Hello all,

My name is Jay Keller, but you already knew that. When I signed up for EZ-Board, it wouldn't take my first couple of attempts at a semi-clever handle, so I gave up and used the one my parents gave me. I tried to change it later but I guess that's not do-able, so consider me handle-less, just call me Jay.

I've been posting for a few months and lurking for several before that, but somehow I overlooked this intro thread, probably due to my thirst to read about guitars. But reading about the people here is just as much fun, this is really a great forum and a great bunch of guitar-loving folks.

I live in Sunnyvale, California, one of the towns in so-called Silicon Valley, and I'm an IT engineer for a big company. Originally from NYC, I go back there once a year or so to visit family and to attend the NY Times crossword puzzle tournament. I do it for fun and camaraderie with the folks there, I'm not a serious contender. If I finish in the top 50% I am very happy with that.

I am married, and we have a son in college and a daughter about to graduate high school. I'm very proud to say that both of my kids are much better musicians than I will ever be, Jason has studied violin and piano since he was little, and picked up some quite nice guitar chops on his own as well. Diana studied classical guitar and piano for several years, then started on the viola. Both of them played piano in the school's jazz band and their stringed instrument in the orchestra.

My other hobbies include photography, woodworking and beekeeping, and a few others, and I maintain a website about them at www.jaykeller.com.

I've strummed chords and played a little this 'n' that for many years, and also studied some piano. But only the last couple of years have I gotten much more serious about the guitar, and I started taking fingerstyle lessons. I wish I had gotten serious a lot sooner, but, c'est la vie. Also I never really considered buying a really good guitar until a friend at work got me interested in Martins and I started reading all about them in books and on UMGF. How nice it is, to play on nice guitars, I definitely should have started doing that long ago also.

I've started building a drop-top electric guitar in my woodshop, out of flame maple and korina with an ebony fingerboard. If I ever get it finished I'm sure you folks will be among the first to hear about it. Currently I'm sort of bogged-down building several versions of a jig to cut compound-radius fingerboards on my router table. I'd like to tackle an acoustic someday if I live long enough. My wife says I need to build two of everything so the kids can each inherit one, bless her heart :-)

Thank you all for creating this great spot on the Internet.

- Jay

-Jay
Page 66 on the forum introductions thread, Page 12 on the photos thread.  My MartinFest 2011 Photos  My Guitar Room
Please visit my website at www.jaykeller.com.  My Martins: M-Body Custom Maple/Adirondack (For Sale), 000-28M EC, Custom Shop 00-VS Koa, America's Guitar 175th Anniversary, OM-30 DB Pat Donohue, OM-35, 1950 000-18, 1928 5-17T Tenor, S-O Uke
Last Edited By: Jay Keller 12/16/09 1:27 PM. Edited 1 times.