# Where is @pondman?



## Leviathus (Jan 23, 2020)

Not seen since last April. His build threads/NGDs were always incredible, if not miraculous. Anyone know him personally or have any other leads on his unpostage?


----------



## USMarine75 (Jan 23, 2020)

Maybe he has a job or friends IRL?

@pondman still checking my mailbox and no EVH Cobweb....


----------



## cwhitey2 (Jan 23, 2020)

Yeah, I love his builds!


----------



## erdiablo666 (Jan 23, 2020)

Yo Pondman is my favourite. Srsly where is he?


----------



## KnightBrolaire (Jan 24, 2020)

he hasn't updated his guitar build fb page in ages either.


----------



## High Plains Drifter (Jan 24, 2020)

If you read this, Pondy... You are sincerely missed. Hope all is well.


----------



## GraemeH (Jan 24, 2020)

Word. I first took an interest in building from seeing his "had an afternoon spare so knocked out 16 amazing builds" threads. Hopefully that router injury didn't put him out of it.


----------



## TedEH (Jan 24, 2020)

Life goals:
Be missed like Pondman is missed.

But seriously, dude should come back.


----------



## Randy (Jan 24, 2020)

Hes probably locked away in his shop until he emerges with another 100 successive NGDs.


----------



## USMarine75 (Jan 24, 2020)

He’s probably at the post office shipping me that EVH Cobweb....


----------



## DickyTripleD (Jan 24, 2020)

Randy said:


> Hes probably locked away in his shop until he emerges with another 100 successive NGDs.


I'm just wondering why he can't hurry that up. Come on, Pondman. I can't live vicariously through you if you aren't showing me pictures of guitars I'll never own.


----------



## BlackMastodon (Jan 24, 2020)

Hope all is well with him. Hopefully the injury didn't turn out much worse for him. Hope he's out there somewhere, building guitars out of scraps.


----------



## cwhitey2 (Jan 24, 2020)

Randy said:


> Hes probably locked away in his shop until he emerges with another 100 successive NGDs.


His return will break SSO.


----------



## Randy (Jan 24, 2020)

He's probably on a remote island in the Pacific Ocean somewhere and soon he's going to emerge on a beach in Southern California, straddling a double bass made out of a palm tree and paddling with an Aristides 080 made of coconut fibers.


----------



## Ordacleaphobia (Jan 24, 2020)

USMarine75 said:


> He’s probably at the post office shipping me that EVH Cobweb....



Hey man I've been waiting on that multi-lam UV just as long.


----------



## KnightBrolaire (Jan 24, 2020)

pondman is the SSO luthier god. All of us should learn from him and build more/post less. Especially in my case


----------



## aesthyrian (Jan 24, 2020)

Yeah, it's been far too long since I've seen those big titties around here. Hope all is well.


----------



## Rev2010 (Jan 24, 2020)

I hope he's ok and nothing has happened. That someone said he also hasn't updated his Facebook page as well is concerning. Has anyone sent him a message on FB?


Rev.


----------



## LiveOVErdrive (Jan 24, 2020)

KnightBrolaire said:


> pondman is the SSO luthier god. All of us should learn from him and build more/post less. Especially in my case


Was he even a real man? It does not matter. What matters is the Pondman we all keep in our hearts.


----------



## bostjan (Jan 24, 2020)

Been wondering myself for quite awhile now. I sure hope everything is okay!



LiveOVErdrive said:


> Was he even a real man? It does not matter. What matters is the Pondman we all keep in our hearts.


I mean, is he even a real pond?!


----------



## _MonSTeR_ (Jan 24, 2020)

He logged into JEMsite a week ago (probably to check out the immensely long thread on the new Ibanez PIA) but hasn't posted there in over a year.


----------



## c7spheres (Jan 24, 2020)

He's probably been haing out with SwampThing.


----------



## High Plains Drifter (Jan 24, 2020)

aesthyrian said:


> Yeah, it's been far too long since I've seen those big titties around here. Hope all is well.



Never seen 'em but he does strike me as a dude that has some pretty large breasts.


----------



## ElRay (Jan 25, 2020)

Randy said:


> He's probably on a remote island in the Pacific Ocean somewhere and soon he's going to emerge on a beach in Southern California, straddling a double bass made out of a palm tree and paddling with an Aristides 080 made of coconut fibers.


He probably sold all the guitars he made, and earned enough to buy a small remote island in the Pacific Ocean somewhere.


