes of direction, of attention, bird flocks responding to air currents.

Sometimes shiny kitschy repurposed cultural artifacts like Jeff Koons. Atari guts cross-wired to dismembered Buzz Lightyear, bleeping MIDI and following the main action, commenting arcade-speak.

Instrumentation:

Track 1: Demi 8-string multiscale fretless

Track 2: Symbiote 8-string bass harp (seen in Imbricate music video)

Track 3: Walrus 6-string multiscale fretless with MIDI

Track 8: Demi 8-string multiscale fretless with MIDI

Recently this last year, Killick helped co-found Habitable Records, bringing his exceptional editing and production skills to the new label.

Archives | Starfish

PHOTOS: Starfish 6-string guitar, built in 1993.

Imagine if you will, an internet epoch before Facebook. Before Meta, even. MySpace was dying. Blogs and forums dominated the web. Tribes of kindred souls clustered around comments and responded to threads. Preppers shared weed-infused hot pepper pickling recipes and cork-sniffers waxed endlessly poetic about vintage guitar pickup winding methods.

Anarchist’s Cookbook collected dust without irony on your gf’s bookshelf. She was probably the only person you knew on an FBI watchlist.

Humans communicated using words.

So long ago, yesterday.

This website was originally built on TypePad software, sometime around 2005. In internet pre-history, TypePad was host to marketing expert Seth Godin as well as high-volume/rapid-update global blogs including BBC News. All of the hosting details and software updates were managed by TypePad, plus they offered excellent customer service support. I could focus on creating content.

A decade later the internet had become increasingly mobile and TypePad was unable to provide commercial site performance. I transferred key content from www.ricktoone.com to Squarespace™ in 2018 and started over.

This lesson was expensive and dangerous.

Essentially ten years of content and link traffic was erased in the transition. I also quickly realized Squarespace™ is not optimized for blogging. Problem. Because. Self-publishing is my direct connection to you.

EDITOR’S NOTE: An emerging additional concern is the increasing censorship by providers, as many who have built content on proprietary platforms are discovering. WordPress seems most protective of First Amendment rights, therefore www.ricktoone.org is now hosted by WP.

Let’s bring the past into the present.

As an ongoing new feature, I will be revisiting some key builds from the original archived website. Doing so will provide continuity to the timeline. Provenance for these instruments will increase the financial value for their current and future owners.

The first is: Starfish 6-string guitar.

Built in 1993.

As a newly graduated English major, my first full-time professional employment was (naturally) as an apprentice cabinetmaker. If one intends to put ink to paper, perhaps begin by first milling trees?

Cabinetmaker Robert Schultz (Cinnaminson, NJ) kindly allowed me to use his professional tools after hours for the claro walnut neck. Most importantly, I am grateful to Robert for helping instill discipline to machine material consistently no matter what the environmental conditions. Apprenticeship with him taught me how to be precise, even with difficult wood species. Thank you, Robert.

Furniture maker George Nakashima (New Hope, PA) provided aesthetic inspiration. I met his widow a few months after he died. His shop was gathering dust…a quiet door in a magical back alley of the riverside town. I had discovered his work via a table he’d created for the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

VIDEO: Starfish recorded via SM57 against the grille of a Mesa MK IV (2001).

Starfish was my fifth instrument build, a personal build, completed almost fifteen years before entering lutherie as a profession. I knew I wanted a guitar to be comfortable — before ‘ergonomics’ was a term. Every contour was shaped to fit a lean 25-year old rock climber’s body.

In the future if one were to x-ray the guitar’s neck, a surprise discovery might be two pieces of aircraft grade aluminum in an epoxy matrix forming the truss structure. Another first foray into alternative design concepts. There are several other identifying characteristics but those details will remain confidential until Sotheby’s.

Frustration with the Floyd Rose caused me to eventually stop playing this guitar. I switched to hardtails and never looked back. Recently that attitude changed however — the year ahead in 2022 will introduce my new tremolo system.

I should mention Starfish was sold to a buyer in Sweden in 2005-2006.

PHOTOS: Documentation photos sent to the client in Sweden prior to the sale.

The Crazy Donkey | July 19, 2011

Ken, deftly threading rush hour traffic in his silver Prius. Sequence of aggressive moves in the Long Island afternoon sunlight, an environment where turn signals are a sign of weakness. He attended Hofstra. Which is what you need to survive here: local knowledge, local attitude.

Bart is in the passenger seat behind me. White knuckles in his sly humor, as a dozen tail lights flash simultaneously and Ken cuts right, working the shoulder.

I don’t look up.

Sketch™ 7-string guitar is on my lap, and setting intonation via the Peterson strobe tuner requires full attention. We are meeting Tosin in 20 minutes.

Side door, back stage. “Here for Tosin.”

Bouncer in faded black indicates across the club through the open door.

Second time meeting Tosin. Handshake. “Let’s see the guitar.”

He holds it cautiously, a dangerously unfamiliar machine. Everything is so different — except for strings, there is no frame of reference. And no time or place to play it now…sound checks are in progress for the evening performance. We step back outside onto the patio where it is quiet.

I take photos with the Nikon 35 mm DSLR. There are no smart phones yet. Every aspect has been coordinated via email.

He is not yet a rock star but soon will be. At this moment he is shy almost, absorbed in the instrument, intent. I am unsure if he wants to keep it. “It’s pretty radical.”

I stuff earplugs into my skull and we head inside. Tosin vanishes into the dressing rooms. Ken, Bart, and I look at each other. There is no protocol for this. Floating in a venue with time to wait too long. It’s a professional work space where we are not integral to the machinery.

Tosin reappears with Sketch. He is excited now and wants us to meet Evan Brewer, soloist. Evan will mesmerize and destroy the audience with his two-handed simultaneous tapping on dual basses later this evening. But for now, he is Leonard Nimoy in a flannel shirt, with human emotions overflowing any semblance of Vulcan control. Evan vibrates on a different plane, animated and intense, overflowing with ideas and wanting to speak bass to me.

Tosin graciously introduces Evan as his mentor, a kindred spirit who helped him develop two-handed harmonic tap technique. Tosin on eight string guitar. Evan on basses.

Things are getting interesting.

I can see they both are realizing connections I do not yet understand. Their world is music, and mine is tools. I have created a new type of tool…and already they are turning it into music.

Learn about the history of Sketch.

Toy Dreamer | Fabio Mittino

VIDEO: Fabio Mittino “Toy Dreamer” recorded and performed on Stealth™ acoustic electric 6-string guitar. CYFI pickups impart an unusual amplified tone. Excellent visuals throughout.