OT: Renaissance Guitars

["William R. Walker," <chillyb@cruzio.com>]

   Greetings fellow Loopers. When I'm not gigging, looping my brains out, 
or
>teaching guitar, I work part time  for luthier extraodinaire Rick Turner 
>at
>Renaissance Guitar Co. I first became aware of Rick's innovative 
>creations in
>1998 shortly after receiving my brand new Jeff Traugott acoustic guitar.
>After a few high anxiety gigs under adverse acoustic conditions I 
>realized I
>needed a guitar that didn't make me nervous when I took it out on gigs,  
>and
>wasn't prone to feedback like all fine acoustic guitars ultimately are. My
>search led me to Rick Turner who had just moved his shop to Santa Cruz 
>where
>I live. Rick's innovative semi-acoustic designs coupled with arguably the
>best custom electronics available prompted me to purchase my first
>Renaissance RS-6.  Even Jeff Traugott admitted that in an amplified 
>setting,
>The Renaissance sounded better than my Traugott guitar with a good pickup.
>This is high praise indeed coming form Jeff who makes a world renown 
>acoustic
>guitar, I find my Ren guitars (I now have 3) really shine in a looping
>context where layering can really wreck feedback havoc with a conventional
>acoustic guitar. I also have been getting excellent results in my home 
>studio
>where issues of space, noise floor, and self-engineering hassles sometimes
>make recording acoustic guitars with conventional miking techniques
>impractical.
>   We at Renaissance are a small factory without much advertising budget, 
>and
>we realize that the one of the best ways to get our instruments out in the
>public eye, is to get them in the hands of working pros, and stimulate the
>buzz on the street. That being said, I have been given the green light by
>Rick to offer pro discounts to members of loopers delight, for any of our
>production models. So as not to incur the wrath of our dealer network, we 
>can
>only offer this deal to LD members and not friends of friends.  Also in 
>the
>interest of discretion I am not including pricing in this e-mail, and I'm
>asking interested parties to get in touch with me directly at my e-mail
>address: chillyb@cruzio.com, or at the renaissance e-mail address:
>rturner466@aol.com, or by phone at the shop: 831-460-9144 between 10am-2 
>PM
>PST, and I can fill you in on the details. In the Renaissance line we make
>both 4 and 5 string fretted and fretless Basses , 6 and 12 string  
>standard
>and baritone guitars, and two different models of nylon string classical
>guitars. We also make the Electroline series of 4 and 5 string basses and 
>the
>acclaimed M1 electric guitar. Lindsey Buckingham's weapon of choice for 
>the
>last twenty odd years. Also you might want to check out the reviews on
>Harmony Central, one of which I wrote before I started working for
>Renaissance. I would be happy to send literature to anyone interested, and
>also check us out online at www.renaissanceguitars.com.
>Thanks,
>Bill Walker
>Renaissance Guitars
>