Moriah Guitarworks

I was thinking it would be fun to write about a time long ago, 30 years in fact, about my experience at the Guitar Research and Design center. This would be a fitting prologue to the notes we have transcribed and made available to you. I have been in touch with Charles Fox recently and he has given a hearty approval to sharing these with you.

It was in the autumn of 1978, that I was pondering the best way to proceed with learning how to be more rounded in my instrument building education. The year before, I had taken an independent study at my college in instrument building, and had built a couple mandolins. They turned out pretty well, but I knew that I needed some good instruction to cement together all of my own study experience. After discussing this with my counselors and college administration, I was given permission to enroll in a luthier school.

HOME OF GUITAR RESEARCH AND DESIGN CENTER IN VERMONT

At that time, in 1978 there was only two schools on the go. Roberto-Venn was located in Arizona and had a 6 month program, and Guitar Research and Design Center was in Vermont, and had a 6 week curriculum. Both of these schools looked great, but after closer inspection of their literature, and weighing the overall term footprint, I decided to go to GRD. My future friend, Bob Rigaud went to Roberto-Venn, and we have been comparing notes for many, many years.

I applied to GRD, and was accepted into the January term, beginning the first week of the new year, 1979. My good friend David Bolton was going up on a ski trip to New Hampshire over the Christmas break, and he graciously invited me to join him on that trip. David and his friends were planning to drive around the New England- Canada area so I had to get to a bus station to get over to Vermont.

Charles drove down to pick me up, and I can remember shaking his hand with a convenience store submarine sandwich in my other hand, guarding over my back pack and empty guitar case. The scene was awesome, the Vermont snow had settled like a blanket over quaint country roads leading to the GRD campus. As we drove up the steep driveway to the place, I knew I was in for an adventure!

Charles had built an incredible log home on this lot, and as a guitar builder would do any thing it was way more than your average log house! Behind the house were the shop, and dormitory buildings. I don’t know if you have ever heard of a Yurt, but that was how the dorms were designed. Imagine a circular building with upwardly sloping walls, and a low pitch conical roof. There were three such circular units joined somehow along with a bathroom addition that comprised our living quarters. I’m not sure, but this perhaps could have been the Fox family residence before he built the log cabin. The main larger yurt was where we cooked and hung out in the evenings, and the two smaller ones had single beds arranged for compact but comfortable accommodation.

                                              CHARLES FOX’S WORKBENCH

 The first evening when everyone had arrived and settled in, Charles had us over for dinner and orientation. All of the students sat around in his living room surrounded by guitars which had been built in former classes. I looked over to the side and saw an amp I had never heard of. I asked a fellow student what a Mesa- Boogie was, and he said it was off the chart. Charles was plugged into the cutting edge, and we could feel it. Everything around us was almost electric with inspiration. We all turned in that night with wide eyes, thinking about what could be.

The next day we got a tour of the shop complex. Just to the rear of the yurt was the entrance to the lower shop level. Going in we passed the spray booth, then into the classroom facility. Charles had crammed a design of workbenches around the room, giving each student a quite spacious area to perform the curriculum. Each space had a window wall bench that cornered outward into a peninsula bench complete with the incredible “versa-vise”. We all had so much natural light that was amplified by a blanket of snow outside. Everyone had a compliment of freshly ground marples chisels and basic hand tools to accompany a few tools that we brought ourselves. George Morris, our teacher had his bench in the far corner backing the spray booth, and could oversee his class very effectively. There was indeed zero wasted space. Up the stairs lay the Fox guitar shop. Charles had even crammed more stuff in this space. This place was a jig extravaganza. Even in the dead space above the stair well housed a rotating selection of clamping and assembly devises which took hours of study to decipher. In this small area also lay shaper, jointer, radial, table saw, gosh, it was crammed, I don’t know how he could clean up the saw dust! (but it was spotless). Up another few stairs lay Charles’s set up room and office. We rarely heard from Charles during the regular class time, he must have been up there buzzing away. Whenever Charles came into the classroom, it was always to support and augment George’s curriculum. I could see such a deep respect that George and Charles had for one another, and were honored to have such a team to educate us.

