Met somebody from the forum yesterday

[Dyson Guitars]

Very cool experience! The idea of a bunch of guitars to try out a bit with other guitar folks sounds like great fun.

I’ve always wanted to do this with players and builders in my area. I’ve never actually tried to put it together though. Maybe I will as things open up again hopefully. Little jam/guitar talk/wood trade?/try out session at my shop could be fun.

[Misifus]

Back in the days of Usenet newsgroups, there was quite an active one called “rec.music.makers.guitar.acoustic”. This would have been in the late 1990s. Right around the turn of the millenium, they began having “Gatherings” of participants, first in England and the East Coast of the US, then in Texas and in the Pacific Northwest. I, too, was wary when I participate in the first of the Texas gatherings in a little Hill Country town called Wimberley, TX, but I went and it was a ball. It was so much better the see and hear the things we’d merely talked about. Later, I went to the East Coast gathering at Westmoreland State Park in Virginia. Again, a marvelous time and many good friendships formed also.

I know many participants travelled far and wide to attend some of these, and it really cemented some good fellowship along the way.

[Skarsaune]

Originally Posted by Dyson Guitars

I’ve always wanted to do this with players and builders in my area. I’ve never actually tried to put it together though. Maybe I will as things open up again hopefully. Little jam/guitar talk/wood trade?/try out session at my shop could be fun.

I'm in. My wife likes to visit the nephews, I'd like to come talk guitars/wood/building. win win win.

[emtsteve]

Originally Posted by Tempotantrum

I would attend a Midwest AGF gathering. I am in Iowa- what defines “Midwest”?

We had the discussion the other day at dinner - what exactly is "flyover" country?

As far as gathering, find a center point - maybe Indy or St Louis, or wherever the host location is determined to be and draw a circle of a 1 day drive (8 hours or so). Of course, folks are welcome to drive farther or fly if they'd like.

[Nymuso]

I didn’t know you guys really exist. I thought one guy was writing this whole forum to get me to buy stuff.

[ljguitar]

Hey jkl-etc…
Zenpicker (Edward & his wife Paula) started a gathering where we met at his house near Boulder, Co once or twice a year, and it would draw 30-40 players (more than half from the forum).

We'd eat food, and share music (open mic style), and jam. Amazing players, and some nice casual friendships out of it.

In fact we made friends with a mandolin player from Ft Collins (I'm from Cheyenne, WY 60 miles north of Boulder) and he played with us for a couple three gigs in Longmont at a coffee house.

I've also met and spent time with a player in Minneapolis, one in Georgia, tons in Ohio (been to Tim & Mary McKnight's gathering too).

And of course met a bunch at Healdsburg (05, 07, 09, 11, & 13).

Never had a bad experience.

[HFox]

My wife and I have held many open mic .,Rounds etc. at our home...We always enjoy them. we have hosted 12 Thanksgiving dinner jams for our musician friends who were not working that day and that event will continue again next Thanksgiving.
As many members of the AGF "winter" here in S.W. Fl. I would love to extend an invitation to try and get together here in The Ft. Myers / Bonita/ Naples area this season.
If interested let's try to find a date in March before all the "Snowbird" members go back North for the summer.
If interested PM me here on the AGF or E-mail me .
We will not require masks...but if wearing one is your thing, then Se La Vie.
I will be curious to see the response.
Fair Winds,
Hank

[619TF]

Originally Posted by emtsteve

We had the discussion the other day at dinner - what exactly is "flyover" country?

https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/...lyover-country

[Inyo]

Originally Posted by emtsteve

Very cool. I'd be down for a midwest AGF meet.

Originally Posted by Tempotantrum

I would attend a Midwest AGF gathering. I am in Iowa- what defines “Midwest”?

Originally Posted by rllink

Where at in Iowa?

Good question. The Field Of Dreams in Dubuque County, Iowa, is by definition not part of the midwest. It's a state of mind.

Signed, Shoeless Joe Jackson

[emtsteve]

Originally Posted by 619TF

https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/...lyover-country

Thanks, we looked it up too and found a similarly vague definition.

[Mandobart]

I usually see a few friends from this and other fora at Wintergrass in Bellevue WA.

