Dowell,

No, it was not Kevin, (a great grandson), it was Dale Deshotel, Kevin's uncle who lives in the Piniere.

Hello Cody,

I bought a HA-114 from Marc Savoy a while back. He does not "adjust" them and he was completely frank with me about the "quality" of these instruments, or lack thereof. Nonetheless, his prices were decent and it was a real pleasure to go to the store and he played an Arriette, a HA-114, and an Acadian for us.

After about a year my 114 needed some repair work (new pads on the bass side, and an air leak in the bass box had to be fixed)but that only cost me $25. Not too bad, but I think that kind of thing is fairly common with these. I could be wrong, but I suspect that you won't find many of these in the pawn shops because they aren't all that durable or resellable. If I'm wrong please let me know.

Likewise I doubt you will have an easy time finding one of the old Cajun-style 114s at a decent price...but you never know. I believe that some of the recordings by Jim Pettijohn that were posted here were made on his 114. You might want to check those out, but I think he had one of the old Cajun-style 114s.

I've been playing the 114 for a couple of years now and every day I suck a little less and I've grown kind of fond of my 114. I still HATE the bass side though. I think that's its biggest drawback. I almost bought a wrecked Arriette from someone with the thought of swapping the bass boxes. If I had it to do over again I would probably steer clear of the 114 for that reason!

I haven't had any experience with these, but you might want to check out the Gabbanelli Cajun King. It might be a decent step between a 114 and a handmade box. On the one hand, the 114 was an affordable way to get started. On the other hand, $600 is a lot to spend on something you don't REALLY like.

Ultimately, its your money and you have to weigh the pros and cons. It's better to play the 114 than not to play anything. Whatever you do, good luck and have fun!

I made a mistake, it is not the HA 114 but the Ariette listed as "shop adjusted" on Savoy's website.

Of course they are "shop adjusted"...in a nice little shop in China...

Sorry, I just can't imagine Marc adjusting an Arriette.

The website is misleading in this regard--but call the store--they'll tell you the truth.

Warm regards,
Claude

Cody:

You might be able to get into a real Louisiana hand made box for less than you think.

A number of the lesser known builders have very affordable boxes that are made very well and are very enjoyable to play. One that gets good reviews here and elsewhere is the le Capitane by Danny Dyson in Lake Charles. There is list around somewhere that details the contact info for various builders.

The second method to obtain a less expensive hand made box is to check out the pawn shops in and around Acadiana. During Festivals I saw three nice boxes in two shops in Lafayette.

Peace,
Griff

My Le Capitaine plays and sounds great! There are those on this site that think mitered corners sound better, but for the $800 I paid for "butt joints" I got a great box at a great price. Danny has upped the price, but it is still a good deal. He also repairs, tunes , and is a fine fellow to do business with.
Mine is made of cypress, the wood Marc dislikes.

Craig
luthier from Md.

Craig,

I do not know where you got your information, butI cannot recall "EVER" reading , nor on this Forum, or elsewhere, that "mittered " corners will make a box sound better.

I am not accusing you of fabricating the story, but I would really like to know where you got the info!.

It intrigues me.

As a "Luthier, I'm surprised that you never asked Danny to sell you a box with mittered corners, I mean I would think, that your sense of traditions and expertise in the making of musical instruments would dictate to ask Danny for the very best , and mittered corners should be part of the "deal".

As a "Luthier" you should expect the best, and so should Danny.

BTW, Mittered corners in any box wooden contruction, shows craftsmanship and knowledge, and I cetainly would expect you to know that.

as a Luthier you obviously went to a specialized school for several years, then you apprenticed for another few years then you went on your own and open your own practice, so I assume, that in light of your background you "demanded" Danny to provide you with mittered corners.

A craftsman dealing with the like.

What was his reason(s) for not doing them.

If I was asking Danny, to fabricate a box for me , I certainly would ask him for M.C or else I'll go to another supplier.

There shouldn't be any extra cost, they should be part of the equation, as they look infinitly better.



Krazy Kannuck.

Plus, if you want to use an arm strap, there are no D ring attachments on most, definately not the new ones.

Also the thumb strap has ALWAYs been crappy on every one that I've played ranging from the 60's - present. Makes it very hard to hold the thing.

Another problem, it's almost impossible to replace the thumb strap on most 114s cause the fingerboard is made of some kind of hard plastic, not wood.

Marc did have a really good deal on them, so I got one in C for 300 some dollars a year ago.

I got one in G that sounds fantastic but it was old and the thumb strap broke. I actually drilled holes in the frame behind the fingerboard to rig another thumb strap, because I'm no good with real tools to rig a thumb strap to a plastic keyboard!

Another thing, as much as the spoons on the bass side cosmetically are "vintage-accurate" they require you to hover your middle and ring finger above the handles in order to play. Doesn't bother me, but I would rather graduate from buttons to spoons any day

1. Better reeds
2. Better wood
3. Better Bellows
4. Better Tuning
5. They will be worth TONS of money one day. Suppose you want to sell, 10-15 years after the builder stops making them... It's an investment.

I will never sell mine, in fact I will request to be buried with mine. I know for a fact that if I ever have kids, they won't care about this music. It's sad. In fact I may never have a wife or kids, but I play accordions, diatonic and chromatic. I play guitar and banjo and bass and skiffle. As far as I'm concerned, music is my vice. No children, no wife. Christ I'm only 27~

Why are mitered corners the "best"? Dovetailed joints for guitar necks are traditional, but not always the best. No, I went to school and studied engineering. There were very few schools for lutherie in the 60's-70's, and the craft was learned through association and a lot of reading and trips to the Smithsonian. Like Mr. Dyson, I have a full time job as lutherie doesn't pay enough to survive. It will accompany my retirement nicely though. Lighten up and try your hand at something artistic. Life is short. Play nice in the sandbox and be inclusive.

Pleasantries aside, I for one would love to see some pics of some of the violins or fretted instruments that "bears" your signature.
I think that I recall one of of your early posts mentionning you "making" violins, or was it guitars, I can't quite recall, sorry.
I don't think that this forum has Luthiers as members,but quite a few play, either violins or guitars or fretted instruments and it would be of some interest to them and mine, to know exactly what you do.

Are you involved with repairs only : Guitars, or Violins, or both?, or do you builds professionaly fretted instruments and under witch brand may I ask?,
Would you kindly elaborate and if possible send this forum some pictures of your "wares".

I'm also surprised that as a professional crafstman "Luthier" that is, you can't make a living out of it, unless of course the state of Maryland has a proliferation of your particular trade.

But , correct me if I'm wrong,I thought that good craftsman,woman in every fields are very, very difficult to find and as such are very prized.

Your trade is an old one, your'e very priviledged.

Many thanks.

Kindly.

K.K

A few years ago, got to take a violin repair course under Geoff Sietz, highly respected luthioer out of St. Louis, and fiddle for the Volo Bogg Trotters. He had the best line that I bet a lot of luthers live by - I build because I love it, I repair because I need to eat. You can paraphrase that with many things, musicians, for example. Rare is the guy that can perform every weekend and still not need a day job. I know there are a few luthiers, builders. etc. that check out this forum. I hope we can respect what we do, and more importantly, need to do to survive.
Steve

Steve,

My humble apologies, I didn't forget you, I simply omited you .

Actually, I was looking , recently at your site, quite impressive.

Claude.