AN AUSTRALIAN IN PARIS
By Peter Symes
An Australian entry in an acclaimed guitar makers competition will probably arouse great interest among both players and makers. Des Anthony, a Townsville luthier, recently travelled to Paris to enter one of his classical guitars in the Fourth International Guitar Making Contest which was organised by Robert Vidal. The instrument held its head high in the final reckoning. I spoke with Des and discovered a wealth of anecdote and opinion about the expectations of judges and entrants, administrative style, and how he sees the role of such competitions.
Des brings twenty years' experience as a draughtsman to his instrument building. His accurate eye permits his hand to achieve quick results. Des has built and repaired guitars, mandolins, dulcimers and banjos for 16 years, and is now venturing into lutes. Although necessarily self-taught at first, he attended a guitar making school in Vermont, USA, directed by Charles Fox in 1975, and two years later attended the Guild of American Luthiers Convention in Tacoma, Washington State.
I asked Des what inspired the trip to Paris.
D. A: Members of the Guild of American Luthiers have their names on a world-wide directory, and Radio France used this list to inform luthiers of the competition. By the fourth competition I was in a position where I felt confident I could allow one of my instruments to be exhibited. There were two strands in this contest: the acoustic competition, and the aesthetic. I was particularly hopeful that a traditionally constructed instrument using Burdekin Plum could be considered acceptable within the rules. I wasn't as confident in the acoustic test because I simply wasn't familiar with what were current trends in tonal characteristics.
P. S: I'll get back to that soon. Firstly, do you have any tips for other people who plan to exhibit an instrument overseas?
D. A: The rules stated that each member could exhibit two instruments, but could only enter one into the competition. I never entertained for one moment the idea of travelling with two instruments. I had little trouble convincing airline companies to allow one guitar to travel in the passenger compartment, except ironically in the final leg, Sydney to Townsville. If possible, try to ensure in advance that lockers on your flights are large enough for your guitar case. Locker sizes vary enormously. The event was to be in the UNESCO building, so I made an effort, before leaving Australia, to book a hotel room close by. I didn't intend going on a shoe-string budget, but even if one does, it is a low-return investment just to see the European scene. Having a reliable salary allowed me this luxury, probably unlike most full-time luthiers. One worrying aspect was the non-confirmation that my entry had been received, let alone accepted. A phone call (in French!) was needed to set me at ease before departure. One incident which this unsuspecting luthier wasn't prepared for occurred at Orly airport. The customs people, having a good laugh about the notion of a guitar makers competition, managed to rather jovially tap the soundboard, leaving two fingernail indentations. My French deteriorated rapidly.
P. S: Did you find any procedural problems because you spoke English?
D. A: Not really, because I retain some high school French. I did get a bit confused when the receptionist at UNESCO had no knowledge of the competition. It's a huge place, bristling with all sorts of functions and security guards. I spent two days in anxious limbo, then turned up on the due date only to find another lost, nervous luthier, a Spaniard. We waited until a confident Iooking local entrant arrived (we could tell by the guitar case) and followed him along endless smoky corridors. I saw no signs at all. I had expected at least an explanation of proceedings and perhaps a welcome, but found only a circle of tables and a list of names. With ten minutes to go, guitar stands hadn't yet arrived, and some of the 100 guitars were on the tables, still in their cases. It was difficult to guess when judging actually began, or when my guitar would be taken for judging. It seemed that the longer a guitar was kept by the judges, the better favour it was finding. To this day I don't know who the judges actually were. Only their occupations were given in the original literature, and neither were they introduced to entrants. Perhaps the multi-lingual problem caused that.
P. S: You mentioned the rules of the aesthetic contest. Robert Vidal's rules?
D. A: Yes. The shape had to conform to the "contemporary instrument known as the classical guitar" and it had to have six nylon strings. One particular phrase revealed the overall ethic rather well: "The sobriety of the external appearance of the instrument and its general elegance will be taken into consideration." It was obvious, once marks were allotted, that non-traditional materials and innovative design ideas were penalized. Judges disqualified a blue plastic guitar with a scooped fingerboard. Any electronic devices served to disqualify an instrument. One had a tone and volume control concealed behind the peg head. Another had moveable frets for adjusting temperament, and it was rejected too. It also had a pick-up, so I'm not sure of the full grounds of its rejection. One instrument scoring low marks had a highly figured sycamore neck contrasting against an Indian rosewood body. I think these makers knew their fate because they openly flouted the rules, but any avenue by which to exhibit is better than none. It's significant, though, that the rules debar any guitar disqualified from the aesthetic contest from being heard in the acoustic contest. That seems to me to have enormous implications for the evolution of the instrument.
