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What Would Segovia Do? (dings in guitars)


Stackabones

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Found this in another forum ...

 

 

Whenever Segovia had a new guitar he would immediately take it home, carefully lift it from its case, and toss it down the basement stairs.


"Is not so new anymore," he would tell his lovely wife as he sent her down to retrieve it.


"Now, I no worry. Now I play," he would tell her as he sat down and ripped through a few hundred Sor studies before lunch.


Vladimir Bobri, "What Would Segovia Do?" New York: Guitar Review Press, 1964

 

 

wabi-sabi ??

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wouldn't it make more sense just to buy used?

 

 

 

Nope, it would then be stamped "Used" on back...

 

by throwing it down the stairs, it will always be.... an original Segovia and nonone would mind the scratches or bumbs, would they;)

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I dinged my D-15 the first week I had her. When I was 21, I had just bought my first post 'homeless period' electric guitar, an Ibanez ST50. I had friends visiting, and went to my bedroom to get my new baby to show off. I lifted the case off the floor, and, unfortunately, the hinges were unhinged. The Ibanez fell out of the case to the hardwood floor, and the black lacquer finish was seriously dinged to expose the wood underneath. Man, was I ever pissed....

 

I also dinged my S12 the first week I had her, as well. I've since moved the glass table away from our couch in our livingroom....

 

Cheers,

 

Glenn

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Actually his prized Hauser was the only guitar he used for quite a long time. He dinged it into a mike stand during a recording session and sent it to Hauser to repair and apparently Hauser ruined it's high end by sanding the soundboard too much. Segovia never forgave him for that and never endorsed him as a luthier after that.

 

Segovia had an old trick. He used to take nylon B strings and stretch them on a rack, keeping them taught this way for years. He would take one and use it

as an E string from time to time as needed. He claimed it was the secret for getting his crystal bell-like high end on the guitar.

Most classical builders will say that getting that crystaline bell like treble is one of the chief goals. They envy steel string builders. Meanwhile the steel string builders are chasing after the bass you get so easily from a classical....

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I don't think I'd throw any of my guitars down the stairs, even the stairs in this house, with 7 steps to the landing, a turn, a step down to another landing, a turn and another 7 steps down to the main floor. I might toss an Esteban down there though.....or a Zager EZ Play, just to see if they bounce as well as they play.

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Guitars and brand new cars, aren't they the same?

You go bezerk over any ding until the first one.

 

Unfortunately, I have inflicted more pain onto my old guitars than Segovia's

1st Law. Including the ultimate..punishment...head stock removals.

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Actually his prized Hauser was the only guitar he used for quite a long time. He dinged it into a mike stand during a recording session and sent it to Hauser to repair and apparently Hauser ruined it's high end by sanding the soundboard too much. Segovia never forgave him for that and never endorsed him as a luthier after that.


 

 

That is very interesting. I have a set of the plans for the Hauser and it has the thickness of the top plate marked in many locations on the drawing. Someone had spent a lot of time with a pair of calipers. I assume those dimensions were taken post-sanding....

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