Martin Maudal with Maudal Musical Machines, here. I build guitars. Actually, I think of them as meta-Art; Art that can create Art. With the very first guitar I built it hit me that, if I did this right, someone could pick this instrument up 200 years from now and make music that I can't even imagine now. That struck me as pure magic. And though I spent the majority of my adult life playing
music, I hadn't found my true calling until that moment.![]()
*paypal contributions are disbursed immediately so we can put it to use right away. Also, we can get your perks to you much faster!
I use local woods here in Claremont California that I harvest, cut, season and hand pick for each instrument. This came about from my working with a local tree wizard/pruner for 7 years. ( ;~) seven years before the mast and all) Every living thing has a lifespan, even such long-lived beings as trees. And if one of them had to come down, I was there to try to give it a second life.
It's important to me for people to understand that the guitar they see didn't arrive fully formed wrapped in plastic. It was a living thing; a living eco-system in it's own right. So I don't disguise that fact. I often leave inclusions in the wood, or wormholes, or other evidence of life. Very much the Japanese concept of wabi sabi. Perfection in imperfection. And yet, a guitar is a functional piece of complex engineering too. The balance between those 2 forces is one of the things that makes lutherie such a fascinating path for me. I absolutely know that I could do this for the rest of my life and *never* see the end of it.
* Affording to do this as a true business and thereby achieve my full potential is the greatest challenge of anyone like me who wants to create for a living. The purpose of this campaign is to allow me to continue to create more guitars as meta-Art. I sell guitars so that I can make more of them, and I also have to be able to live as I do so. Basic needs such as a roof, and food are a part of being an independent luthier, so I will include those in my budget. But the primary purpose is to create more guitars. *
I have the philosophy that work is for more than putting cheerios on the table. More than a means of acquiring money. It is a means for humans to grow and as I mentioned, achieve their true potential... as human beings. So I feel that the success of my hare-brained scheme here is more important than just my own achievement. I know in my bones that our culture, and yes our civilization, very badly needs to rethink that very basic question - what is work for? Who is the economy for? Making more stuff for consumers is exactly the opposite of what we need. My guitars are obviously not meant to be consumed. But the real importance of the success of people who want to create with their own hands is that others will see it and hopefully be inspired to find out for themselves what work is truly for... *for them*.
these campaigns build momentum and *whatever* you can comfortably do is awesome! This'll be going all the way through January 30th though , so there's even time to put a few nickles away. In any case, please help us get the word out, share it far and wide, and sign up for the updates cause I'll be posting videos of various brilliant guitarists (some of whom you know!) playing M3 guitars all month.
*paypal contributions are disbursed immediately so we can put it to use right away. Also, we can get your perks to you much faster!
So! The money raised in this campaign will be used for
* business expenses such as shop rent, supplies, and tools as needed
* hardware and electronics and whatever materials I don't have already for new guitar builds
* basic living expenses
And you guys, I know how things are these days. I have a lot of friends who love the work I do but simply can't do money. But we all have friends and if you think this is a good and worthy hare-brained scheme, please pass it on! Share it with your friends and who knows?
Well then! Here's hoping we can build some amazing instruments together that can make amazing music! Thank you so much for the opportunity.
be well, be great,
M~
p.s. - we will be contributing 5% of what we raise back into a campaign or campaigns on indiegogo at the end of ours!
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Oh, and here's an article in the local paper about what I'm doing:
https://www.claremont-courier.com/articles/news/t4026-guitar-maker
And here below is Night, which will go to the first $1000 contributor!
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