Jack Bowers celebrates 700th instrument build and offers up a few thoughts on the magic of making

Today I am working on the 700th instrument I've built in the last fifteen years. This is a mark I imposed on myself, that I felt I would never achieve. Like a goal in the distance I had to move toward it.

Number 700 is a 2x4 Douglas fir stud that was a part of a wood shed being torn down. It was tight grained, very dry and begging to be refashioned from fire wood to something more musical. It has a Sitka spruce top and door skin on the back and even before the finish and hardware is on it I an hear it calling, "play me, play me".

So what have I learned regarding this creative enterprise, that I have embarked on, and can't stop? Too much to list, but here are some scattered thoughts.

• No two are the same. I build from one to four at a time, no two sound, feel or respond the same. Each is an individual.
• Throw out old ideas and feel free to experiment. The Holy Grail is the accuracy of the scale, almost every other part is open to your whims and creative genius. I am a practicing approximist.
• Failure can happen, but it is the foundation for success later. I have had to put three or four in the trash bin in 700 hundred builds so I don't consider that overwhelming.
• Play what you make and make what you play. I know of folks who can't play a note but build anyway? My joy is to have tuned the last string and bring that collection of junk to life. Can there be a better feeling than that?
• When you can, give one away. I hope it isn't all about the dollar. You'll be rewarded more than the bucks when you see a musically hungary soul light up and start down that trail you were once on.Share your build secrets. Someone did for you and you are both rewarded when you do.

I can keep going, but I am leaving room for you to add to the list. I am off to the shop to hang some hardware on this one. And a note of thanks, to the gang at the Gitty shop for the idea to build from 2x4's it has been fun.

-Jack Bowers