----------



## electriceye (Jan 27, 2020)

Maybe he's too busy motor boating the woman in his avatar....


----------



## prlgmnr (Jan 27, 2020)

He's obviously experimented with some kind of ancient, cursed tonewood from the dawn of mankind and got himself trapped inside an instrument.


----------



## JSanta (Jan 27, 2020)

In all seriousness, I'm glad that I'm not the only one that's been wondering how he's doing (which doesn't surprise me given how great his builds are). @pondman, if you're out there, you're missed!


----------



## ElRay (Jan 27, 2020)

prlgmnr said:


> He's obviously experimented with some kind of ancient, cursed tonewood from the dawn of mankind and got himself trapped inside an instrument.


Hehehehehehe. Being a big fan of "Friday the 13th (The TV Series)", I have a mental image of a Redhead running to strum the first chord on Pondman's latest build before he can garrote a 4-5-1, 1st position-chord-only playing, pop-star wannabe with an E-string and Pondman getting sucked into the cursed surface planer hidden in the corner of the shop.


----------



## Seabeast2000 (Jan 27, 2020)

A possessed homicidal neck jig could compete with Velocipastor idk.


----------



## KnightBrolaire (Jan 27, 2020)

prlgmnr said:


> He's obviously experimented with some kind of ancient, cursed tonewood from the dawn of mankind and got himself trapped inside an instrument.


Prob some Kauri used to slaughter a whole village of Maoris, or some Bog Oak that Celts cursed. Oooh shit that actually gives me some cool build ideas


----------



## Deegatron (Jan 28, 2020)

Perhaps his latest build became self aware, went all Skynet on him and now he's on the run with a band of misfits secretly defending the world from an out of tune guitar with no volume control that constantly repeats the intro to stairway to heaven.....


----------



## M3CHK1LLA (Jan 28, 2020)

i vaguely remember him being upset losing a lot of his pics/info on sso when the forum went through its changes. seemed he started posting a lot less after that. 

hope all is well...


----------



## ElRay (Jan 28, 2020)

prlgmnr said:


> He's obviously experimented with some kind of ancient, cursed tonewood from the dawn of mankind and got himself trapped inside an instrument.


Or "Right-side Toan"


----------



## LiveOVErdrive (Jan 29, 2020)

It kinda seems his usual MO is to disappear for a while and then come back with a single post and be like "oh I finished these [masterpiece] guitars the other day when I wandered into my shop to take a look around"

Then he disappears into the wind like a memory


----------



## TedEH (Jan 29, 2020)

Are we even sure this "Pond Man" is real? Maybe we collectively imagined him while daydreaming about the building skills we wish we had.


----------



## M3CHK1LLA (Jan 30, 2020)

TedEH said:


> Are we even sure this "Pond Man" is real? Maybe we collectively imagined him while daydreaming about the building skills we wish we had.



sso version of the mandela effect?

time to bump my 'conspiracy theories' thread...


----------



## USMarine75 (Jan 30, 2020)

Just a reminder...


----------



## Fred the Shred (Jan 30, 2020)

As a RBM fanboi, this right here is the shit dreams are made of! Hope the man's alright!


----------



## LiveOVErdrive (Jan 30, 2020)

Anybody got pictures of the funky wood cutoff mosaic one he did a couple years ago?


----------



## Ordacleaphobia (Jan 30, 2020)

I really don't understand how he does half the things he does. Dude is a genius.


----------



## ElRay (Jan 30, 2020)

TedEH said:


> Are we even sure this "Pond Man" is real? Maybe we collectively imagined him while daydreaming about the building skills we wish we had.


I think he's the online persona of an autonomous commune of Nordic Gnomes trapped on one of the British Isles. It fits: Phenomenally high production rates of exquisite hand made items, and then nothing until celestial object align properly.


----------



## Seabeast2000 (Jan 30, 2020)

ElRay said:


> I think he's the online persona of an autonomous commune of Nordic Gnomes trapped on one of the British Isles. It fits: Phenomenally high production rates of exquisite hand made items, and then nothing until celestial object align properly.


True we are in a solar minimum.


----------



## ElRay (Jan 30, 2020)

Ordacleaphobia said:


> ... I really don't understand how he does half the things he does. Dude is a genius.


