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About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 2, 2017)
Wednesday, August 2, 2017 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon GUITARS: Couple builds double-body guitars Shelton and Farretta worked out of four differ- ent small shops in downtown Portland before they relocated to Alsea in 2005, where they have a machine shop and an assembly room next to their home. They build double classic, double flamenco, classic and flamenco guitars, ranging in price from $3,000 to $4,600. They use cedar, spruce, cypress and various kinds of rosewood, depending on the type of guitar. “We used to go out and get the wood ourselves. Now I’m 75 and can’t do it anymore,” Shelton said. Either one of them can per- form all of the tasks involved in guitar building, Shelton said. As a lifetime wood- worker, he prefers to do all of the sawing and work in the machine shop and has all of the measurements memorized. Farretta opts to do the bindings, linings and fine fit- ting for the guitars. Shelton and Farretta con- sider themselves semiretired, so they don’t build as many guitars as they used to. “We used to make 20 a year. Now we’re down to six or seven,” Shelton said. “We now work two or two and a half hours a day, because if you work longer than that you start making mistakes, and we can’t have mistakes,” Shelton said. Continued from page 28 Mexico City. As Farretta recalled, Shelton told him, “I can’t repair it, but give me some time, and we’ll design a dou- ble body that won’t fail.” In 1981, Shelton designed and built the guitar for López Ramos. From there Shelton- Farretta began building dou- ble body classical and fla- menco guitars, including two more for Ramos. A double-body guitar is essentially a guitar with a shell over the back and sides. The shell is attached to the guitar at the neck, the end block and along the sides. But the shell and the guitar back do not touch. This shields the player’s body from contacting the back of the guitar, so it can resonate freely. According to their website, this gives the guitar an unusual “presence.” The site says, “These guitars are very difficult to build and use as much wood as two tra- ditional guitars.” Farretta said there may be Spanish guitar makers who design double bodies, but they don’t know anyone else who makes them. Ellen Wood: A Giant Among Realtors They still get orders from national and international buyers. “We’ve sold everywhere from Yemen to Hong Kong,” he said. Shelton calls building gui- tars a labor of love. “I don’t make a lot of money with it, but it’s fun,” he said. Two years ago, Shelton and Farretta made a new acquaintance in the guitar world, which will lead to another new guitar they will build. They met Berto Boyd, a flamenco guitarist, com- poser and artistic director of the Corvallis Guitar Society. Carson Willie, a student of Boyd’s, passed along a request for Boyd to play guitar at a funeral service for Margaret Sparrow, who owned a Shelton-Farretta guitar. Shelton and Farretta showed him Sparrow’s gui- tar before he was set to play. They built her the guitar in 1990. “They pulled this guitar from the case, and it was like the Holy Grail,” Boyd said. He ended up playing that guitar, instead of the one he brought. “It was one of the most profound musical experiences that I’ve had,” Boyd said. Afterwards, her family gave the guitar to Willie, who lent it to Boyd to perform “The Spanish Guitar: From the Streets to the Concert Stage” in April 2016 at the Majestic Theatre. The two worked out a deal, and he eventually gave the guitar to Boyd. “Luthiers like this in Oregon making this level of guitar is extremely rare,” Boyd said. Shelton-Farretta also cus- tom-built a guitar for Boyd, which he used last month to perform at the Chintimini Chamber Music Festival. After the concert, Boyd realized he needed a new classical guitar. Shelton and Farretta are set to build a gui- tar for him that may be the first of its kind, he said. “They’re going to make a double top, double body clas- sical guitar for me. This is cutting-edge,” Boyd said. The double top guitar is two tops sandwiched together. In between them is a honey- comb type of material called Nomex, which makes the 29 guitar more stiff and creates more projection, Boyd said. The luthiers have seen what a new style of guitar can do for their business. Farretta said, “This is the Manuel LÛpez Ramos of the new Shelton-Farretta age. This is a whole new develop- ment, and it’s revolutionary.” Four of Boyd’s students also own Shelton-Farretta Guitars. The couple has noticed an increase in interest for their guitars since meeting Boyd. “We were still selling, but not quite as fast,” Shelton said. People interested in buy- ing a Shelton-Farretta guitar should expect to wait at least a year, he said. Boyd is determined to buy one of every Shelton-Farretta guitar they make. “I’ve owned some very high-end instruments from Spain, but there is something about their guitars that really speaks to me that I love,” Boyd said. Out West Realty — Serving all of Central Oregon — Sandy Goodsell Principal Broker Jonathan Hicks Broker ABR, CDPE, CIAS, GRI, SRES 541-480-0183 865-335-6104 LICENSED BROKERS IN THE STATE OF OREGON goodsellandhickssellcentralor.com Live Priceless Moments at The Ranch Selling or Buying in Central Oregon? Call me for a FREE home valuation now! Ellen Wood Broker, GRI, ABR 541-588-0033 290 E. Cascade Ave. Sisters, Oregon 97759 www.SistersLuxuryHomes.com EAST MEADOW 4 – $675,000 mls 201706500 Incredible views! CUSTOM HOMES • RESIDENTIAL BUILDING PROJECTS John P. Pierce 541-549-9764 CCB# 159020 CCB# 16891 Becke W. P ierce Arne J. 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