Art & Lutherie Guitars!

Posted on Jul 22, 2008 03:53 am
Keith Warren
Mans reach exceeds his grasp
Member Since: Oct 23, 2007

Every now and then it pays to be open to things you think unworthy of your attention. A dying, bratty millionaire child, an overly accepting 'come home as late as you want' babysitter, and sometimes even cheap guitars.

Whilst strolling through my local small time music shop, I happened upon quite a few good guitars; Martin D-28's, Taylor 914-CE's, an Adamas here and there, and quite a few Gibson models priced far beyond my reach. After playing a few and thinking to myself, "I wish I had a guitar that sounded like this," a rep approached me and asked, "Have you ever played an Art&Lutherie guitar?" "No." I replied with a bit of trepidation. He led me down an aisle and exclaimed, "wait here!"

A moment later, he returned with a rather lack luster, Wild Cherry Wood version of a Dreadnought. He then went on to say, "it's your best bang for the buck. These guitars sound as good, if not better than those other guitars you were playing." And in this, for a moment, I was a bit taken back; I couldn't decide whether he was trying to keep me away from the expensive models, insult or intimidate me, or if he honestly meant good.

So without a word, I took the guitar in hand and played a G. Out of tune, as though it was fresh from the factory- go figure. So I spent a few minutes tuning it up and began hearing the guitar all over again. About 15 minutes later, he interrupted me with a smile and asked if I agreed with his previous statement. I replied, "this sounds amazing! How much do these go for again?"

Here's the kicker: He says, "Well, it's a couple years old, and it needs a few here and theres. I can let it go for 50. 50 Dollars that is." My jaw hit the floor. "SOLD!" He even threw in a free guitar set up with a well respected local luthier, which includes new frets (the ones on there are pretty done.)

So next week, I bring it in to have the work performed and I can't wait. I've included a little sample of the guitar recorded raw called, "AnR Trial," and it sounds good to me, even with nasty black strings and crummy frets.

Moral: Try out the little things before jumping on the big ones. Sometimes it turns out worth it!

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