He's like a chef that says, "I'm going to combine the juice from a jar of olives, leftover hotdog bits, Hungry Man Instant potatoes, imported truffles found by a 7th generation royal truffle sniffing pig, Jean Fillioux Vintage 1953 Millésime Conac and produces something that rivals the finest Chateaubriand.


----------



## TedEH (Jan 30, 2020)

Has anyone actually played any of these?  What if they look cool but play terribly?

Still worth it. They look reaaaally cool.


----------



## Lorcan Ward (Jan 30, 2020)

TedEH said:


> Has anyone actually played any of these?  What if they look cool but play terribly?



They could well do! But he was adamant against building commercially.


----------



## TedEH (Jan 30, 2020)

Maybe that's the reason? Would be kinda crushing if you got all this praise, but started selling them, turns out they have a bunch of hidden flaws you can't see over the internet. Reputation gets crushed. The same conversations about being careful when buying customs gets rehashed.

Realistically though.... I doubt that's the case. I prefer to believe they play as good as they look.


----------



## Albake21 (Jan 30, 2020)

TedEH said:


> Maybe that's the reason? Would be kinda crushing if you got all this praise, but started selling them, turns out they have a bunch of hidden flaws you can't see over the internet. Reputation gets crushed. The same conversations about being careful when buying customs gets rehashed.
> 
> Realistically though.... I doubt that's the case. I prefer to believe they play as good as they look.


I mean, you're not wrong. We're obviously way over thinking it, but I always had this thought because of the fact that he would never let anyone buy them, no matter what. Regardless, they still look cool as hell and I'm sure they play decent enough.


----------



## Lorcan Ward (Jan 30, 2020)

With the amount he’s built I’m sure they are good. It is customers who will give you the essential feedback on further improving playability and quality control. It’s the biggest thing that sets apart builders.


----------



## KnightBrolaire (Jan 30, 2020)

TedEH said:


> Has anyone actually played any of these?  What if they look cool but play terribly?


Blasphemy!!

He's said many times that he builds for fun. Nothing takes the fun out of a hobby as much as trying to turn it into a legit business.


----------



## TedEH (Jan 30, 2020)

KnightBrolaire said:


> Nothing takes the fun out of a hobby as much as trying to turn it into a legit business.


If there's a lesson to be learned from this thread - this is it.


----------



## zappatton2 (Jan 30, 2020)

I was wondering this very thing myself, about two or three months back I actually searched this site to see when he posted last or when his name was last mentioned. Can't say I've ever done that before or since, so no doubt he's left a huge mark on this community.


----------



## LiveOVErdrive (Jan 30, 2020)

Yeah even when people on this forum ask him to sell he refuses.

He must just have a shed full of guitars or something.


----------



## Mattykoda (Jan 30, 2020)

Based off his name, I could see pondman hanging out with old Greg. 

If you get that reference.


----------



## High Plains Drifter (Jan 30, 2020)

Assuming now that these are all papier-mache, I'd still like to buy a couple to hang on my walls.


----------



## bostjan (Jan 30, 2020)

Whether he sells them or not, he motivated a lot of people to build stuff.

Also, do I need a cat avatar to post in this thread or what?


----------



## KnightBrolaire (Jan 30, 2020)

bostjan said:


> Also, do I need a cat avatar to post in this thread or what?


yes.


----------



## zappatton2 (Jan 30, 2020)

bostjan said:


> Whether he sells them or not, he motivated a lot of people to build stuff.
> 
> Also, do I need a cat avatar to post in this thread or what?


In memory of Pondcat, absolutely.


----------



## jaxadam (Jan 30, 2020)

KnightBrolaire said:


>



holy motherfuckin macaroni...


----------



## BlackMastodon (Jan 31, 2020)

TedEH said:


> Has anyone actually played any of these?  What if they look cool but play terribly?
> 
> Still worth it. They look reaaaally cool.


Heresy! He's Djod incarnate and I won't have it any other way.


----------



## USMarine75 (Jan 31, 2020)

LiveOVErdrive said:


> Yeah even when people on this forum ask him to sell he refuses.



Indeed.


----------



## neun Arme (Feb 2, 2020)

Mattykoda said:


> Based off his name, I could see pondman hanging out with old Greg.
> 
> If you get that reference.


 Probably drinking Baileys...


----------



## narad (Feb 2, 2020)

bostjan said:


> Whether he sells them or not, he motivated a lot of people to build stuff.
> 
> Also, do I need a cat avatar to post in this thread or what?



Just this thread?