P. S: What made you risk using Burdekin Plum then?
D. A: I've always been interested in the potential of local hardwoods for musical instruments. Colour variation in Burdekin Plum makes it visually very attractive, but it is difficult to work due to its inter-locked grain. Its reflective qualities aren't as bright as the rosewoods, but I prefer a more mellow tone colour.
P. S: So how did they respond to Burdekin Plum?
D. A: I scored 63% in the aesthetic competition. There were about 20 places ahead of me, with 81% at the highest score, and about 20 places behind me, the lowest mark being somewhere in the low forties. I was most relieved and pleased not to have been disqualified, but more so for being centrally placed. Unfortunately, the judges gave no commentary on any guitar.
P. S: It's a very creditable result. What characteristics did the highest scoring instruments display?
D. A: Very straight grained rosewoods, high quality hand-made machine heads, well defined external shape, quality of applied finish, pleasing peg head style, and rosette design. There were specific prizes for peg head, rosette, beauty of the soundboard, and for choice of wood in the body.
P. S: What format was used for the acoustic contest?
D. A: The small auditorium had dimmed lights to disguise each instrument as it appeared. However, people were recognising guitars, so a black velvet cloth was draped over each peg head. Further administrative bungling in numbering the guitars ensured a delay of an hour and a half. The logistics of tuning 50 guitars also contributed to the slow start, and they often, had to be retuned in mid-performance. Neither performer was error-free, and I'm certain that judgements of the instruments themselves could not remain unaffected by that. I recognised my own guitar, and was pleased that it neither required re-tuning or caused mistakes. I noted that both performers independently adopted a slower tempo with the music when playing my guitar, as if the mellower bass required more time to define itself. The audition piece actually consisted of several short ex- tracts. After each audition, judges wrote down marks, and the slips were collected. A disappointing aspect of this acoustic contest was that neither percentage nor placement was given publicly. Only the winner was named.
P.S: After hearing 50 guitars, have you made any conclusions about trends in tonal characteristics?
D. A: Well, even 100 instruments can't indicate a world-wide trend, but there seemed to be a distinct brightness from instruments with western red cedar, and a desire to produce maximum volume. To my ear, these guitars didn't have a lot of colour. Comparison gets difficult after so many similar performances though, they lasted from 10.30 a.m. till 9 p.m., with time off for lunch.
P. S: Supplied for you?
D. A: No. Also, the announcement of the overall grand prize winner and second place-getter took place at a public concert by Khalid Arman of Afghanistan. We had to pay for our own tickets if we wanted to be there. I also heard Williams play the previous night, but he was involved with the 30th Concours International de Guitare which was held simultaneously with our competition.
P. S: Overall, Des, can you draw conclusions about your trip?
D. A: For each maker there, the competition had different meaning. Personally, I wanted to keep in touch with the quality of workmanship, and to listen to as many guitars as possible. Some makers avoid competitions because they don't automatically result in more commissions. Even if I had won it, it would make no difference to me on my return to Townsville. I'd still have to blow my own trumpet. No, the main reason is to observe and exchange; a forum, as long as language doesn't present communication problems. I'd like to have seen more communication between makers and performers, though. They were hermetically sealed from one another, even one chap who had teed up by letter to get Williams to try his instrument. The acoustic competition seemed to attract only luthiers themselves, no performers. The whole thing only lasted two days. Afterwards, I visited some makers in England and probably benefited more from these visits than from the whole competition. I sometimes think now that if one intends to spend the money to travel distances, one could get as much benefit by visiting other Australian makers. I think Australian luthiers are producing quality on a par with any I saw exhibited in Paris.
