Nowhere near Massachusetts, Mark -- I'm in New Orleans.

The luthier I've been consulting with is named Sal(vador) Giardina. He served his apprenticeship with the late Mannfred Trautmann, who worked on my guitar in '73 and who was universally recognized as the best in this area at that time.

Sal says he has a (new) website, but hasn't yet got things worked out so that the search engines can find him. I ran a Google search on his name a couple of weeks ago, and while his own site didn't turn up, I found several reassuring references to him and his work. For one thing, I learned that he custom-built several seven-string electrics for Steve Masakowski (of Astral Project), New Orleans' greatest contemporary jazz player.

This fellow is not the only game in town, and perhaps I should shop around just on general principles, but I've met him, I like him, and I believe in his credentials.