----------



## Edika (Feb 2, 2020)

I hope his hand injury healed well and didn't have any complications. He was quite busy at his work but did have periods of free time to work on guitars and build all that amazing stuff. He may have though that a hobby like this isn't worth the health risk, especially if it jeopardised his actual work and lively hood. Plus he already has built a gazillion guitars already. 

Hopefully I'm wrong and he'll be back with more amazing builds!


----------



## LiveOVErdrive (Feb 2, 2020)

Edika said:


> I hope his hand injury healed well and didn't have any complications. He was quite busy at his work but did have periods of free time to work on guitars and build all that amazing stuff. He may have though that a hobby like this isn't worth the health risk, especially if it jeopardised his actual work and lively hood. Plus he already has built a gazillion guitars already.
> 
> Hopefully I'm wrong and he'll be back with more amazing builds!



He did more building before he was even fully healed.


----------



## USMarine75 (Feb 3, 2020)

Pondman
Pondman 
Pondman


----------



## narad (Feb 3, 2020)

USMarine75 said:


> Pondman
> Pondman
> Pondman



I said this in front of my bathroom mirror and now the frame has a padauk and maple accent stripe.


----------



## USMarine75 (Feb 3, 2020)

narad said:


> I said this in front of my bathroom mirror and now the frame has a padauk and maple accent stripe.



I _literally_ laughed out loud.


----------



## tedtan (Feb 3, 2020)

neun Arme said:


> Probably drinking Baileys...



from an old shoe...


----------



## electriceye (Feb 4, 2020)

GUYS! I KNOW WHAT HAPPENED TO HIM!!!







He's buried under a pile of guitars in his shed and he can't escape. He just built too damn many of 'em.


----------



## Edika (Feb 4, 2020)

LiveOVErdrive said:


> He did more building before he was even fully healed.



I know, I remember the threads plus the fact that at some point he had to revisit the hospital as the wound seemed infected. I also remeber the guitar he made with the bone fragments he kept.


----------



## LiveOVErdrive (Feb 4, 2020)

Edika said:


> I know, I remember the threads plus the fact that at some point he had to revisit the hospital as the wound seemed infected. I also remeber the guitar he made with the bone fragments he kept.


OH man I forgot about the bone fragments. And the infection. Well I hope all is well.


----------



## BlackMastodon (Feb 5, 2020)

Maybe the guitar with his bone fragments gained sentience and came after him. There can be only one!!

Equally improbable, maybe after he finished the last one he just said, "yep, that's enough" and has built all the guitars he wanted to.


----------



## ikarus (Feb 5, 2020)

Is there a build thread or pics from the bone fragment guitar?


----------



## High Plains Drifter (Feb 5, 2020)

ikarus said:


> Is there a build thread or pics from the bone fragment guitar?



https://www.sevenstring.org/threads/routing-horror-new-fanned-rustic-7-killer.326135/


----------



## JimF (Feb 13, 2020)

I genuinely hope he is okay too. Massive inspiration to make me start building and also carry on buliding. Helped me out with a few things and was even kind enough to send me over some wood offcuts for my knife making/wood carving. The man is an absolute legend, and I send him my best hoping that he's well.


----------



## setsuna7 (Feb 16, 2020)

He’s alive guys!!! He updated his status on fb a couple of days ago


----------



## JimF (Feb 16, 2020)

Thank god!


----------



## High Plains Drifter (Feb 16, 2020)

thanks so much to setsuna7 for the update.


----------



## prlgmnr (Feb 16, 2020)

setsuna7 said:


> He’s alive guys!!! He updated his status on fb a couple of days ago


Was it "I think people are starting to get suspicious, time to initiate plan Alpha"


----------



## KnightBrolaire (Feb 16, 2020)

He posted proof of life:


----------



## USMarine75 (Feb 16, 2020)

Maybe he just hates us then?

Sniffle


----------



## KnightBrolaire (Feb 16, 2020)

USMarine75 said:


> Maybe he just hates us then?
> 
> Sniffle


he said and I quote " Not been on here in a while... been busy doing other things." 
I hope by other things he means building more guitars


----------



## pondman (Feb 16, 2020)

Blimey , has it been that long


----------



## benny (Feb 16, 2020)

pondman said:


> Blimey , has it been that long



pondman! Hope all is well over the pond.


----------



## c7spheres (Feb 16, 2020)

Yay!


