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chris larkin club

#82
Chris Larkin said:
Hi Pete. Thanks. Looked at your site and liked what I saw too.

Was talking to a guy yesterday who has a friend who works with pcbs and we are exploring the possibility of getting the stage module of the Citronic re-worked as a stand-alone pre-amp. Basically the circuitry 'potted' in epoxy with wires coming out to be hard wired to pots. It would be different to the original in that there would not be a motherboard with all the pots already attached so the opportunity to change modules would not be there but it would still have the sound of the original and, free from the motherboard, could be fitted into spaces where the pot spacing was different.

You guys have focussed my mind on this, and the coincidence of that focus and meeting the guy yesterday, have kicked the idea forward. Thanks and I'll keep you informed if anything comes of it.
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Cool. It'd be nice to see the Citronic reborn!
 
#90
super cool to see chris on talkbass. i had the extreme pleasure of getting to play a few of your instruments several years back (and meet you in frankfurt at a musik messe) when i was working with a failed high end bass shop out of nyc. really unfortunate how that all ended up...had such potential.

chris is a top notch guy and his instruments are just phenomenal. glad to see you are still actively building!!!
 
#92
wish i was. i've since gotten out of the industry and now do the techie thing. it was a blast to have my passion as my job, but now i kind of like keeping my passion as just that...my passion. it was really great meeting you and the other luthiers. you guys were really cool to me...esp considering i was just a punk kid trying to find my way. i learned so much from all of you and have bumped into arian a few times since then and some of the others. if you are ever in NY, let me know and we can grab a pint or 7.
 
#93
Just back from Frankfurt on Saturday. I just go for the three trade days as the crowds on the public day are too much to cope with and, although I reckon this year there were only about 70% of the usual exhibitors, you do need two whole days to see everything. Apart from there being enough space between some stands to land a 737 it seemed there were fewer trade visitors too - it was very relaxed. Up until 1999 I had a booth at the Fair for 13 years and know the stress that is involved and also how to read the body language of the exhibitors and it looked as if almost everybody was having a lean time. The Fenders, Gibsons, Marshalls, Warwicks and Peaveys had their usual huge village sized stands but many of the medium companies took less space than before and some of the smaller outfits were, sadly, missing altogether.

For me now I go to meet friends and suppliers, see what is new and, naturally, to socialise which involves beer and sausages. As you can imagine from what I have said above the main talk was of how bad the industry has been hit by the global downturn. Some people were hopeful that the worse had passed but not many.

What was really noticeable was the even quality of the instruments on display. There are very few 'dogs' on view now and the quality of the Chinese instruments has improved so much that most of it is indistinguishable from the 'quality' products. I didn't actually try anything so I can't say how they play but the wood choices and finishes from China are very good and very cheap. Almost all the major manufacturers are sourcing part of their output from China and about 20% of the booths in Halls 4.0 and 4.1 (the main guitar and bass sections) were Chinese factories with almost identical products on view looking to get customers to order container loads of instruments.

As usual my favourite exhibitors were the small makers and as usual, in my opinion, they have the best quality and most original offerings. These guys make guitars and basses with a passion that you cannot get from a corporate entity so the customer really benefits. I would say that wouldn't I? But it is an honestly held opinion.

I didn't feel there was anything really new or outstanding to tell you about - it was mostly the same old, same old. Probably the way I saw the Fair will not be the way the magazines will review it (I don't have any advertisers to please!) and I missed the next Big Thing. I had a great time meeting with friends, exchanging ideas (I learned some new stuff about lacquer that alone made the trip worthwhile) and talking about the problems we all face these times. There is a great fellowship amongst makers which is another reason that it is the best job in the world!
 
#94
Chris Larkin said:
Just back from Frankfurt on Saturday. I just go for the three trade days as the crowds on the public day are too much to cope with and, although I reckon this year there were only about 70% of the usual exhibitors, you do need two whole days to see everything. Apart from there being enough space between some stands to land a 737 it seemed there were fewer trade visitors too - it was very relaxed. Up until 1999 I had a booth at the Fair for 13 years and know the stress that is involved and also how to read the body language of the exhibitors and it looked as if almost everybody was having a lean time. The Fenders, Gibsons, Marshalls, Warwicks and Peaveys had their usual huge village sized stands but many of the medium companies took less space than before and some of the smaller outfits were, sadly, missing altogether.

