The Adventures of John Thomas, Jay Lichty and Fretboard Journal
The first time we met John Thomas we were impressed – seriously impressed! We were attending the Healdsburg Guitar Festival several years back and John gave a talk on the history and current status of CITES regulations and the Lacey Act. CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) is an international agreement between governments. Its aim is to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival. Where this impacts luthiers is in the procurement and use of exotic woods such as Brazilian Rosewood. It is a VERY complex topic that leaves many in total confusion (including, it seems, the folk who actually write the mandates) and John did a bang-up job helping the crowd to gain a better understanding.
We were pretty new to the world of luthiery at that time. Meeting John and getting a grasp on the CITES landscape was super helpful.
Fast forward a year or two and John actually test-drove, with much satisfaction, the first Lichty Bard Guitar.
That takes us to today and it just keeps getting better. In less than a week, John will be here at Lichty Guitars to work alongside Jay in the shop. He is taking the one-on-one ten day guitar building workshop and will be sharing highlights of his adventure via the Fretboard Journal Blog. John has contributed wonderful content to Fretboard Journal as a Field Editor. A story featuring a guitar-lover building their very first guitar is sure to please FJ readers. The fact that Fretboard Journal is our favorite publication makes this just as much an adventure for us as it is for John.
We’ll be sharing more about John Thomas (who happens to wear more hats than we thought humanly possible) and about Fretboard Journal as this project progresses.
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Click here to go to our next post in this adventure:
Guitar Building Workshop – Day 1 – John Thomas
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John’s first post opens with this …
“Well, do you think that I can at least produce something that vaguely resembles a guitar?”
“Oh, that’s a guarantee.”
Thus begins my journey into the brave new world of lutherie.
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Go to John’s first Fretboard Journal post
Guitar Building Workshop with Jay Lichty: A Prelude
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