YouTubes
How & why did I begin building these Bowed Guitars?
(not the Jimmy Page story you may expect...)
Click Here
"All is Forgiven"
Marcella Detroit's inspirational new single. (Marcy wrote "Lay down Sally" with Clapton! I had the pleasure of playing a GuitarViol "string section" on this!!)
CLICK HERE
Jonathan's new
MySpace!
Hear the "GuitarViol Meister" in action..
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Mr. Bonds GuitarViol.
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The latest shop Blog...
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NEW ELECTRO-ACOUSTIC MODEL!!!!
Click HERE
What Makes a GuitarViol Unique?
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A DADGAD theme
"High Meadow"
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"Asleep in the Meadow"
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Past
Bistro Blog YouTubes
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New Website!!
Why, yes!! There is a new website with a new look. The last website has served well since about 2005, 2006. (Prior to that era, it was a crude HTML I did myself circa 2002). It was time for a face-lift. For the new look, I wanted a theme that well represents the aesthetic, vibe, and lifestyle of the TogaMan GuitarViol. Round of applause goes out to Jesse Bond at Hurricane alley Media for making that happen. (Jesse is a proud owner of an Acoustic GuitarViol). See what you think!
Check out the new site:www.togamanguitars.com
Some Visions and dreams I'd like to share...
So, where do we go from here? Well, maybe I can shed a light on some vision. There are a lot of worthy R&D projects I have shelved (for years!) by virtue of the fact that I am buried in fulfillment. Yet, expanding to an operation involving employees, liability insurance, high overhead, hiring, firing, Fed and State bureaucracy etc. does not appeal to me either. (I am an artist and not a super cubicle administrator, operations manager etc....) In a perfect world, I would be relieved by a "magic support team" so that I could devote more time to development. Have I thought about licensing/partnering with another reputable company with infrastructure? Yes. Thing is, a lot of people ask me about it (and they assume established companies would flock to me for a licensing opportunity!). A couple of companies reached out and expressed interest in the past. In the end, none were brave enough to stray away from the usual (conventional) rock-n-roll fare they can safely market en mass. They don't understand GuitarViols like I do. So, I have been in the position of having to do all of this myself, and it has been a damn daunting task. The vision would be this: I would like to eventually have some general production models in a licensing arrangement, limit my hand builds to fewer high end affairs, devote more time to R&D, produce support tutorials, other musical production projects, some occasional freelance writing, and my family! In the thick of this "hamster wheel" cycle I have been on over the last few years, a simple (desperately needed) sabbatical seems like a distant dream. So needed but so tough to pull off ... Anyway, these are things I am shooting for on the horizon. Stay tuned and I love to hear your ideas !!
How and why did I get into this Bowed Guitar Thing? This YouTube tells the story!! - it is not the Jimmy Page story many of you expect!! In this video, I demonstrate guitar techniques that eventually lead to this GuitarViol you now know of. Check it out, you may find these crazy "Guitar Stunts" worth the watch! (Perhaps entertaining..)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YmBDBmU5t7E
Speaking of R&D...... many of you following this newsletter have witnessed the launch of the ElectroCoustic series (beginning last November), and that model has been quite well received. (*Hear it in "Clash of the Titans"). Over the last year, I have had a man named Rob Newbill partner with me in CNC operations, specialty machining essential parts: Rough body routes, Fingerboards, tails. the rest is carved, sanded, finished, assembled by my hands. What we hoped would take a month or two spanned several months. The results have been remarkable and most bottlenecks/snags have been eliminated from the operation. Now, all I have to do is sweat and catch up. Sounds easy, right? Well, Mr. Newbill spent most of last month in ICU after a more eventful than expected operation. After a less than fun time in the hospital, I am happy to report that he is home and getting better on the mend; making progress! He has been gradually inching back to his shop and getting some case cores made for the electros. We wish Mr. Newbill a speedy recovery! (he does not like laying down watching TV too much!) ;-) Everyone, give a big round of applause to Mr. Newbill!
Other R&D fronts ....
