Stankevičius Guitars!

Stankevicius · April 2020

Hello, guys!

Hope you are doing well and play your favorite music with your favorite guitars so far.

I've started this disscussion as a feedback and Q&A thing, so I'd like to get questions and recommendations and I hope I can give you answers and take your advices to be a better luthier.

If someone doesn't know who am I, I'd like to introduce myself. I'm a luthier from Vilnius (Lithuania) building boutique gypsy jazz guitars using only solid woods. I'm working with Stochelo Rosenberg, Paulus Schafer, Wawau Adler, Bina Coquete, Irene Ypenburg, Ezeckiel Krief and other musicians building one-of-a-kind signature guitars. I'm kindly inviting you to vizit my website https://www.stankeviciusguitars.com/ or the photogallery https://www.flickr.com/photos/137958563@N03/

Best regards,

Vadim

JSanta · April 2020

I watched a short video on Facebook of Stochelo taking delivery of that guitar earlier this week. Granted, he could probably make a shoebox sound good, but I enjoyed what I heard!

pdg · April 2020

That guitar looks beautiful and very well crafted! I wish you every success in your craft, and I look forward to seeing more of your visual (and tonal?) innovation.

Bones · April 2020

Very nice! Thanks

Stankevicius · April 2020

https://www.djangobooks.com/forum/discussion/comment/100642#Comment_100642

Oh yes, true legend sounds good with any guitar. Btw he plays with very low action (comparing to traditional gypsy guitars) and very lite touch. Thank you!

https://www.djangobooks.com/forum/discussion/comment/100646#Comment_100646

Thank you! I'm not a big innovator at all. I've just switched to arched top instead of pliage (I believe it makes top not so constrained), to solid wood instead of lamination (same reason), to spanish headstock joint instead of tongue (weak and not in my taste). That things make guitar much more responsible and adds more harmonics making sound more "wet" which is less "Django" and more modern, suitable for fusion styles. I respect traditions but I want to develop genre and give fresh sound. And of course I add many aestetical and ergonomic things to make guitar more comfortable and better looking.

https://www.djangobooks.com/forum/discussion/comment/100647#Comment_100647

Thank you!

Buco · April 2020

To me your guitars are unsurpassed in aesthetics (even though I talked to some people who weren't sold on it :) It's amazing how quickly you've become the builder for the best. I think it proves that success in any field isn't left to luck when the person is as dedicated to the endeavor as you obviously are.

Are you using forced arched top technique? The luthier that built my guitar does both but favors arched top vs pliage. I asked him about it, he simply said both can sound good if you know what you're doing.

Can somebody link the video with Stochelo?

mac63000 · April 2020

Here's a short one:

https://youtu.be/gV0Y6YqC8JA

Looks like Paulus got one as well:

https://youtu.be/-iHIyAuGlmo

Buco · April 2020

By the way it was so funny when Stochelo said "let's see what my next one will sound like" hahaha...

Stankevicius · April 2020

https://www.djangobooks.com/forum/discussion/comment/100654#Comment_100654

Thank you!

The only two things I came to these musicians are my desire to build special guitar according to each smallest specific wish of the musician (I have order form for 3 pages of different options) and being sincere and friendly. It is like sewing a suit for wedding, very special and fitting perfectly. I'm still quite "green" not even crossed the line of 30 handcrafted instruments as I build 5-6 guitars a year (while maintaining around 450 local guitars as a repairman) but I hope to switch on the fulltime building when I'd have enough resourses.

Yes, I make it like usual steel string guitar, but with bigger arch and traditional ladder bracing. I've tried many different guitars with pliage and arched as I still play quite a lot and I came to feeling pliage sounds more like mandolin (same principle, huh) which is loud with screaming trebles, nasal mids and weak bass (traditional archaic sound) and arched is more balanced and subtile, with more expressed tone (voice), but has little less volume and maybe some parasite overtones playing fast swing rhythm. So I came to arched as a solo guitar for good equiped concerts and studio recordings (while jam sessions with 10 rhythm players could not working as well as pliage gun). But that is what I've experienced so far and my vision could change any day :)

And one more link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G94_zYPrF2c&list=UUGPMOz4goV1_n5hzrpDDUdQ&index=2