How did you become interested in lutherie?
"I suppose I always was. I wanted to play guitar from the time I was three years old. I finally got my hands on one when I was 14 after saving babysitting money. After that I did all my own guitar maintenance, I bought and flipped guitars found in a local publication... Most of the money came from touching up the playability and cleaning and/or refurbishing the cases, but I did some bigger repairs as well. I built a dulcimer in high school."
How have you experienced changes in the business climate for luthiers over time?
"I was around for the launch of the better known boutique guitar sellers. The business model made a lot of sense because retailers tended to look down their noses at builders. A 50 percent margin is common in retail. That margin is simply undoable for someone crafting instruments of any quality. Over time, the boutique dealers found their niche and were successful enough that they have been able to look down their noses at builders too. A victim of our own success, dealers want to work on consignment whenever possible. For me that isn't an option, so I left the supposed safety net of dealers to take care of all aspects on my own."
What qualities would you say are good to have as a guitar builder?
"Attention deficit disorder. Why? Because it will save your body. Unfortunately, ADD doesn't seem to kick in when I need it most. Like the time I spent 19 hours with my arm crammed into the sound hole of a harp guitar, or when I get on some design idea which keeps me at my bench for 48 hours straight."
Is there a difference in the view of hand-built guitars today compared to back in the day - in what way?
"Of course, once upon a time, if it wasn't a Martin, it better at least be a Gibson. There was little room in the minds of people willing to spend money on guitars for any other names. Now, for people willing to spend money on guitars, that paradigm has flipped. They think custom first, name brand second."
"When I was first researching and beginning my quest, I found that everyone knew someone who had built a guitar or other instrument and were happy to share that experience with me. I found it very depressing. I would look politely while inside I was crushed to think that was the best that could be done "on my own." Now, the standards are very very high, and even a one-time hobby builder is likely to make a fine looking instrument. Through the sharing of information, there has been a huge change in what is expected. And with that success in elevating the craft, custom instruments come to mind first, not last."
If you were to choose two work steps from the entire construction process, which steps do you think are the most fun?
"Finishing and inlay, but I can hire that done and done well, so sadly, I don't do as much as I would like."