For me now I go to meet friends and suppliers, see what is new and, naturally, to socialise which involves beer and sausages. As you can imagine from what I have said above the main talk was of how bad the industry has been hit by the global downturn. Some people were hopeful that the worse had passed but not many.

What was really noticeable was the even quality of the instruments on display. There are very few 'dogs' on view now and the quality of the Chinese instruments has improved so much that most of it is indistinguishable from the 'quality' products. I didn't actually try anything so I can't say how they play but the wood choices and finishes from China are very good and very cheap. Almost all the major manufacturers are sourcing part of their output from China and about 20% of the booths in Halls 4.0 and 4.1 (the main guitar and bass sections) were Chinese factories with almost identical products on view looking to get customers to order container loads of instruments.

As usual my favourite exhibitors were the small makers and as usual, in my opinion, they have the best quality and most original offerings. These guys make guitars and basses with a passion that you cannot get from a corporate entity so the customer really benefits. I would say that wouldn't I? But it is an honestly held opinion.

I didn't feel there was anything really new or outstanding to tell you about - it was mostly the same old, same old. Probably the way I saw the Fair will not be the way the magazines will review it (I don't have any advertisers to please!) and I missed the next Big Thing. I had a great time meeting with friends, exchanging ideas (I learned some new stuff about lacquer that alone made the trip worthwhile) and talking about the problems we all face these times. There is a great fellowship amongst makers which is another reason that it is the best job in the world!
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Good to hear a slightly different take on a trade show instead of 'Everything is brilliant' like you'd get in one particular publication. Would you view all of these chinese companies as a threat to industry at large or would you be more of the view that if they're (by and large) not bringing anything original to the table then leave them off?

I read lately that Overwater and Tanglewood are working on a mass produced Overwater line with a little help from John East and a couple of others. Would you ever consider this in the future if the opportunity arose?

I got the new newsletter. Interesting read. Lovely baby blue Syra, what kind of electronics is it going to have? Looking forward to seeing the finished result...
 
#95
Hi John. The mags will always tell you that everything is better than perfect because they need the advertising. It's the same with product reviews - they would pull a bad review rather than upset the advertiser. I could tell you stories....

I talked a long time with Chris May (we go back to the early eighties) and he showed me the Chris May designed range. He didn't mention John East so I don't know if he is involved. I didn't ask about the pricing either because it doesn't interest me. Chris also had some of his regular basses on the Tanglewood stand so they may be doing some distribution for him. The idea of being involved in some sort of partnership with a manufacturer might be interesting but I think my profile is too low for anyone to want to talk to me about it as it would not offer them any kudos!

The way I see it the current decline in overall sales probably means that the Chinese makers have excess capacity so it is possible that prices will come down further or that they will re-direct their manufacturing to furniture or some other woodworking option. I don't think there was an indigenous guitar industry in China before the major manufacturers from outside the country started sourcing product there so I don't imagine that there is a passionate interest in making guitars. The quality I saw is good at worst and excellent at best but if they cannot sell it won't matter. Many of the factory stands did not seem to be attracting much interest. I get regular offers from China for factories to make a budget range of my guitars for me at really low prices, in some cases complete guitars for less than the cost of a pair of good pickups. The downsides of going this way for me would be that it might cause a lack of credibility in my 'own' instruments, that I would have to order a half container load to get the deal and then I would have to become a distributor for them in order to get them into shops and this would take me away from doing what I like to do - making the things myself rather than being a full time businessman.

The Baby Blue Syra is finished except for the pickups. I'm still waiting on them from Armstrongs. The electronics is the EBS two band that they do OEM for makers and it is a great basic preamp. I've also added a passive tone that will operate in active mode too. Should be up and running soon and then I'll give it a write-up in the next Newsletter. I talked with Mats of EBS at Frankfurt last year about him making a three band and the first thing he said to me this year was that he had not had the time to do it but it was still a project he would like to go with so maybe before 2011.
 
#98
Chris Larkin said:
That'll be Indian Rosewood DS. You could always cross the bay to try it! Send me your email and I'll let you know when it is finished.
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Oooh! That'll look awesome! I'd love to call out to see it, but I'm afraid I don't drive, I could probably find some way out there anyway though! :)

I'll send you a private message with my e-mail.
 

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