----------



## Quiet Coil (Feb 16, 2020)

You had us worried pondman, welcome back!


----------



## High Plains Drifter (Feb 17, 2020)

Probably just some kitty cat posing as pondman but I'll still take that as a positive thing.


----------



## Edika (Feb 17, 2020)

I think at some point everyone here was used to a pondman thread or two every week with an awesome build showing up that we took it for granted!


----------



## pondman (Mar 18, 2020)

Hey peeps, thanks for missing me though I didn't realize I'd been away that long.
I haven't done a great deal of guitar stuff for a while but I did buy a lot of cool guitars last year... I'll post up some pics when I get the time.


----------



## pondman (Mar 18, 2020)

M3CHK1LLA said:


> i vaguely remember him being upset losing a lot of his pics/info on sso when the forum went through its changes. seemed he started posting a lot less after that.
> 
> hope all is well...



Nay, that couldn't be helped and I've never been a sulker.



TedEH said:


> Has anyone actually played any of these?  What if they look cool but play terribly?
> 
> Still worth it. They look reaaaally cool.







BlackMastodon said:


> Maybe the guitar with his bone fragments gained sentience and came after him. There can be only one!!
> 
> Equally improbable, maybe after he finished the last one he just said, "yep, that's enough" and has built all the guitars he wanted to.



That is about right... for now 


USMarine75 said:


> Maybe he just hates us then?
> 
> Sniffle



Never !


----------



## 77zark77 (Mar 18, 2020)

Pondman, the serie you can't wait for the next season !


----------



## High Plains Drifter (Mar 18, 2020)

Mr Pond... How is your hand if you don't mind me asking? Also as always, it's great to see you here! Hope all is well in your part of the world.


----------



## HeHasTheJazzHands (Mar 18, 2020)




----------



## BlackMastodon (Mar 18, 2020)

Seeing you like my old post made me realize I used the word "hope" 3 times in 3 sentences. I was REALLY hoping you were okay!


----------



## cwhitey2 (Mar 18, 2020)

The return.



Glad you are back!


----------



## USMarine75 (Mar 19, 2020)

It got Tom Hanks and Idris Elba... but not the @pondman !


----------



## tedtan (Mar 19, 2020)

Welcome back.


----------



## pondman (Mar 21, 2020)

High Plains Drifter said:


> Mr Pond... How is your hand if you don't mind me asking? Also as always, it's great to see you here! Hope all is well in your part of the world.



Cheers, its really hard to see the scar now believe it or not. They did a great job.



BlackMastodon said:


> Seeing you like my old post made me realize I used the word "hope" 3 times in 3 sentences. I was REALLY hoping you were okay!



Cheers, there's hope for you yet.


----------



## BigViolin (Mar 21, 2020)

I missed your huge boobs.


----------



## Taylor (Mar 21, 2020)

Glad to have you back Al, we missed you!


----------



## ElRay (Mar 21, 2020)

BigViolin said:


> I missed your huge boobs.


I think they were built by a fellow master craftsman, just working with a different medium. Or maybe that's @pondman's day job, and that's how he affords his exquisite materials.


----------



## redkombat (Apr 5, 2020)

Yay! The lord of scarf joints has returned! Glad to see you are ok pond.


----------



## Fluence of Shred (Apr 6, 2020)

That is an auspicious welcoming for both of us. I bring with me the pond !


----------



## redkombat (Apr 9, 2020)

Anyone else still miss pond even though he is back?


----------



## High Plains Drifter (Apr 9, 2020)

If you mean the monthly "Hey check out my latest build utilizing 10 exotic woods that most arborist's have never even heard of" builds, then yes... I miss that.


----------



## pondman (Apr 16, 2020)

I've built just about every guitar I always wanted....but I still have a lot of unfinished stuff


----------



## LiveOVErdrive (Apr 16, 2020)

Wanna start on every guitar I've always wanted now? 

I felt compelled to make this joke, even though I, too, hate the neighbor who always sees you mowing and says "wanna do mine next?"


----------



## c7spheres (Apr 16, 2020)

@pondman , I mean AL, Do you take on custom builds? I thought I read you don't but just wanted to confirm. I've been trying to find a luthier to build me an RGA type 7 string body for an rg7620 neck.


----------



## Leviathus (Apr 17, 2020)

I just wonder where pond keeps all of his creations. I pray they don't become sentient and rise against him, he'd be up against a huge battalion of wood and wire, and scarf joints.


----------

