Thanks for the thoughts, Brian, from someone new to the community but not
new to riding classic bikes. It's a pleasure that a passion for
bikes/classic bikes can be so persistent over the years.
>From another post I see that Brian is a drummer, but I was going to guess he
played guitar since I've noticed that, for some reason, many classic bike
enthusiasts also play guitar. Haven't been on this list long enough to know
whether that's true here too or not.
Tell me to knock it off if this is too OT, but I've noticed with a smile and with some jealously that, in the guitar world, classics rule--classic guitars are the mainstream. Not only is Vintage Guitar a mainstream rag on every stand, but every builder out there is trying to do justice to the D-28, the OM-28, the Gibson SG, or Fender Teles and Strats. Even the head banger bands are up there with SGs and vintage strats. Fender and Gibson are always having to release new models that hew more closely to older designs, sounds, pickups, or bracing styles. People who play for a living will have conversations about a 60s Martin D-28 build details that are as intricate as Colnago details discussions here.
If the guitar world were like the bike industry, you'd only ever see pointy black goth electrics and carbon fibre acoustics. Contrasting the bike and guitar world, it sometimes seems strange that so few cyclists out there--in a sense--can't hear the difference between a vintage martin and...and...and...well, maybe the guitar world hasn't yet invented it's version of a neon yellow fat welded aluminum STI carbon fork wonder, with three inch high brand letters.
Maybe the comparison doesn't work anyway.
I noted this on the iBOB list a year or so ago and was surprised by how many players were on the list. I play mostly fingerstyle jazz and latin on: --Basic Martin OM, late model --Amalio Bourget classical. Bought in Valencia, Spain, from Amalio himself, who had me play several in his work shop while I was choosing, and showed me around the shop and introduced me to a couple of his other craftsmen.
I can only hope that there continue to be good bike craftsmen/women out there building bikes like Amalio builds guitars. And I'm glad folks like Brian continue to have the passion and interest that might make that happen.
Mitch--glad the guitar collecting bug hasn't hit--Harris Utah Co., UT