Temptations
It is just soooo.. tempting.
I recently had a chat with kuja abt our travel plans this year. And she suggested "why not go to Spain"?
"Spain?", i said.
"Yeah. I thought u'd wanted to go there?"
"Ya lah.. but then i wanted to go to chiong guitar shops to try out those killer guitars mah... you'd be bored to death", i offered.
"Oh well, i don't mind. I just wanted to get outta S'pore, and go on a long trip", was her reply.
Seems like too good a deal to miss ya? But then, here's the dilemma i'm facing:
I have been planning to get for myself, this guitar which can last me a lifetime. This plan was set in motion more than 7 years ago, when i wrote a letter and sent it to the States, to a Mr. Robert Ruck (yes, he did not even had email at that time! ).
Ruck is a prominent and well-known classical guitar luthier. Just how good is he? I really don't know, but the fact that his guitars now sell for US$10,000 in dealer shops gives you an idea of the demand. Also, Carlos Barbosa-Lima, Sharon Isbin, Manuel Barrueco and Paulo Bellinati gave him thumbs up too, having played on his guitars.
*US$10k is the price for a 2nd/3rd/4th hand guitar (maybe made in 1980s). A brand new Ruck would probably be in the range of US$12-15k.
It seems like i made a smart move then - 7 years back, when i decided to place an order with him, to be put on his long waiting list (which, by the way, has been officially closed 2 years ago. Yep, Ruck is no longer taking orders, since the list is just too long! ). Ordering direct from him will probably cost me half the price - i'm guessing in the range of US$6,000-7,000. But the 'catch' is the bloody long wait of 8-10 years.
What has all that got to do with a trip to Spain? Plenty...
Now if i were to go to Spain end of the year, think of all those wonderfully crafted and heavenly sounding instruments that i might lay my hands on... in Madrid, in Granada, maybe even along the streets in the Alhambra... What if i meet THE guitar of my dreams??? How could i possibly resist the temptations???
I spoke to OG about this dilemma. And all he offered was "just buy lah". Hmm... but would i regret later on? How would i be able to know if this guitar is really the one for me? Afterall, i've waited so long for the Ruck, should i just give it up?
The other problem is - if i should buy a guitar while in Spain, how would i be able to continue the trip with kuja? Lugging a fragile (and EXPENSIVE!) piece of luggage on a Free & Easy trip isn't exactly an inviting thought. It will certainly weigh heavily both on my shoulders (or arms), as well as my mind (worried of damaging it), for the rest of the trip. The trouble it might cause is definitely gonna cause some issues with kuja.
And you definitely do -not- want to antagonize her. Especially not on a holiday trip. :)
So... what's the conclusion? Sigh.. looks like i'll be planning a trip to somewhere else. The one SURE way to resist temptations, is to keep yourself away from them.
I recently had a chat with kuja abt our travel plans this year. And she suggested "why not go to Spain"?
"Spain?", i said.
"Yeah. I thought u'd wanted to go there?"
"Ya lah.. but then i wanted to go to chiong guitar shops to try out those killer guitars mah... you'd be bored to death", i offered.
"Oh well, i don't mind. I just wanted to get outta S'pore, and go on a long trip", was her reply.
Seems like too good a deal to miss ya? But then, here's the dilemma i'm facing:
I have been planning to get for myself, this guitar which can last me a lifetime. This plan was set in motion more than 7 years ago, when i wrote a letter and sent it to the States, to a Mr. Robert Ruck (yes, he did not even had email at that time! ).
Ruck is a prominent and well-known classical guitar luthier. Just how good is he? I really don't know, but the fact that his guitars now sell for US$10,000 in dealer shops gives you an idea of the demand. Also, Carlos Barbosa-Lima, Sharon Isbin, Manuel Barrueco and Paulo Bellinati gave him thumbs up too, having played on his guitars.
*US$10k is the price for a 2nd/3rd/4th hand guitar (maybe made in 1980s). A brand new Ruck would probably be in the range of US$12-15k.
It seems like i made a smart move then - 7 years back, when i decided to place an order with him, to be put on his long waiting list (which, by the way, has been officially closed 2 years ago. Yep, Ruck is no longer taking orders, since the list is just too long! ). Ordering direct from him will probably cost me half the price - i'm guessing in the range of US$6,000-7,000. But the 'catch' is the bloody long wait of 8-10 years.
What has all that got to do with a trip to Spain? Plenty...
Now if i were to go to Spain end of the year, think of all those wonderfully crafted and heavenly sounding instruments that i might lay my hands on... in Madrid, in Granada, maybe even along the streets in the Alhambra... What if i meet THE guitar of my dreams??? How could i possibly resist the temptations???
I spoke to OG about this dilemma. And all he offered was "just buy lah". Hmm... but would i regret later on? How would i be able to know if this guitar is really the one for me? Afterall, i've waited so long for the Ruck, should i just give it up?
The other problem is - if i should buy a guitar while in Spain, how would i be able to continue the trip with kuja? Lugging a fragile (and EXPENSIVE!) piece of luggage on a Free & Easy trip isn't exactly an inviting thought. It will certainly weigh heavily both on my shoulders (or arms), as well as my mind (worried of damaging it), for the rest of the trip. The trouble it might cause is definitely gonna cause some issues with kuja.
And you definitely do -not- want to antagonize her. Especially not on a holiday trip. :)
So... what's the conclusion? Sigh.. looks like i'll be planning a trip to somewhere else. The one SURE way to resist temptations, is to keep yourself away from them.
posted by 北海道的大黑熊 at 11:30 AM
3 Comments:
Are you nuts??? Just go and then ship it back! Anyway, if you suspect you're going to regret it, then it's not the perfect guitar, right? :)
-moo.
Brudder, get both!!
Can sell later if either not shoik (Ruck sure 150% ROI), but if keep, some1 else even happier :P
OG
Well, when do you wanna go? Because the season is important...for Kuja anyway. Catch Spain in the right season (Summer closing sale or something) and believe me, she WILL NOT complain about you deserting her for some serious guitar foray. I recall when I was there, managed to get $2 items from Mango...
Oh ya, buy both. Keep the Ruck (hmm, sounds a little vulgar) for value.
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