La Conner Guitar Festival
When we were here several years ago I attended the La Conner Guitar Festival. I was delighted to see that the festival was scheduled for one of the weekends on our resent trip, so I made plans to attend.
Duff McDaniel was going with me, but had to drop out. Even so, we met for breakfast at The Farmhouse, now known as The Farmhouse at Shawn O’Donnell’s. This had been one of our favorite places for breakfast and one of the only places you could order a “Hangtown Fry.” When the original owners retired the restaurant was sold to the Shawn O’Donnell’s chain and converted into an Irish Pub. I was curious to see the changes and whether or not the breakfasts were still good.
I like the new Irish Pub decor. They have nailed the ambiance and I’d love to come back for a pint of Guinness and some shepherd’s pie. There are several large rooms that would make great places for jam sessions, if someone were of a mind to start such a thing. As for food, the menu had changed. The Farmhouse hadn’t offered Hangtown Fry in a long time, but they used to have a good seafood omelette. That wasn’t available, but most of the standard breakfast fare was still there. I had to try the full Irish breakfast. It was quite good.
After breakfast Duff and I parted ways and I headed on over to the festival. I was a bit early, so I just walked along the Swinnomish Channel walkway watching the boats come and go until time for the doors to open. I did managed to sneak onto the balcony of Maple Hall for an overview of the venue. The luthiers were milling about, waiting for the opening swarm.
The La Conner Guitar Festival is a luthiers event. There are concerts, demonstrations, and workshops throughout the festival, but the main draw is the display of fine guitars made by luthiers from around the country. This part of the Pacific Northwest is known for its fine tone woods for making instruments, so it makes sense that the festival is held up here. The small vendor’s display area had wood and tools available for building guitars.
The doors opened and I made my way inside and was immediately hit with sensory overload. The array of guitars was astounding. These are true works of art, selling from $5,000 to $20,000 and upwards. You won’t find these in Guitar Center or any other retail.
Most of these were acoustic guitars, but there were a few electrics. A good many of the acoustics had pick-ups. I was drawn to the arch top guitars for some reason. That style just appeals to me as being different from the standard acoustic.
There were no banjos, sadly. There were a few ukuleles and mandolins amongst all of the guitars.
In addition to the exquisite woodwork, some of the luthiers experimented with different body designs. One had seven strings instead of the standard six. The seventh string doubles the G string an octave higher. It functions like a 12 string guitar, but with only one additional string, giving a brighter, punchier tone to the sound.
Several guitars featured a solid top with the sound hole in the side, facing upward. I played one and liked the sound, but I told the luthier that there was a problem. In an acoustic jam session I was afraid that the sound wouldn’t carry. It was fine in a small setting, but would get lost with other instruments. She said there was a pick-up for amplification, but many sessions don’t allow amps. Oh darn. I couldn’t buy her $15k guitar.
I did dare to play and handle a few more of these expensive instruments. As far as sound was concerned, I couldn’t tell much difference between these and a Martin or Collings. These were for show as much as for sound. I could admire them, but I wasn’t tempted to take out a mortgage for any of them. The only ones that in any way tempted me were the cigar box guitars from one vendor. They were within my price range. One that intrigued me was a four-string that I could tune and play like a banjo. Most of the others were three-stringed guitars suitable for slide work. Even so, I resisted and didn’t come away with another instrument. I did come away with a new collection of guitar picks, which many of the luthiers use instead of business cards.
I walked through the displays a couple of times and decided I’d seen enough. I wasn’t in the mood to stick around for any of the concerts and I hadn’t signed up for any of the workshops. It was going to be a busy, busy weekend and I had other things to do. As part of the festival there was a Saturday night jam session, but I just didn’t feel right bringing my $50 yard sale guitar and I certainly couldn’t afford one of theirs.
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