Robben Ford Discussion

[guitargetaways]

Robben Ford will be giving a Master-Class in London on November 8th for Guitar Getaways. Places are limited to 75 and cost £119 each. When buying your ticket, you can apply for one of five hardship based complimentary places. If you are successful in being awarded one of these places, your fee will be refunded.

The venue for the Master-Class will be Guitar-X, in Acton, part of one of the longest established modern music schools in the UK.
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Paul
Guitar Getaways

[diatonicdude]

Hats off to you guys at Guitargetaways! Thanks for posting this on the board.

It's about time a Robben "style" clinic was organised in this country.

I personally would love to go to one of Robben's independent run clinics, but obviously location dictates that it is not viable for me.

Personally I would only pay £119 if Robben was conducting a full afternoon/day (as per the USA clinics). 1&1/2 hours in a masterclass scenario with Robben with a class of potentially 74 others doesn't quite warrant me to spend £119 plus expenses.

All in all this is a good start, so please work on something more substantial (time & content wise) for the future.

For all those going (and Robben), enjoy!

Cheers,

DD
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Music is the universal language; speak it with emotion, listen with a passion.

[guitargetaways]

"Personally I would only pay £119 if Robben was conducting a full afternoon/day (as per the USA clinics). 1&1/2 hours in a masterclass scenario with Robben with a class of potentially 74 others doesn't quite warrant me to spend £119 plus expenses"

Thanks for your supportive comments - regarding the price, and the numbers of planned attendees - this is totally based on trying to make the event viable to run. It is worth mentioning that the event overall runs from 12.30 to 4pm. I'm hoping to run this as a double header with another name guitarist (will update as and when I have confirmation on this). I trust that this will make the event even more unmissable!
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Paul
Guitar Getaways

[diatonicdude]

Hi Paul,

I didn't mean to offend in anyway, and I apologise for not taking the opportunity in the previous post in welcoming you to the board, so welcome, and I hope you enjoy your time here! And for now please ponder on the following for a moment.........

Firstly I am sincere in thanking you in making the effort in starting the ball rolling for a Robben Ford clinic in the UK. I could have kept quiet but I am concerned you have pitched the cost too high.

I stated my opinion purely from my personal perspective, and in hindsight I should have mentioned the additional guitar player slot scheduled on the day (albeit there is no mention of who it is, so it is a bit pot luck, but I am sure you will come up with someone to fit the bill!).

Putting that aside I still think in comparison to the USA clinic which is 6 hours (not 3) of actual clinic time, and one 1/3rd of the size of the proposed UK class numbers, the price doesn't offer every Robben Ford guitar playing fan a viable deal!

I think the most important thing to remember here is that this may be setting the cost and content benchmark for all future potential UK/European clinics. It may also become simply another supply and demand situation rather than a reasonable deal for all those involved, and in particular, the fans (Robben will get his deserved cut for sure).

We in the UK can pay approx £15 to £20 to see the man play a blinding set from arms length for the same length of time, and pick up a tuitional clinic DVD up for a similar price. Yes I know I could "go and do just that instead then", but the price to pay for this particular clinic privilege seems a little too steep.

I understand the numbers game, but perhaps from at least one Robben Ford fan's viewpoint, perhaps next time you could opt for the full clinic time being dedicated for just Robben and his class to add more value to the fans of Robben!?

Also, doesn't the offer of 5 places being available for full refund for the more financially challenged put the whole cost issue in perspective? If the potential punter can't realistically afford to go in the first instance then surely the offer should not be there to entice the gamble of a full refund? I apologise in advance Paul if this remark in particular may offend you but I am perplexed with this concept. I guess people are free to make their own choices!

Putting this all aside, I am sure you will still be successful, but unfortunately for me this clinic will be out of the question and probably for many others too. It would be interesting to hear feedback from other members as to what they think and who intends to make the clinic. Perhaps a poll should be generated for those who wish to remain anonymous?

Paul, please accept my above comments as purely constructive criticism, as they are not intended to be a personal attack.

