The Opportunity of a guitar player's lifetime? If you are attracted to the idea of visiting Luthier's Consortium in Anaheim this January 17th, 18th, and 19th, or perhaps wonder why anyone thinks you should be, read on. There are a number of guitar makers (luthier's) festivals, some annual, some semi-annual. They represent an opportunity for the guitar buying public to meet, and directly compare a selection of luthiers and their work. The luthiers are there, and their work is there, the catch is that there is so much going on, and the noise generated by that commotion, that it is truly challenging (impossible may be the word) to experience the subtlety of tone and response that separates the mediocre from the great, let alone the variety of qualities that differentiate the top makers from each other. This can be very frustrating for the serious afficianado, and many end up leaving more confused than educated. Some of these luthier's festival offer a hundred of more makers, each with 2 to 6 guitars, typically, and it is quite impossible to see and hold, let alone evaluate this quantity of work. No one want to be left out, so the festivals keep getting bigger, not unlike NAMM in the end. If you are in the business, you have to go, but at some point it stops being fun for most people. Luthier's Consortium presents 9 luthiers this year. The group is hand picked by myself and Howard Klepper, and is biased toward truly handmade, one of a kind makers (artists) , though not totally exclusively. They will have perhaps 40 guitars between them. The "showroom" is a co-joined pair of hotel rooms, just a ten minute walk from NAMM itself. There is parking! Each of us has a private room within 30 seconds of the "showroom" if you want to talk seriously with the maker and/or truly hear the instrument you're interested in. This is good, because the showroom has a party atmosphere, and there is pretty much non-stop acoustic music being played by some of the world greatest players. You are welcome to join in. We are even hosting the bar, at least for the first round; Imported beer, California wines, and Bottled water. This is a great oasis for the NAMM weary, and is such a great opportunity for the destination oriented that we believe we more that make up for quantity by offering quality the big boys can only dream of. More pluses: Hotels abound at fair rates, Major Airport nearby, Hundreds of worldclass musicians at nearby venues due to NAMM, uh, NAMM! (We have a booth inside as well), and there is no cover charge. This year, 2008, your hosts are: Michael Dunn : Gypsie Jazz guitars, Carved Guitars, Flamenco, Weisenborn Howard Klepper: Flat-top steel string and Arch-Tops Michael Lewis :Arch-tops and Mandolins Les Stansell: Classical and Flamenco Eric Schoenberg : Fingerstyle Guitars by Alan Perlman, Robert Anderson, James Russell and Bruce Sexauer Bruce Sexauer : Flat-top steel string and Gypsie Jazz Randall Kramer :Flat-top steel string and Classical Ronald Phillips: Metal Guitars and Ukulele's Chris Jenkins and son, Jeremy: Steel String Guitars Please join us! Bruce Sexauer, luthier