I'll be there near the end of this month. There's only so many instruments I can bring though, and since I'm taking a couple half day workshops (Bruce Molsky on old time fiddle and Jake Blount on clawhammer banjo) I may not bring a guitar this year.

[Deft Tungsman]

Originally Posted by Nymuso

I didn’t know you guys really exist. I thought one guy was writing this whole forum to get me to buy stuff.

Hysterical!!!!

[stingraider]

Originally Posted by jklotz

A guy who lives locally reached out via pm to me a couple of weeks ago. Suggested we get together to talk guitars. I was a little weary at first, but we talked on the phone and he was clearly a certified guitar nerd, like myself, so we set a date and he came over. He brought a Pre-War OOO18 (pre-war as in the company, not vintage) and a beautiful Kevin Kopp 12 fret dread. I let him play some of my guitars and we talked for a while. It was fun.

I learned a few things. If I ever want a Gibson style guitar and have the budget, Keven Kopp would be my 1st call. The sunburst finish on that thing was absolutely gorgeous and it rang like a bell. The pre-war, which I've always wanted to try, was really good too. It felt really broken in and was very comfortable to play. And it was nice to be able to nerd out over guitars and coffee with a real human being. Maybe we should do a regional AGF get together?

Hi all - I'm 'the guy' who lives locally here in Atlanta. I was really glad jklotz agreed to meet. Besides meeting a nice guy and great player, he has a stash of some great guitars I was able to look at, play, and drool over.

Here's my take-away on a few of the guitars I played. Still amazed every time I pick up an Eastman - I think it was a spruce/rosewood OM, just a great guitar. Got the chance to see and play for the 1st time an Emerald guitar. Don't know the model but it was a cool guitar. Also played a fairly new Martin 000-28 Authentic 1937 (hoping I have the model name correct). This model renewed my interest in Martin guitars. In a blind test I would have thought it to be a spruce/mahogany rather than a spruce/rosewood guitar. For me the neck was great compared to the MLO, and if you like the Martin traditional aesthetic this guitar has it. Last but certainly not least was the Edwinson. It had a cedar top and rosewood b/s. I won't do this guitar justice in a description but what a great playing guitar! If you think a cedar top can't handle a flat pick, think again. The detail and craftsmanship put into the build was incredible.

I'm happy to read of all the get togethers that have happened all over from the AGF. I hope some Atlanta area guitar nerds will reach out to me or jklotz......maybe we can get something going.

Lastly, I've lived in the southeastern US for most of my life but did live in Ames, Iowa for a year. When i read 'fly over country' the first thing that came to mind was the 'central flyway' which I witnessed when I lived there. If you don't know what the cental flyway is, google it...very cool!

Alan

[Deft Tungsman]

I had a blast when I flew out to California in 2018 to pick up a guitar from justonwo. I can’t wait to hang out with him again.

Not long after that, I started meeting members of a French-language forum in person. Had a great time at every get together. Then the pandemic hit and took the wind out of our sails somewhat. One of them, brownsteins, is also an AGF lurker. He’s a busy guy, but we manage to keep the momentum going, regardless.

I first met fellow AGFer Vaillant75 in the summer of 2019. We get together regularly, and we always come away feeling more motivated than ever. Not only do we get to play a bunch of guitars, we sometimes swap them for a week or three. No better way to get to know an instrument that we’d never see, let alone play, in any shop in Paris.

[catndahats]

very hospitable of you, HFox.

Over here in TX, my wife and I attended 2 small guitar get togethers hosted by someone we did not know at their home over the last month. Kind of a meet and greet with some guitar picking thrown in.

Met some new folks...it is so good to get out and be with people again.

Originally Posted by HFox

My wife and I have held many open mic .,Rounds etc. at our home...We always enjoy them. we have hosted 12 Thanksgiving dinner jams for our musician friends who were not working that day and that event will continue again next Thanksgiving.
As many members of the AGF "winter" here in S.W. Fl. I would love to extend an invitation to try and get together here in The Ft. Myers / Bonita/ Naples area this season.
If interested let's try to find a date in March before all the "Snowbird" members go back North for the summer.
If interested PM me here on the AGF or E-mail me .
We will not require masks...but if wearing one is your thing, then Se La Vie.
I will be curious to see the response.
Fair Winds,
Hank