Lastly and interestingly as a contrasting example, another highly respected guitarist and personal fav of mine recently held a free evening clinic in the UK, this being the very talented Steve Morse!

All the best,

DD

P.S Please go easy on me
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Music is the universal language; speak it with emotion, listen with a passion.

[PierreL]

I have to say that I was a bit puzzled by the price too.
I am going to attend a workshop with Robben in France in two weeks, it should be 4 hours long, and will cost 40€ per person (about 32£).
The difference is rather huge, hence my surprise. There are certainly reasons for that, but still...
The intention is good however, having Robben available for masterclasses in Europe is obviously a welcome idea.

[Bluelobster]

Hi, let's face that nothing will start seriously before 13h, and that would slow down around 15h or 15h30 . Granted there will not be a load of stupid questions.......
Anyways Welcome and please go easy on the Diatonic dude

[diatonicdude]

[guitargetaways]

Thanks for all the thought provoking comments.

I thought I should provide a bit more information about the "hardship" refunds... these are not intended to be awarded only for those experiencing financial hardship, but for hardship of any kind being experienced. I know it may seem a bit of an odd way of offering free places, but I never intended it to be a "gamble".

The commercial realities of trying to set up and run Guitar Getaways is the reason why the price is where it is. My competitors charge much higher prices for similar events with lesser known artists.

I should mention that it is my intention to seek funding (possibly lottery funding) to assist with subsidising these events in future.

My key business aim is to offer a variety of events with the highest standard of guitarists as possible at as low a price as is feasible.

Having worked at a guitar school during the '90s, and having run a lot of master-classes there over the years, I would argue that being at a tuition focused event, is most often hugely beneficial to players - on a totally different scale to attending a gig (although I am in no way decrying the impact of seeing someone like Robben perform live). This, in my experience was generally the case whether the audience was 150 (master-classs with Allan Holdsworth in 1990) or 12 (with John Scofield, also in 1990). Very different events in terms of the way they were run - but equally inspiring, in my opinion.
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Paul
Guitar Getaways

[Bluelobster]

[JohnnyZ]

[diatonicdude]

[quote=Are u coming South France ?????[/quote]

Not this time round Blob, but if the European clinics really take off in the future then it may be on the cards (cost may equal the UK one!). It would be good to meet yourself and Pierre

Cheers,

DD
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Music is the universal language; speak it with emotion, listen with a passion.

[Cheebatone]

[ZenOvertone]

Just checked out the Guitar X website and Robben is only on from 1430-1600 - see below. I can understand this too from the artist perspective as he's playing at the JC the night before so a full day session with a gig the same night would be asking a bit much. Bit of a problem for me logistically as I'm going to the JC on both nights so would have to leave my guitar at a friends house but still may go.

http://www.guitargetaways.com/products/masterclass/robben-ford

On this Guitar Getaway Awayday - you can spend an after noon away from it all learning from the best players out there!

This Awayday is split into two sessions:

Session 1: Learn how to play the guitar effectively in band situations

Session 2: Get a fantastic insight into the playing style, motivation, and technical skills of Robben Ford, one of the world's true living legends of guitar.

Itinerary:

12.30 - 2.00pm Session 1

Guitar Performance workshop with a senior member of Guitar-X. Some attendees will be invited to perform with a rhythm section on stage.

2.00 - 2.30pm Complimentary Refreshments will be served in the school foyer.

2.30 - 4.00 Session 2

Master-Class with Robben Ford

Date: Saturday 8th November 2008

It's of course the same day and the second night at the Jazz Cafe (I have tickets for both nights), I may go but as DD has said given that it appears to be only 1.5 hours long may well just do the gigs as usual and keep saving for my "once in a lifetime" to Ojai next year. There's also the second "Blues lead guitar" DVD coming out this year apparently to look forward to (currently gazing up at my RF signed Strat pickguard from Milton Keynes this year henging on the wall - what a great gig).

[ZenOvertone]

Just also thought the Masterclass details on the website ought to state "no flash photography permitted" (or Daved will be "paying you a visit" with his LED flashlight!!!!!).