I am putting the tweaks on a more expanded pickup system for the Electrocoustics. Can not talk (or show)much of it now, but I'll see about putting some sound samples of the R&D up for all to hear. Stay tuned !!
What happened to the solidbody electrics?
Some have been asking about the ELECTRIC GuitarViol models of years past. Well, they have been a bit of a hiatus. The plan is to re-launch a new improved version; BUILT TO ROCK!! The critical bridge assembly (a production bottleneck bane of years gone by) is being tweaked and readied for CNC production. (So to the few of you waiting on Cana models - a bit longer than originally expected - sorry for the delay. It has to be right!) These will be better than ever before and your patience will be rewarded. The neck joint and other subtleties are also being updated. Also, expect not only new versions of the Cana, but some seriously rocking designs! So, the GuitarViol offering will now include ELECTRIC (built to rock!), The ElectroCoustic (electric that acts acoustic) and Acoustic (bonafide Acoustic built in the old world fashion). Each variety has it's own distinct timbre and sound. (A serious player will have all three types :-)
My "moonlight musician" side ...
To..........- counterbalance my day/week/month
- keep my self relatively sane,
- keep both oars in the water,
- quench an insatiable musical thirst,
- keep my blood pressure down,
- do field research,
- maintain all creative cylinders firing,
- to remember why I started building this thing,
- to blast the wood dust off my clothes,
- to remember what it is like to actually make music.....
I retreat from the sweaty dust bowl of the shop (morning coffee or late evenings) to compose GuitarViol music in ProTools. Little by little, sonic charcoal sketches evolve to sonic oil paintings. In time, there will be an album in the can. I transfer this enthusiasm and energy back to the shop and on to the instruments I am building. It sort of completes the "circle of life" in this world. Stay tuned, it is all in the works.
I do sessions from time to time. Have a project you would like GuitarViol on? I am the man.... Check out my new MySpace page
http://www.myspace.com/jonathanericwilson
...........
"All is forgiven...."
Remember the Studio lab turned session a couple months back at John Frizell's studio? Well, Marcella Detroit's single "All is Forgiven" (featuring an "on the fly" multi-tracked GuitarViol string section by yours trully!!) has been making waves. [* Marcella Detroit, aka Marcy Levy wrote "lay down Sally" "The Core" with Eric Clapton!]. Check out "All is forgiven" on itunes. Each download, proceeds go to breast cancer charity as I understand it.... Stay tunes for more "Reports from the Lab".... You Can check out the YouTube of the single here.
.......
True Blood ....in concert .
True Blood fans and music lovers in Spain are in for a
treat this summer! The international film music festival Ciudad de Úbeda just announced that True Blood composer [GuitarViolist] Nathan Barr will participate in this summer's festival, held July 14-18,
2010. Nate is the composer of all of the original score for HBO's hit
vampire series, as well as the Hostel films and The
Virginian (2000). He is scheduled to attend all the events of
the festival and will debut a world premiere program for festivalgoers: True
Blood: The Concert. This event will take place July 15, 2010
in the Palacio de los Dávalos (House of the Towers), Úbeda, and guests
are encouraged to dress as vampires in "elegant and period" costumes. For more on Nathan Barr, go to his website...
The Hillside...
Here's the scoop: I am being featured (cover story!) in a Magazine none of you have heard about (but has personal meaning to me). The Hillside is a bi-annual magazine of a Connecticut boarding prep school I attended as a kid: South Kent School. After having some coverage in the same national Guitar magazines I used to forsake my academic career for, I am deeply honored to be covered in this particular school publication. This story can be likened to the "prodigal black sheep student" who actually did something mildly interesting with his life .... Seriously, I am deeply honored (aside from being a king of understatements). Stay tuned. This will be the Summer 2010 issue.
Well, no doubt I have left some things out. So many builds, so little day! If you have news to share, please keep me in the loop!
Until next time, back to the shop! (Unless someone kidnaps me for a "Sideways" wine country tour road-trip....) ;-)
Jonathan
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