A trip to Lester DeVoe's workshop!

[Kevin Sjostrand]

Last week I celebrated with my wife 38 years of wedded bliss. We spent 4 nights at the California central coast. The first day over my wife started acting funny, telling me she wanted to head south to have lunch in a certain town. Then at lunch she tells me we have an appointment at 3pm in Nipomo. I pressed, and she gave it up. She was taking me to visit the shop of Lester Devoe, a maker of Flamingo and Classical guitars. We arrived at 3pm and were on our way at 4pm, but had a fun visit with Lester. He has been making guitars for 37 years, 20 years full time. He has never built a steel string guitar. I found that interesting. He makes about 24 guitars a year, all custom to order....for some of the biggest professional Flamingo players. I guess he is famous! His shop was all cleaned up because he had just completed a batch of guitars that were going to be taken to the finisher, so there was nothing in process to see, however I did get to see one of the finished guitars, and man was it awesome. Impeccable workmanship. It happened to be a cutaway classical.....the first cutaway he had made out of hundreds of guitars built. That was interesting too, but then he is pretty traditional in his building.
He had a wonderful stash of BRW and Spanish Cypress b & S's, stacks of ebony fretboard and bridge blanks....and stacks of BRW bridge blanks too. Then there were stacks and stacks of spanish cedar neck blanks........enough wood to make you just start drooling.
Anyway, we chatted, he answered some questions. He was gracious to give us an hour of his time...not something I think he often does, that is to have someone want to see his shop, which by the way is in a very nice house behind the one he lives in. Bandsaws in the living room........"see honey, can I move my shop into our living room?"
It was a surprise and fun, and my wife thought it all up on her own as an anniversay gift.
Just thought I'd share.

Kevin

[tippie53]

neat trip I to have been married 38 yrs. I think the secret to a long marriage is not to get divorced. Humor also helps but that was a cool gift.

Kevin, congrats on the milestone and the Lester DeVoe visit.

John, congrats on having a wife with a good sense of humor. ;- )

-tommy

[Ken Hundley]

Congrats, and what a trip. One of the boat forums members has a tag line that reads:

The secret to a long marriage is to have a quick mind and a slow tongue (or something like that).

[johnnparchem]

Sounds like a great trip and congratulations on 38 years. My wife and I got together in Jan 1975 so I am just behind you.

Does Lester build Spanish style free on a solera or does he use a mold? I have been seriously thinking of making a classical with a bolt on neck and maybe a 20" radiused fret board. I am just having trouble mentally bucking tradition.

[Kevin Sjostrand]

John,
I saw a solera clamped to a bench, but there were 5 molds setting on the floor. He said he makes 4 guitars at a time in a batch. He is like two years back logged, and he builds about 24 guitars a year. Unfortunately I was not with him long enough, and he did not have any guitars in process. I would say he is very traditional in his building. It sounded like it pained him to make his first cutaway.

Kevin

[johnnparchem]

John,
... It sounded like it pained him to make his first cutaway.

Kevin

on a classical? understandable. I brought a classical Takamine with a cutaway and my guitar instructor referred to it as that rock and roll guitar.

[Ben-Had]

I think the secret to a long marriage is not to get divorced.

Sometimes something just strikes your funny bone. I damn near fell outa my chair laughing at that one. Myself I've been married 34 years -13 to the first one and 21 to the second!