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Totally Finished


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It was a cold night, clear skies and a biting wind. With the tips of our fingers numb from the chill winter we kindled a flame. My good friend Brian and I got together took care of some loose ends. These two instruments represent failed experiments in the pursuit of perfection. Both were finely crafted instruments but both were flawed in some way. Often our thoughts travelled along avenues of repair or rework only to end in indecision. We finally decided to release ourselves from the past in order to flow forward with our creativity. The materials were harvested from the earth and so we sent them back. No longer will our thoughts be burdened with these ill-fated constructions. This is a lesson in letting go.

In an effort to document this process I have produced a web page with some excellent photography of a subject matter that you don't often get to see: Custom Burn.

Enjoy!~

~David

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I could almost cry over that. The work on those guitars looks SO much better than anything i have done. Its kind of insulting, yet it was your decision to do so, and i respect you for 'cleansing' yourself of your mistakes. Yet, if you get rid of your mistakes, then what can you strive to fix, if you have nothing to base that upon?

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After several WOD discussions, I've ultimately come around to seeing this as a good thing. ;-) There are good reasons to not just ship a "failed" guitar out to someone, and since they weren't being shipped out to anyone, they were just sitting around as bad reminders. They're just as good as firewood as they are as dust-collectors, and the catharsis was probably worth it. <laff>

I certainly don't feel insulted. I understand that my poor abilities are not really in the same category as someone like David or Drak, and I'm not as relentless in my pursuit of perfection. I fully accept that what I might "live with," a professional and an artisan simply cannot (or at least, they can't and still hope to maintain credibility).

The short: cool pics, thanks for sharing. :D

Greg

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I could almost cry over that.

If you heard the tone from this thing you would have simply died.

in some countries, people are hanged for such a crime

Where are these countries exactly? I'll put them on my list of tonally corrupt places never to visit.

Baaah, been there, done that lots o' times. :D.

Welcome to 'The Club'.

Thanks Drak, I knew you would get it straight away. WOD inspired for sure! What else can you really do with them?

After several WOD discussions, I've ultimately come around to seeing this as a good thing. ;-)

The short: cool pics, thanks for sharing. :D

It is a good thing. Glad you like the pics!

~David

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Agreed. I wish I was callous enough (in a good way!) to do it. There are a few projects around which would really be best served by a Viking funeral, but I anthropomorphise the wood too much, and feel bad making it pay the price for my poor judgement calls. So they sit around taunting me, scure in the knowledge that I'll never get round to burning them, but I'll also never invest the time to make 'em work. I'm sure a shrink would have a field day with that...

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:D I would have at least salvaged the pickup and tuners.

+1

The pics do look cool( really, really cool) but i dont think i will burn anything for a while, i also stuggle with the waste issue.

Having said that, my cousin is currently eating through a couple of my old surplus bodies in an attempt to learn how to carve tops with an angle grinder, its still destructive in the end but at least he is getting some use out of them first.

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I can understand how hard it must be to destroy something which you have created.

You know there is always some good that comes of these things...

Personally - I liked the way the "flame top" charred pattern looked... I might use that as a design cover one day !

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AHHHHHH HAHAHAHA Nothing like a mass Buring :D Very very cool Pics man!!!

!!METAL MATT!! :D

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Argh!

those look really awesome in some of the later pics though

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Why, so the guitar would be able to play correctly, of course!

I'm surprised David didn't include the case also, these things are important to observe you know, if the instrument is going to have half-a-chance of survival and Omnipotence in The Afterlife.

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Things to ponder.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perfection

This thread reminded me of Brett Weston (Edward Westons son, both famous photographers). On his birthday, he burned all of his negatives, his whole life's work. How cathartic.

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.... but I anthropomorphise the wood too much,

Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human characteristics and qualities to non-human beings, objects, natural, or supernatural phenomena. A form of personification (applying human or animal ... courtesy of google........

I can understand that, I loved the "this is what a flamed top should look like " comment

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