A guitar is an instrument for me with which I can express myself better than anything.
When I was 12 years old, I got a guitar from my brother. Out of sheer curiosity, I started to play the guitar. At that time, of course, I never thought that the rest of my childhood would be accompanied by it. One day in July 1994, I stood on the edge of the platform with a beautiful Spanish masterpiece "Antonio Marin Montero" on my back, the last present from my father, at Berlin Zoologischer garten. At the latest at that time, I knew what I wanted to be all my life. "A guitarrist"
Fortunately, I met a great teacher in Berlin. Prof. Wilczok was truly of great support for all but I'd like to say a very special thank you to her for showing me the direction of my study. From the freshman year, she gave me various pieces of J. S. Bach that are composed originally for lute and triggered my interest in the ancestor of our instrument;Lute. Not knowing what I did, I was stepping into the world of early music.
This was the moment when my vinyl record collection was expanded exponentially. Because it was the best and the most affordable way for me to listen to early music - thank goodness - even back then, there were plenty of second-hand record shops in Berlin. It was also a small box on the ground of an antiquarian bookshop where I found this record; "Das Schaffen Johann Sebastian Bachs serie H of Walter Gerwig" from Archiv.
Looking back, as a young student, fresh from Asia, filled with curiosity towards European culture, it might be pretty natural to have a strong desire to find something as soon as possible. Walter Gerwig had rapidly become my favorite lutenist and soon after my favorite instrumentalist. It had been my daily routine for a long time to imitate his articulations, to analyse his interpretations, to hear him playing for hours a day until my humble audio system made terrible noises.
The cartridge was broken. So I bought a little bit more expensive one. But when the second one exhausted in the same way, I decided to send it for repair. That was, however, a dangerous decision for which I paid dearly. After having paid more than for a new cartridge, I could finally mount it on my headshell again. Nevertheless, the tragedy was far from over. I simply couldn't be satisfied with the sound it made. It was clearly a new, but a bizarre sound which made me feel more uncomfortable day after day. The more my dissatisfaction grew, the greater became my desire to open up the cartridge and look inside.
----------> Philosophy
Biography
A s I eventually opened up the cartridge case, a fascinating scenery of microcosmos appeared before my very eyes. Especially, the view of the tiny magnet and the tinier diamond stunned me because I was then, at the very least, familiar with the fact that the interplay between them is where the music results from. Guided by unrestrained curiosity, I had bought 12 microscopes and hundreds of broken cartridges before I successfully managed to build a "sounding" cartridge. Even though it had taken me more than a decade by then, my earliest fascination hadn't ever faded away.
However, it was far enough away from my goal. As the short-lived joy of success slipped away, I quickly realised that I was not at the final destination, but at the point of departure because making sound is necessary but not sufficient to being a cartridge. A cartridge, I thought, was supposed to make "beautiful sounds". So I had spent the subsequent decade seeking materials and techniques for beautiful sounds.
One day, after I had completed with two modifications for the generator of my cartridge, I was listening to music quite happily. I was happy because the sound of the prototype seemed to be upgraded with the modifications I had made. I had changed a mere elastomer and had added some more turns of wire within the coil. But to be a bit more honest, it were actually small but not minor modifications, which is why I was even more excited about the outcome. A while after, I asked my wife how it sounded to her. My wife, who had studied music with me, said without any hesitation "It sounds just like you!"
What is a beautiful sound? There are some well-known criteria to meet to be a high-quality cartridge. Transparency for example? or balance? I appreciate those aspects. However, "If a cartridge could meet the highest standards of all aspects, is it a perfect cartridge?" If I were asked this question, I'd rather say "No" First of all, a cartridge can never make sound alone. Furthermore, after all is said and done, why we need a cartridge is to listen to music. I think, the only things able to listen to MUSIC are our ears. Since it always has been my ears that are in command of my work, I know how fully they are aware of their preferences and whether a sound was beautiful or not? They decide.
As I mentioned in my biography, I have been longer a musician than a cartridge maker so far. I don't know whether the fact is fully answerable for my current reflection but in recent times, I often think that the ideal Tedeska cartridge that I am aiming for might be like a guitar that I am dreaming of. Even masterpieces, for example guitars by Antonio de Torres or Rene Lacote, don't sound masterful in all circumstances. They need a right musician, a right composition, even a right audience perhaps. But when the moment is right, they unfold their full potential and leave us completely paralyzed. It would be a great honor if I could share such experiences with my customer.
Appendix
The pearl eye on the Tedeska cartridge has no function. It serves as a pure adornment like the one on the frog of a violin bow. But if you insist on having a function, I would quote an old lesson from the lutherie school "Place your right thumb on the frog, it will not be long before a melody sounds"
Thanks for reading - TEDESKA
Editorial supervision: Michael HS Lee, Gabriel HS Lee
written by J. Francesca Lee
