What is #loothing ? I have worked in a guitar factory, built mandolins, repaired and restored guitars since 1993 and I still don’t much care for calling my self a luthier. It’s just a little fussy for what I get up to. Years back a coworker at Gruhn Guitars and I would ask each other what the other was doing and we’d say, “oh you know, loothing” A verb was born.
Years after that, around 2015, I decided to start hashtagging my repair posts on Instagram #loothing. Something about the double Os really got me laughing. For whatever reason, it stuck and now it is a flourishing hashtag with many awesome posts. Loothing is the verb and Looth is the noun. I don’t care much for loother cuz it sounds like someone saying loser without enough teeth to get an S sound going. I suppose I would accept Lootheran if you weren’t into that whole brevity thing.
So what is The Looth Group ? It is a Patreon group I started with the goal to enhance the financial viability of anyone laboring away on stringed instruments in any way other than playing them: guitar techs, road techs, repairers, restorers, amp techs, pedal builders, pickup winders, cnc operators and fancy plectrum carvers. If you are making a living, trying to make a living, or even just interested in any of these vocations, the looth group may be for you.
What service does The Looth Group provide ? We are writing articles, hosting interviews with luminaries, offering live advice on projects, crowd sourcing solutions, diving into the actual business of loothing and, of course, the loothalong which is a 24/7 Zoom chat with looths from around the world. A $5/ month subscription on Patreon is enough to dip your toes in and see if it’s for you. $11/ month expands the membership into what we call Ding Kings. This focuses on more intense demos of real world repair and restoration scenarios including finish repair (see the rest of this website for examples of my area of expertise).
Looking forward. TLG isn’t just Ian Davlin (IHG) anymore. We have taken on Contributing Partners and Contributing Members. Contributing Partners include Doug Proper who specializes in business acumen and guitar repair as The Guitar Specialist. Joel Wilkens who specializes in extensive restorations of vintage guitars as JW.Restoration . Dan Erlewine who specializes in creative solutions to flummoxing situations. Together we are forging innovative new frontiers in practical stringed instrument work.
Enjoy a sample of what we get up to on Sunday afternoons with this interview we did with Violin restorer extraordinaire, Iris Carr. This is branded under the old IHG branding, but this is one little sliver of the kind of resources TLG will be providing moving forward . Hope you enjoy and give The Looth Group a try.
Ian Davlin
