Today's blog is dedicated to a man that I am proud to call friend, Gordy Bischoff, and it is also dedicated to all the brothers and sisters of the family of "guitar crazies" that live and breathe the instrument.
some time ago I purchased the 12 string guitar you see pictured here ( a Harmony 1270) through Bernunzio Music in upstate New York. They had marked it down to half price as it was in pretty rough shape, in need of a neck re-set to be playable, and if I wanted it to look at all presentable, the old finish should have been stripped entirely, sanded and re-laquered.
Bernunzio, in fact, tried to talk me out of purchasing the guitar because of its condition, but what they don't know is, I know Gordy Bischoff, wood nymph- guitar-repair-god!
As soon as it arrived, I knew I had something special in my hands. I have had two Martin 12 strings pass through my door in my life time, but niether of them could match the resonance of the top and box of this guitar. It literally vibrates in my hands when chorded, and has without a doubt, the most volume in an acoustic guitar that I have ever experienced.
It was, however, badly in need of the work mentioned above, so I took it to Gordy to have the necessary work done. He flat out refused to have anything to do with refinishing the guitar (can't say as I blame him as he is a full time luthier and deals enough with sanding and laquering his own creations), but he went to work on setting the neck so that the strings would once again be close to the finger board and easily played up the neck.
Over dinner one night, Gordy explained the entire process of removing a guitar's neck, the dangers of splintering it into pieces if one is not careful, and how painstaking the process is in getting the angle of the neck just right when it is re-glued in place.
On the advice of Todd Cambio, another excellent Wisconsin luthier who works out of Madison, Wisconsin, I had Gordy replace the original tail piece with the one pictured, which is a tailpiece for a National Steel 12 String Guitar. it gives the guitar the old timey feel of Leadbelly's Stella 12 string guitars of the '30's.
Ever since I got it back from Gordy, I pick it up and play it daily and marvel not only at its natural attributes, but at the great quality of workmanship that is a hallmark of Gordy Bischoff.
If you are a guitar player and have been thinking of having a handbuilt guitar made especially for you, I urge you to first go to Gordy's web site: www.bischoffguitars.com and check him out there.
you will find that he is soon going to be displaying his guitars at the Montreal Guitar Show, along with only 74 other luthiers from around the world.
You will also find that he builds incredibly beautiful instruments! Your next step would be to contact him personally and sit down to discuss what type of guitar you have in mind.
If, like me, you need repair work done, Gordy is the absolute best! But you had best be prepared to be without your instrument for a time, as Gordy is very much in demand.
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