0:00 What I want from a builder would you want if I was the player? If you were the player. If I was the player? If I was the player Oh my God. What an astounding question. Why that's an incredible question. My name is Tony Dugan Smith and I build guitars. 0:26 I got into building guitars because I was going to art school in Halifax. I had some great guitars and I couldn't find anyone I trusted to fix them and then by chance I met this guy, Rufus Stewart, who had a guitar shop on the, on the cliffs at a place called Chebucto Head, outside Halifax. That was like the Star Trek Enterprise, it was incredible. And that was my introduction into guitar fixing and, and then finally, guitar making. I build a small number of guitars every year, because I don't want it to really be like a, you know, like a production line or something, because that doesn't interest me. I'm lucky in that I don't have to build strictly for making a living, you know, because I do other things as well that, that take care of that side of it. You know, I get I, you know, I get to build for the people that I want to build for, you know, and that is, you know, with the whole journey. I'm not interested in sort of just making pedestrian instruments, you know, or, or, or even instruments that are just going to hang on a wall. I'd say that all of my instruments get played, you know, and I don't think there's any of them that just sit my case and grow moss. 1:51 The job as a builder is you're just making something that's in your wallet, in your hands, it's just dormant, in there is a bunch of pieces of wood that you're assembling. And it's not till someone actually owns it, and then takes it away and plays it that is life really begins. All you've done is assemble this thing, you know, and it's like, you know, because it's not making any music, and it's like being played while you build it. It's kind of an odd thing, you know, it's like making paint versus or something, you know, only way cooler. If you did nothing with building and you didn't eat, you know, eat or sleep, you know, you could probably make them in a few months, in two or three months. But for most of us, that's just not the way it works. And it's not, I mean, the other thing, as well as if you're going to build guitars like this, that you want to be special, you got to do it, right. It can vary, I mean, it can be like, you know, a matter of like, you know, six, eight months, it can be a year and a half, sometimes it depends on if you're building it solely by itself, or if you're making two or three instruments, or four or five instruments. You know, it sort of it really, it really comes down to, you know, the amount of time you have a lot into it really, it can be hard, you know, especially when, when you're stupid enough to play it, after you've strung it up. Sometimes the best thing is to set like, you know, play it, make sure it works, and then put it in the case and go do something else. You know, because, because it is easy to get attached to instruments, and you just have to become like, you know, smart enough to know yourself, you know, and not go down that path. You know, but and it's hard sometimes, you know, because sometimes you're building for wonderful people. And you've built an instrument that just resonates with you as I Oh my god, it has the voice that I want to know. And it's like you have to just like I say, you have to keep that lid closed, you know, and go wash the dishes, you know? Yeah, I play I play guitar every day, you know, I love playing. I think it's important for, you know, for builders to play as well, just, you know, so they all you know, even when it just comes down to setting up their own guitars. You know, it's sort of, it's crucial that, you know, you know, the experience that a player is having with your instrument, you know, and all the kind of idiosyncrasies of the guitar, you know, and sometimes, I mean, you know, it's a funny thing in it, because it's like, there's a lot of guitars that when I pick them up, to me, they sound like shit, to be honest. You got to be careful as well, that your own personal taste, doesn't shape everything you do, you know, because sometimes, you know, it's like, you have to, you know, it's almost like for every guitar, there's a player, no matter what you may think of that guitar in someone else's hands, it's gonna be like a gym. Because, you know, like, players just like, you know, like, many of us, were looking for something. And they were trying to, like, you know, you know, talk about the musician here, you know, they're looking for something that kind of resonates with them. And that kind of inspires them, you know, so that they, you know, whenever they're away from it, they want to get back to that instrument and play it. It's a voice basically, that represents them. It's as simple as that, you know, it's, it's like, you know, like a lot of guitar players, you know, would probably love to be able to sing, and some of them can, and a lot of them can't. You know, and it's like, it gives them a voice. I mean, it becomes their voice. Everybody needs to find a way in their life to express themselves, you know, and it's like, not everybody wants to listen to you harp on all the time, you know. Let me tell you about my life, but you know, it's like, it's just like, you know, it's like yeah, get up, get over yourself. Song like, like writing songs or writing music gives you another way to express you know, deep deep thoughts, you know, like things that are in everybody. 5:14 Voila! The sound of silence. The last four years I've been involved in a project that's called the Group of Seven guitar project. And that is seven luthiers who all started out around the same time and together in Toronto in the early 70s building guitars. Each of us has been assigned or chosen a members, the Group of Seven painters to represent is if this person was a customer, and you were trying to build a guitar that you you believe they'd be happy with. And that would represent them about four years ago, we started talking to the McMichael gallery about this. It'll be in the show for six months, it runs from May 6 till October 29. I actually get to do my sort of, sort of presentation with a guitar and Kevin Britt playing on the very last day of the show. It's gonna be an extra special event because the other guitars can finally come off the wall and be played to. 6:14 What do you hope will happen after the six months it's in the McMichael Gallery? 6:18 Well, I hope it gets played more often than it has sitting on the wall.