                                      MANY OF THE POWER TOOLS USED.

     SOME OF THE STUDENTS AND A FEW OF THE MANY INNOVATIONS

 All of the students had to work out our grocery menu and housekeeping regimen. We learned how to use a wok at that time. A guy from Australia was there, his name is Teen Goh, and his bench was next to mine. Teen was incredible with the wok, and showed all of us how to cook a mean stir fry. I never have eaten so much garlic in my life, and that was a good thing! Teen also was the best guy to study with, we sharpened each other, and his attitude toward approach was as significant as George, influentially to me. He had already built a guitar before and was way down the road in his skill. Another guy, Steve Dennison was across from me, and we clicked really well. Steve was building a 00 size while everyone else was going dreadnaught. Steve was ahead of his time, as dreadnaughts are dreaded very much these days. All of the students were very proficient, and we enjoyed a very good group dynamic with great attitude in general.

Six weeks working 6 days out of seven can put strain on even the most mature of groups. We had our share of frustration. There was a retired airline pilot living amongst a group of young hippie craftsmen, and the clean meter sometimes brought tension in the living quarters. Tempers did flare, but usually they smoothed over as we beheld our projects to near completion. We all knew it was only a short season and we all drew up our offences and managed to finish with flying colors.

George Morris is in my opinion, is the consummate tutor. His demeanor rarely showed anything but encouragement toward us, his class. He would have a sharp word to answer stupidity, and then would give great advise in how to repair any misstep. All of us needed his attentive eye, and welcomed his inspection. His lectures were point to point logical, and I relished taking notes. The notes attached to this blog are evidence chiefly of his line upon line instruction. As we neared completion of our guitars, George graciously invited us to his home to hang out. He really opened up to us as a  friend, which I thought was way above what was asked of him. George was to later establish a luthier school on his own, and continued to influence many future builders. George is now working behind the scene, and has been part of the “Blueberry” guitar company. George has traveled to Bali and found indigenous craftsmen to produce a guitar that blends the east and west. I haven’t  seen one in person, but I can imagine that if George had anything to  do with it, it must be quite a piece to behold.

IN MY MUCH YOUNGER DAYS AT GUITAR RESEARCH AND DESIGN

Charles on the other hand has also kept climbing the guitar evolution mountain. He has relocated to California, and closer to the luthier mecca of Healdsburg. He is continuing to offer building tutelage to fledgling builders young and old. In pictures on his web site, he appears a little grey on top, but every bit as sharp as always. He has taken the guitar to new levels of art in his “Ergo” series. They are truly objects of sculpture as much as cutting edge acoustic and musical engineering.

To tidy up this blog, I have been wanting to express my gratitude to GRD, Charles and George for this nudge that has changed my career aspirations. Because I know what to look for, I can see many builders whose product bears the GRD design dna. There is something about the whole package that points back to that shop in Vermont. I have of course modified and embellished many of the techniques that were taught in 1979. I would say most of all, I learned more how to approach the project, than actually how to build a guitar. This is indeed priceless

So, here’s to Charles and George and GRD. Here is a fact beyond debate; the state of what we know of guitar building and design has been forever improved by the influence of this school. My hat is off to you guys. Keep on going!

Ps There are many other staff and teachers over the years whose names belong here too. Pardon my not knowing you, but this is also for your acclaim.

                              A TRUE CRAFTSMAN IS AN ARTIST WITH A SHARP CHISEL.

                      EXPLORING THE SKILLS REQUIRED FOR GUITAR BUILDING.

        MORE MACHINERY              FINISHING…“THE FINAL FRONTIER”

 THE ELECTRONICS BENCH               WELCOME TO VERMONT

Click HERE to read the transcribed notes from my studies at GRD.