Event Review
Native New Yorker and acoustic guitar master Diane Ponzio share insights on C.F. Martin Guitar’s guitar-making process with local players, collectors and enthusiasts at Tom Lee Academy Hall on the evening of 7th April 2009. Greeting the audience in Cantonese with a big smile, Diane’s positivity, music and infinite knowledge of the company’s craftsmanship made the clinic a hit among acoustic guitarists of all styles.
Diane’s name has been closely associated with C.F. Martin since 1986 when she was appointed to be one of the company’s touring clinicians. In the workshop, she touched on a wide range of topics from the history of the instrument, to the sustainable and responsible forestry of tone-woods. With the help of a few construction components and parts, that are either hidden obstructed from viewing on a ready-to-play guitar, Diane provided an insider’s view of the origin and bracing techniques that are applied to acoustic guitars today, some of which are pioneered by and proprietary to C.F. Martin. For those who were eager to know the secrets behind C.F. Martin’s guitars’ distinctive advantages in tone and collectibility, her lively and resourceful demonstration was undoubtedly a treasure.
Following the launch of Diane’s first signature model guitar JDP Jumbo in 2004, C.F. Martin released JDP II last year to celebrate the 175th Anniversary of its mother ship and 5th Anniversary of the highly acclaimed JDP Jumbo, a limited edition of 101 pieces. "The ordering period was very short, three months, the public didn’t see it, only traded. Then when the public saw it six months later, and want one, it’s probably a little late," described Diane. The second signature guitar, apart from being more affordable, it reflects Diane and CF Martin’s awareness of lumber conservation and determination of promoting the art of guitar-playing. In the design process, Diane borrowed the best characteristics and construction-techniques that were applied to C.F. Martin’s various product lines. Some never-seen-before features and combinations could be found on JDP II, such as Forward-Shifting on the J body-style, resulting in a fine work of art that could fully unleash the vibrating energy of the strings.
As a highly-demanded international clinician and folk-jazz musician, touring and attending industry trade shows is an integral part of her agenda. She is a living encyclopedia of all-things-C.F. Martin. She took time to answer questions from the audience, while entertaining the attendees with some unforgettable experiences she encountered in her career. At one of the Q&A session at one of her clinics, she proposed to offer her guitar to anyone whose query cannot be answered. And immediately a gentleman raised a question that started a laughter in the auditorium. "He asked, "What is the middle name of my father?"" Diane recalled with joy.
Just as every piano technician plays some Chopin, Diane is no exception; only she is more creative and contemporary. Ever since the birth of Diane’s debut album in 1992, she has been sharing her music in clinics, and by means of writing and producing eight solo albums, with "In the Middle" and "So Low You Have To Listen" being her most recent releases. The evening’s set-list included "Volcano" and "The Blues Song", an invigorating smoothie of Bob-Dylan and Beatles influences, enriched with the goodness of some Jazz supplements. They are melodic and percussive, delivered in an idiomatic and stylish manner.
It is critical for Diane to be authentic, and be able to communicate the actual situation or feeling. If her songs can make her audience laugh, cry or make people think, she would call that success. The origin of the humorous and poetic qualities embedded in Diane’s work, is inspiration drawn from her everyday life experiences. From "Special Day Plate", a motivational piece that encourage us to live for today, to "Carbohydrates", a tune she wrote to describe her cravings of bread, pizza and potatoes, she conveys her message in a way that her audience could instantly resonate and relate themselves to the subject.
"It’s a very disturbing world at the moment. There’s a lot of violence a lot of things that are wrong. But in a simple way, even with technology, playing the guitar has so much pleasure, not because you can be famous, not because you can be rich. Because you can sit in your room, and feel the magic of playing this beautiful guitar, vibrating against your body. It’s like having an orchestra in your stomach and this is something everyone can aspire to." adds Diane.
Extract from Workshop
1) How would you describe your relationship with your JDP II guitar?
It’s very personal. The acoustic guitar is an amazing experience anyway because it’s vibrating against your body. My guitar is very special because I designed it, based on so much knowledge I have about how the C.F. Martin guitars are built. Every bit of the guitar reflects a conscious thinking and the desire for fantastic sound, not for fancy looks. Even the rosette, the piece around the sound hole was an ecological decision. The pieces are very small and these are the pieces that we would normally put in the compressor. Instead, we’re using them for decoration instead of pearl. I try to keep the price as low as possible without surrendering tone.
2) How many guitars are there in your personal collection?
Maybe, I have about 10 C.F. Martin guitars. They’re all my favorite because they all have beautiful personality and sound. I have a 12-string, a small-body guitar and so on. They all have that distinctive sound of a C.F. Martin guitar. And I can tell everybody the truth is they get better and better. I meet people all over the world and I have never met anyone who’s sorry about buying a C.F. Martin guitar because they’re buying quality.
3) You’ve done clinics all around the world. Which country is most enthusiastic about C.F. Martin Guitars?
Japan. That’s our biggest export market. Second to Japan is probably UK, Germany and Canada of course. But the most C.F. Martin guitars are sold in America, let’s say about 75%.
4) You are well aware of ecological issues of guitar making.
This is the big challenge we face now. You can picture the special woods that are used in guitars as a container of sugar; the musical instrument industry only uses a few sprinkles. Most of these beautiful, tropical hardwoods are used for furniture. And this is the problem because they’re becoming very rare. Certainly Rosewood from India, but the big problem is Mahogany. The C.F. Martin guitar loves Mahogany for the necks. So we started to develop some alternate wood substances for these. One of the most exciting things that I have seen happening in the past five years, is the development of the X-series. The X-series is really our desire to use every possible thing we can.
One of the things that are very beautiful about a standard Martin guitar is the book-match of the standard quarter sawn woods. It’s very difficult to do this, to quarter saw an oak and take slices that match the grain. When we do this there’s a lot waste, little pieces of wood and saw dust. So the X-series is made from these leftovers. We take the leftovers, put it in a compression chamber, and it sends out sheets of high-pressure laminates. Those guitars have the back and sides; some of them even use the top. My favorite ones are the ones where the back and sides are built with the high-pressure laminate and a solid spruce top. These are the X-series called the DX1 and 000X1. These guitars, I have to say, for their price, they sound absolutely great.
5) How do you position the microphone when you’re in the studio? How about in live performances?
The thing I’d always urge people who are interested in recording their guitar is to not to use their pickup, to get the real acoustic sound. You can put the microphone just below the sound hole, or also maybe another one near the fingerboard to get this beautiful fret sound. When I’m in studio, I would let the expert to choose. When I’m performing, for example tonight, I always use the pick up. A pick up is always fantastic in live performance. The pick up I that I love is Fishman, I use a Fishman Gold Plus. I need just the Fishman Platinum Pro EQ, a D.I. box, one cable and I’m set.
6) Does herringbone affect the sound of a guitar?
No, it’s there for decoration. It has no effect on the sound. Nothing ornamental affects the sound. That's why less expensive models are of great value!
7) Any care and maintenance tips for guitar owners in Hong Kong?
Now you have a challenge here in Hong Kong, because it’s so humid here. If anyone here buys a good instrument, especially a C.F. Martin guitar, please try to keep the instrument in a place where you can control the humidity, 45% if it’s possible. Any glue becomes very compromised in this high humidity and wood, when it becomes wet, can move, so it’s very important to try your best to keep your C.F. Martin guitar in a case, closed, in a humidity controlled place. You can buy sometimes-inexpensive dehumidifiers for the guitars. There are many of them that live in the sound-hole or in the case that absorbs the moisture. That always helps.
- Francis Fu - |
