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You
don't need a special guitar to play Slack Key. Any steel or nylon
string guitar (or ukulele) will do. The "key" to slack
is in the tuning. And in the spirit .. the soul of your playing,
or mana.
However, since Slack Key typically involves much lower string
tension, some Slack players prefer a guitar specifically built
and set up for lower tension, else the neck bows back slightly,
causing the strings to buzz against open frets. And since Slack
Key is mostly a finger picking style, many Slack players favor
a custom-built guitar to accommodate Slack finger-style and to
accentuate the flowing Slack tones and melodies.
For
example, many of the Hawaiian-born Slack players I have met have
tremendous hands with thick fingers and thumbs. They are always
looking for steel string guitars with wide necks and widely spaced
strings for their large fingers. Most nylon string (classical)
guitars are set up this way, but not steel string acoustic guitars.
Another
example is the type of the wood used to make the sound box of
the guitar. Many serious finger-style players prefer the rich
tones produced by harder woods like Hawaiian Koa. Not only does
it produce gorgeous tones, it can also be stunning to look at,
especially curly Koa with its waves and knotted, swirling grains.
Here
are some tremendous custom guitar and ukulele shops I have come
across (and purchased from!).
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Vance Guitars: Bucksport Maine
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Vanceguitars.com
25 Beech Lane
Bucksport, Maine 04416
Web:
http://www.vanceguitars.com
Phone:
(207) 469-6310
Email: contact@vanceguitars.com
Vance
is the finest guitar maker east of Hawaii. Maybe we should include
Hawaii too! This guy is a regular Renaissance man. Over the years
Vance has specialized in custom commissioned furniture and cabinet
pieces, honing his wood artistry skills. In addition, under the
tutelage of his father, Vance learned the fine art of lacquer
finishing in his family-owned antique restoration business.
His
full-time gig is running a tropical fish store, Vance's Tropical Fish, which is located directly
beneath his guitar workshop. The humidity that rises up to his
shop is perfect for bending and forming wood. He makes guitars
for the love of the craft, and only in small, limited batches.
He will make only 6 or 12 guitars a year.
He prefers
hand-picked Koa from Hawaii, Maine Curly Maple, Sitka Spruce,
and Madagascar Ebony. He crafts custom dreadnought and parlor
style guitars and ukeleles too. His guitars feature wide necks
(1 7/8” at nut!) and big, bass-booming, thick bodies (5
1/2" at end-block).
Vance
crafted a custom 2-hole "Kaimana" Slack guitar for
Ben Diamond, based on specifications they came up with together.
Here are some photos.
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Vance showing the newly cut
soundboard for the Kaimana 2-hole guitar. |
Ben playing air guitar at
the shop with his soon-to-be soundboard. |
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Kaimana 2-hole nears completion.
Bridge and neck mock-ups shown. |
The final product. |
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Vance Peters playing one
of his hand-made guitars in his Hawaiiana room. |
Vance Peters and Ben Diamond
jam away on Vance 6 and 12-string guitars. |
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Bending the Koa for the Kaimana
2-hole guitar. |
Ben Diamond performs at LIFGC
on 12/1/2010 using his new guitar! |
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Grimes Guitars: Kula, Hawaii |
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